Biological psychiatry
-
Biological psychiatry · Feb 2015
The anterior cingulate cortex is a critical hub for pain-induced depression.
Besides chronic stress, chronic pain is a prevalent determinant for depression. Changes induced in specific brain regions by sustained pain may alter the processing of affective information, thus resulting in anxiodepressive disorders. Here, we compared the role of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the posterior insular cortex in the anxiodepressive, sensory, and affective aspects of chronic pain. ⋯ Our results show that, at cortical level, the sensory component of chronic pain remains functionally segregated from its affective and anxiodepressive components. Spontaneous tonic pain and evoked allodynia can be experimentally dissociated. Furthermore, the ACC appears as a critical hub for mood disorders, including for the anxiodepressive consequences of chronic pain, and thus constitutes an important target for divulging the underlying mechanism.
-
Biological psychiatry · Jan 2015
ReviewAlzheimer's disease risk genes and mechanisms of disease pathogenesis.
We review the genetic risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) and their role in AD pathogenesis. More recent advances in understanding of the human genome-technologic advances in methods to analyze millions of polymorphisms in thousands of subjects-have revealed new genes associated with AD risk, including ABCA7, BIN1, CASS4, CD33, CD2AP, CELF1, CLU, CR1, DSG2, EPHA1, FERMT2, HLA-DRB5-DBR1, INPP5D, MS4A, MEF2C, NME8, PICALM, PTK2B, SLC24H4-RIN3, SORL1, and ZCWPW1. ⋯ We review the relationship between these AD risk genes and the cellular and neuropathologic features of AD. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the association of these genes with risk for disease will provide the most meaningful targets for therapeutic development to date.
-
Biological psychiatry · Dec 2014
Defining critical white matter pathways mediating successful subcallosal cingulate deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression.
Subcallosal cingulate white matter (SCC) deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an evolving investigational treatment for depression. Mechanisms of action are hypothesized to involve modulation of activity within a structurally defined network of brain regions involved in mood regulation. Diffusion tensor imaging was used to model white matter connections within this network to identify those critical for successful antidepressant response. ⋯ Patient-specific activation volume tractography modeling may identify critical tracts that mediate SCC DBS antidepressant response. This suggests a novel method for patient-specific target and stimulation parameter selection.