Böker
Fakultäten » Medizinische Fakultät » Psychiatrische Universitätsklinik » Affektive Erkrankungen und Allgemeinpsychiatrie Zürich Ost, Klinik für » Prof. Dr. Daniel Hell (emeritiert) » Böker
Completed research project
| Title / Titel | Neural Activity In Prefrontal Cortex: A Combined Neuropsychological And fMRI- Study In Depression |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract (PDF, 14 KB) | |||||
| Summary / Zusammenfassung | Major depression and bipolar depression can be characterized by co-occurrence of emotional and cognitive symptoms. As revealed in functional imaging emotional symptoms of unipolar depression are closely related with hyperactivation in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). Hyperactivation in VMPFC is accompanied by concurrent hypoactivation in ventro/dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC/DLPFC). It is presumed that bipolar patients show an opposite pattern with hypoactivation in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) and a concurrent hyperactivation in ventro/dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC/DLPFC). However exact neural correlates of cognitive and emotional symptoms of unipolar and bipolar depression remain unclear. Hypotheses: 1. In unipolar depressive patients the affective component of emotional stimulation causes a hyperactivation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex while the cognitive component of emotional stimulation leads to a hypoactivation in ventrolateral/ dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. 2. In bipolar depressive patients the affective component of emotional stimulation causes a hypoactivation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex while the cognitive component of emotional stimulation leads to a hyperactivation in ventrolateral/ dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. 3. Healthy controls show an activation pattern with less activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex during the affective component of emotional stimulation and more activation in ventrolateral/ dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during the cognitive component of emotional stimulation. 4. After clinical improvement of depressive symptoms patients show a normalization of activation patterns in the ventral and dorsal prefrontal cortex. Experimental Design and Methods Until now 29 healthy controls and 19 unipolar acute depressive patients have been investigated; it is planned to include 10 more unipolar and 20 bipolar patients in the sample. A follow-up investigation of the patients takes place after significant clinical improvement (50%- reduction of the initial HDRS- total score). FMRI is performed during the affective and cognitive component of emotional stimulation. Analysis focuses on patters of hyper- and hypoactivation in ventral prefrontal cortex including VMPFC and VLPFC. In addition to comparison between healthy and depressive subjects analysis focuses on correlation between psychopathological, neuropsychological symptoms and neural activity. Expected value of the proposed project Using fMRI, the project will reveal differential neural patterns in prefrontal cortex during the affective and cognitive component of emotional stimulation in both healthy and depressive subjects. As such distinct kinds of symptoms may be related with specific neural substrates in depression. Combining fMRI results and psychopathological and neuropsychological symptoms the project may contribute to elucidation of specific functional “diagnostic markers” for emotional and cognitive symptoms in unipolar and bipolar depression thus showing potential clinical relevance. |
||||
| Publications / Publikationen | Grimm S., Beck J., Schüpbach D., Hell D., Boesiger P., Niehaus L., Boeker H., Northoff G. (2007, online) Imbalance between left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in major depression is linked to negative emotional judgement. An fMRI study in severe major depressive disorder. Biological PsychiatryGrimm, S., Boesiger, P., Beck, J., Schuepbach, D., Bermpohl, F., Walter, M., Ernst, J., Hell, D., Boeker, H., Northoff, G. (2007, online) Gaba concentration in the human anterior cingulate cortex predicts negative BOLD response in fMRI. Nature NeuroscienceGrimm S., Schmidt C., Bermpohl F., Heinzel A., Dahlem Y., Wyss M., Hell D., Boesiger P., Boeker H., Northoff G. (2006) Segregated neural representation of distinct emotion dimensions in the prefrontal cortex – An fMRI study. Neuroimage 30: 325- 340. Böker H., Northoff G. (2005) Desymbolisierung in der schweren Depression und das Problem der Hemmung: Ein neuropsychoanalytisches Modell der Störung des emotionalen Selbstbezuges Depressiver. Psyche Z Psychoanal 59: 964-989Northoff G., Boeker H., Grimm S., Beck J., Schmidt C., Bermpohl F., Heinzel A., Hell D., Boesiger P. (2006) Judgment of one’s own emotions guides beneficial decision making: Ventromedial prefrontal activity predicts learning effects in the Iowa Gambling Task. Human Brain Mapping 27: 572- 587.Boeker H., Beck J., Grimm S., Hell D., Schulte R., Boesiger P., Northoff G. (2005) Neuropsychology, Psychopathology and Self- models of Depressed Patients. World Journal of Biological Psychiatry 6, Suppl. 1: 21Grimm S., Northoff G., Beck J., Schmidt C., Boesiger P., Hell D., Boeker H. (2005) Neural Activity in Prefrontal Cortex and Cognitive Symptoms in Depression. The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry 6, Suppl. 1: 22Northoff G., Grimm S., Beck J., Schmidt C., Boesiger P., Hell D., Boeker H. (2005) Clinical symptoms and psychopathophysiology in depression. The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry 6, Suppl. 1: 21Grimm S., Northoff G., Boeker H., Schmidt C., Schulte R., Richter A., Beck J., Boesiger P. (2004). The neural correlates of abnormal expectancy: A fMR/ neuropsychological study in major depression. European Psychiatry 19, Suppl. 1: 151 |
||||
| Keywords / Suchbegriffe | fMRI, Neuropsychology, Major Depression, Bipolar Depression, Therapy Course | ||||
| Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte |
|
||||
| Other links to external web pages | fMRI, Neuropsychology, Major Depression, Bipolar Depression, Therapy Course | ||||
| Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch |
Forschungskredit der Universität Zürich, SNF (Personen- und Projektförderung), Foundation Gebert- Rüf- Stiftung, Hartmann- Müller- Stiftung, Stanley- Thomas- Johnson- Stiftung |
||||
| In collaboration with / In Zusammenarbeit mit |
|
||||
| Duration of Project / Projektdauer | Jun 2006 to May 2008 |