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Background: Inflammation has become a critical pathological mechanism of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). NLRP3 is a critical inflammatory pathway to maintain the immune balance. Recently, evidence showed that Resolvin D1(RvD1) might be a new antidepressant choice due to its protective effects through the inhibition of neuroinflammation. However, whether they have clinical value in the diagnosis and treatment evaluation of adolescent depression was unclear. Methods: Forty-eight untreated first-episode adolescent patients with moderate to severe major depressive disorder, as well as 30 healthy adolescents (HCs, age and gender-matched), were enrolled for this study. Their ages ranged from 13 to 18 (15.75± 1.36) years. The patients were treated with fluoxetine for 6-8 weeks. HDRS-17 was used to evaluate the severity of depressive symptoms. Venous blood samples were collected at baseline (patients b and HCs) and after treatment (only patients). Serum concentrations of RvD1, NLRP3, IL-1β, IL-18, and IL-4 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) pre- and post-fluoxetine treatment. Results: Serum levels of RvD1 and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-4 were significantly elevated in adolescents with MDD compared to healthy adolescents, but no significant difference in NLRP3, IL-1β, and IL-18 between the two groups. Meanwhile, RvD1 (positively) and IL-4 (negatively) were correlated with the severity of symptoms (HDRS-17 scores) after adjusting age, gender, and BMI. Interestingly, fluoxetine treatment significantly reduced the serum levels of RvD1, NLRP3, IL-1β, and IL-18 in MDD adolescents but increased the levels of IL-4 relative to baseline. Furthermore, we observed that serum levels of RvD1 might be an excellent distinguishing indicator for depression and healthy adolescents. Conclusions: Our study is the first to compare RvD1 and NLRP3 between adolescent MDD and HCs. Our findings of reactive increase of RvD1 in adolescent MDD comprised a novel and critical contribution.Our results showed the presence of inflammation resolution unbalanced in adolescents with MDD and indicated that RvD1 might be an ideal biomarker for diagnosing and treating adolescent MDD.

Background Early diagnosis of adolescent psychiatric disorder is crucial for early intervention. However, there is extensive comorbidity between affective and psychotic disorders, which increases the difficulty of precise diagnoses among adolescents. Methods We obtained structural magnetic resonance imaging scans from 150 adolescents, including 67 and 47 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia (SCZ), as well as 34 healthy controls (HC) to explore whether psychiatric disorders could be identified using a machine learning technique. Specifically, we used the support vector machine and the leave-one-out cross-validation method to distinguish among adolescents with MDD and SCZ and healthy controls. Results We found that cortical thickness was a classification feature of a) MDD and HC with 79.21% accuracy where the temporal pole had the highest weight; b) SCZ and HC with 69.88% accuracy where the left superior temporal sulcus had the highest weight. Notably, adolescents with MDD and SCZ could be classified with 62.93% accuracy where the right pars triangularis had the highest weight. Conclusions Our findings suggest that cortical thickness may be a critical biological feature in the diagnosis of adolescent psychiatric disorders. These findings might be helpful to establish an early prediction model for adolescents to better diagnose psychiatric disorders.

Background Duodenal adenocarcinoma (DA) with skin metastasis as initial manifestation is clinically rare. In this study, we report a rare case of skin metastasis of DA. Case presentation An 84-year-old male patient developed multiple ecchymoses on the trunk and lower extremities. Physical examination showed that the ecchymosis was dark red and had a hard texture, but showed no bulging, rupture, or tenderness. The skin biopsy implied skin metastatic adenocarcinoma. After an endoscopic duodenal biopsy, the patient was finally diagnosed with DA with skin metastasis. The patient received two courses of oral treatment of Tegafur (40 mg, bid d1–d14). However, the patient stopped taking Tegafur because of its poor effect and received Chinese medicine as a replacement treatment. Unfortunately, he was lost to follow-up. Conclusions Early diagnosis of DA metastasis is of significant importance as prognosis of these patients is poor.

Ionic conductive hydrogels prepared from various biological macromolecules are ideal materials for the manufacture of human motion sensors from the perspective of resource regeneration and environmental sustainability. However, it is still challenging to prepare hydrogels with both high toughness and self-healing ability. In this study, lignin-based β-CD-PVA (LCP) self-healing conductive hydrogels with high tensile properties were prepared by one-step method using alkali lignin as a plasticizer. Compared with PVA hydrogel, the maximum storage modulus and elongation were increased by 2.5 and 20.0 times, respectively. Uniform distribution of lignin can increase the fluidity and distance of polymer molecular chains, thus improving the viscoelastic and tensile properties of the LCP self-healing hydrogel. LCP hydrogels can maintain self-healing ability in both high (45 °C) and low temperature (0 °C) environments, and the self-healing ability is not affected by pH. Moreover, it also has good conductivity, anti-bacterial, thermostability, and anti-UV property, which has a good application prospect in the field of 3D printing and wearable electronic devices, which expands the efficient utilization of lignin in biorefinery.

