Archives of general psychiatry
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Arch. Gen. Psychiatry · Jul 2009
Association of GSK3beta polymorphisms with brain structural changes in major depressive disorder.
Indirect evidence suggests that the glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK3beta) gene might be implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD). ⋯ The GSK3beta gene may have a role in determining regional GM volume differences of the right hippocampus and bilateral superior temporal gyri. The association between genotype and brain structure was specific to the patients with MDD, suggesting that GSK3beta genotypes might interact with MDD status. We speculate that this is a consequence of regional neocortical, glial, or neuronal growth or survival. In considering core cognitive features of MDD, the association of GSK3beta polymorphisms with structural variation in the temporal lobe and hippocampus is of particular interest in the context of other evidence for structural and functional abnormalities in the hippocampi of patients with MDD.
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Arch. Gen. Psychiatry · Jun 2009
Biography Historical ArticleSummer evening on the beach at Skagen: the artist and his wife.
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Arch. Gen. Psychiatry · May 2009
White matter microstructural integrity and cognitive function in a general elderly population.
The role of macrostructural white matter changes, such as atrophy and white matter lesions, in cognitive decline is increasingly being recognized. However, in the elderly population, these macrostructural changes do not account for all variability in cognition. Measures reflecting white matter microstructural integrity may provide additional information to investigate the relation between white matter changes and cognition. ⋯ Microstructural integrity of both white matter lesions and normal-appearing white matter is associated with cognitive function, regardless of white matter atrophy and white matter lesion volume. This suggests that measuring white matter integrity has added value beyond macrostructural assessment of white matter changes to study the relation between white matter and cognition.
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Arch. Gen. Psychiatry · May 2009
The relationship between aberrant neuronal activation in the pregenual anterior cingulate, altered glutamatergic metabolism, and anhedonia in major depression.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by diverse metabolic and functional abnormalities that occur in, among other regions, the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC), a cortical region linked to anhedonia. ⋯ Aberrant neuronal activation patterns of the pgACC in anhedonic depression are related to deficits of glutamatergic metabolism.
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Arch. Gen. Psychiatry · Apr 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyModulation of mediotemporal and ventrostriatal function in humans by Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol: a neural basis for the effects of Cannabis sativa on learning and psychosis.
Cannabis sativa use can impair verbal learning, provoke acute psychosis, and increase the risk of schizophrenia. It is unclear where C. sativa acts in the human brain to modulate verbal learning and to induce psychotic symptoms. ⋯ The modulation of mediotemporal and ventrostriatal function by Delta9-THC may underlie the effects of C. sativa on verbal learning and psychotic symptoms, respectively.