RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Psychomotor activity stands out as a crucial symptom in characterizing behaviors associated with depression. This study aims to explore the potential of actigraphy as a tool for digital phenotyping in characterizing symptoms of psychomotor agitation and retardation, which are clinically challenging dimensions to capture, in patients diagnosed with major depressive episode (MDE) according to DSM-5 criteria. METHODS: We compared rest-activity circadian rhythm biomarkers measured by the Motion Watch 8 actigraphy between 58 (78.4%) patients with MDE and psychomotor retardation (PMR), and 16 (21.6%) patients with MDE and psychomotor agitation (PMA), according to DSM-5 criteria. RESULTS: Actigraphy allowed to objectively report PMA through heightened activity over a 24-h period, while PMR manifests as reduced activity during the most active 10 h. Lower rest-activity rhythm (RAR) amplitude in PMR was accompanied by increased irregularities in intra- and inter-day rhythms. Interestingly, actigraphy emerges as an objective tool to measure the characteristics of the active and rest periods, free from the confounding effects of sleep disturbances. Indeed, no differences in sleep disturbances were identified between patients exhibiting psychomotor agitation and those displaying PMR. CONCLUSION: Digital phenotyping through actigraphy may aid in distinguishing psychomotor retardation and psychomotor agitation allowing for a more precise characterization of the depression phenotype. When integrated with clinical assessment, measurements from actigraphy could offer additional insights into activity rhythms alongside subjective assessments and hold the potential to augment existing clinical decision-making processes in psychiatry.
RESUMEN
Microglia (MG), the brain-resident macrophages, play major roles in health and disease via a diversity of cellular states. While embryonic MG display a large heterogeneity of cellular distribution and transcriptomic states, their functions remain poorly characterized. Here, we uncovered a role for MG in the maintenance of structural integrity at two fetal cortical boundaries. At these boundaries between structures that grow in distinct directions, embryonic MG accumulate, display a state resembling post-natal axon-tract-associated microglia (ATM) and prevent the progression of microcavities into large cavitary lesions, in part via a mechanism involving the ATM-factor Spp1. MG and Spp1 furthermore contribute to the rapid repair of lesions, collectively highlighting protective functions that preserve the fetal brain from physiological morphogenetic stress and injury. Our study thus highlights key major roles for embryonic MG and Spp1 in maintaining structural integrity during morphogenesis, with major implications for our understanding of MG functions and brain development.
