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Depression constitutes the most common mental disorder with high prevalence rate， and is the leading contributor to the global burden of disease. Many factors are found to influence the development of depression， whereas either reliable biomarkers for the early diagnosis or diagnostic criteria for subtype classification currently exist for depression. Therefore， this paper gives a detailed discussion on the current status and existing challenges of depression research in the context of brain imaging， psychoneuroimmunology and electroencephalography， thus providing a new perspective for research directions and future strategies related to depression.
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Objective To investigate the abnormal change of gray matter volume in patients with euthymic bipolar disorder Ⅰ (BD-Ⅰ),and to elucidate the relationship between the use of different mood stabilizers and brain structure variations.Methods Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to analyze the volume of local gray matter in 35 patients with BD-Ⅰ and 30 healthy controls(HC).The patients were divided into BD-Ⅰ with lithium group and BD-Ⅰ with valproate group according to different mood stabilizers.The volume differences of gray matter of the three groups were compared by one-way ANOVA.Results Compared with HC,BD-Ⅰ patients showed significantly reduced gray matter volume in the medial frontal cortex (MNI (x,y,z):2,34,-18),orbital frontal cortex (MNI(x,y,z):-32,22,-4),frontal operculum (MNI(x,y,z):38,18,4) and insula cortex (MNI(x,y,z):-32,22,-4) (P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in thevolume of gray matter between BD-Ⅰ with lithium group and BD-Ⅰ with valproate group(P＞0.05).Conclusion Emotional disturbance in patients with BD-Ⅰ may be associated with reduced gray matter volume in the medial frontal cortex,orbital frontal cortex,frontal operculum and insula cortex.There are not significant difference about the effects of lithium carbonate and valproate on cerebral gray matter volume in patients with BD-Ⅰ.
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Objective·To compare the clinical features between different subtype bipolar patients with first mania episode, and to contribute to early identification of bipolar disorder. Methods·This study was based on the database named as National Bipolar Mania Pathway Survey (BIPAS). From November 2012 to January 2013, bipolar patients from 26 mental health facilities in China were enrolled in current study. The clinical features were compared between mania patients of different subtypes, including hypomania (groupⅠ), mania without psychotic symptoms (groupⅡ), mania with psychotic symptoms (group Ⅲ) and mixed state (group Ⅳ). Results·There was significant difference in the percentage of clinical symptoms between different subtype bipolar patients with first mania episode, especially the mania and anxiety related symptoms. Group Ⅰ, Ⅲ , Ⅳ were further compared with groupⅡ, which was considered as the typical bipolar disorder. The results showed that the mania related symptoms was significantly higher in group Ⅱ, but anxiety related symptoms was significantly higher in group Ⅰ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ. Moreover, Logistic regression analysis revealed that more eloquent or humor and unusually restless could be in favor of the diagnosis of hypomania; younger and mania or hypomania as first episode might be in favor of the diagnosis of mania with psychotic symptoms; older, national minorities and unusually restless could be in favor of the diagnosis of mixed state. Conclusion·The clinical features between different subtype bipolar patients with first mania episode are various, and analysis of the clinical features can contribute to early identification of bipolar disorder.
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Objective To explore the role of default mode network (DMN) in the pathophysiology of depression and the correlations between the functional connectivity (FC) of DMN and the clinical characteristics of depression through the resting-state fMRI scan in depressed patients. Methods Sixteen medication-na?ve patients with major depressive disorder and 15 healthy controls were recruited and underwent the resting-state MRI scan. Hamiliton depression rating scale (HAMD) was used to evaluate patients’symptom. The FC of DMN and its correlations with clinical features of pa-tients were analyzed. Results Compared with healthy controls, the FC within DMN in depressed patients is disturbed. There were negative correlations between the left mPFC-left hippocampus FC and HAMD total scores (r=-0.569, P=0.021) and subscale scores for sluggishness (r=-0.498, P=0.050). The left mPFC-right hippocampus FC in patients was negatively correlated with HAMD scores (r=-0.508, P=0.045). There were negative correlations between FC in the hippo-campus and HAMD subscale scores for cognitive impairment (r=-0.509, P=0.044). Conclusions The results suggest that there is abnormal FC within DMN in drug-na?ve patients with depression during resting state and some abnormal altera-tions of FC may be correlated with the clinical characteristics in depression.
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Objective To investigate the relationship between cognitive function of first-episode schizophrenic patients and dopamine D1 receptor gene. Methods A total of 112 first-episode schizophrenic patients and 60 healthy controls were evaluated with Wechsler adult intelligence scale ( WAIS-R), Wechsler memory scale (WMS) and Wisconsin card sort test (WCST) ,and genotyped one polymorphism (rs4532) within DRD1 gene using TaqMan SNP genotyping assay. Results There were no significant differences on the frequencies of the genotypes and alleles of rs4532 polymorphism between patients with schizophrenia and normal controls ( x2 =2.90, P=0.35; x2 = 0.01, P= 0. 93 ). There were significant differences in all index of WCST between two groups (P ＜0.01 ). Patients with rs4532G allele had worse WCST performance than those without G allele ((60.9 ± 13.2)%vs (44.9 ±21.3)%, t=4.79, P=0.00002). Conclusion Rs4532 polymorphism of DRD1 gene may be associated with executive function impairment in schizophrenic patients.
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Objective:to explore the relation of a marker (TaqIA) located DRD 2 gene and heroin dependence.Method:to compare the genotypes and allele frequencies between 66 patients with heroin dependence and 132 normal controls by PCR-RELP. TABPQ was used to measure the characters of patient's behavior.Result:There were significant differences in allele frequencies between patients and controls. No behavior difference was found between patients with different genotypes. Conclusion:There is an association between the marker (TaqIA) and heroin dependence. The data suggest that patients with A1 allele confers susceptibility to heroin dependence.