Located at the intersections between the landscape, spectral memory, sound, and contemporary media technology, this thesis explores how spatialized soundscapes may serve as media to evoke the spectral memories of physical landscape? An audio walk “Inner Memory of the Post-Industry” was prepared to engage Carrie Furnace - a Pittsburgh historical landmark - as a proof of concept to understand the design of spatialized soundscape. Through the development of mixed reality audio walk, the experience design challenges the linear narrative structure that is commonly found in traditional audio walks (constrained, guided) and proposes a space- driven auditory wandering (open-ended, unguided). Mobile mixed reality is utilized to support sound localization and spatialization and this offers a more flexible and immersive way of exploring the landscape. The spectral memories of the landscape are realized through a virtual soundscape combing environment sound effects with oral history recordings. Taking advantage of the post-industrial landscape's distinctive aesthetics and it's spatial complexity as the stage for soundscape design, this thesis explores the juxtaposition between a multi-sensory visual and sonic experience and how it allows people to empathize with historical events to reinterpret the landscape identity. Building upon the proposed technical infrastructure for audio-based mixed reality, this thesis also introduces a workflow of visualizing and designing spatialized soundscapes.

Xiangying Yang,1 Xiaolu Chen,1 Yixiao Fu,2 Qinghua Luo,2 Lian Du,2 Haitang Qiu,2 Tian Qiu,2 Li Zhang,1 Huaqing Meng2 1The First Branch, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University,Chongqing, People’s Republic of China Purpose: To investigate the efficacy and safety of saffron in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in comparison to placebo and synthetic antidepressants. Patients and methods: We conducted a systematic search in several electronic databases as well as manual search in bibliographies of relevant studies. We included randomized controlled trials that investigated the efficacy and safety of saffron for treating MDD in adults in comparison to either placebo or synthetic antidepressants. Primary outcome was change in scores on depressive symptoms from baseline. Secondary outcomes included remission rate, response rate, and drop-out rate for all reasons. We chose a random-effects model in order to obtain more conservative results. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated as the overall effect index by inverse variance models. Results: Seven studies were included in this meta-analysis. Overall quality of these included studies was moderate. As for the primary outcome, saffron showed more improvements in depression symptoms when compared with placebo, with an SMD of -1.22 (95% CI -1.94, -0.49, P=0.001). Meanwhile, saffron was as effective as synthetic antidepressants, with an SMD of 0.16 (95% CI -0.25, 0.57, P=0.44). Moderate heterogeneity existed in our analysis. Through subgroup analyses, we found that treatment dosage and duration, types of synthetic antidepressants administered in the comparison group, and outcome measures could explain most of the variance. No differences were found in remission rate, response rate, or drop-out rate. Conclusion: Saffron was effective in the treatment of MDD and had comparable efficacy to synthetic antidepressants. Saffron was also a safe drug without serious adverse events reported. Keywords: saffron, depression, efficacy, safety, meta-analysis

Background Suicidal ideation (SI) is highly prevalent and a known symptom of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), but its underlying biological mechanisms are relatively unknown. Several studies linked suicidal ideation to dysfunctional brain circuits, specifically fronto-limbic connections. The purpose of this work was to investigate fronto-limbic disconnection in MDD patients with or without SI. Methods MDD patients with SI (SI, n=28) or without SI (NSI, n=20), identified by the Scale for Suicide Ideation and healthy controls (HCs, n=30) underwent resting-state functional MRI scanning. The functional properties of correlations in neural activity (intrinsic functional connectivity, iFC) of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) were analyzed among the three groups. Furthermore, correlation analyses between iFC, SI severity and depression severity were performed. Results We found that the SI group exhibited decreased iFC between the rACC, the orbitomedial prefrontal cortex and the right middle temporal pole compared to HCs and NSI groups. The NSI group showed decreased iFC between the rACC and the orbitomedial prefrontal cortex compared to HCs. In the SI group, iFC strength between the right rACC and the middle temporal pole positively correlated with SI severity. Conclusion Transdiagnostic and diagnosis-specific alterations of fronto-limbic iFC were found in MDD patients with or without SI. Disrupted fronto-limbic circuits may impact decision-making and emotional processing in SI. These results provide useful information about the pathophysiological mechanisms of MDD patients with SI.

To explore the alteration of global functional connectivity density (gFCD) in depressive patients after modified electroconvulsive therapy (MECT) and analyze the relationship between gFCD and clinical outcome. Thirty-seven subjects were evaluated based on the diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10), consisting of a depressive group (24 patients after follow-ups) and a healthy control group with 13 normal individuals. All participants received Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) scores and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. The gFCD significantly increased in the posterior-middle insula, the supra-marginal gyrus and the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) before MECT treatment compared to healthy controlled patients. The gFCD statistically expanded in the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC), the orbitofrontal cortex bilaterally and the left-supra-marginal gyrus after MECT, and it decreased notably in the posterior insula. The gFCD in the pgACC and the right orbital frontal cortex of depressive group before MECT showed a positive correlation with HAMD scores with treatment. Conforming to the impact of gFCD in depressive patients after MECT, the aforementioned brain region may become an indicator of MECT effect.

BACKGROUND This study aimed to study the brain structural and functional changes after 8 courses of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). MATERIAL AND METHODS MRI scans were performed on 12 depressive patients before and after 8 courses of ECT and compared with those of 15 normal controls. Data were analyzed by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) using SPM8 software. Functional MRI (fMRI) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) analyses were used to assess the functional changes after ECT. RESULTS Grey matter volumes were smaller in the right cingulate gyrus of depressive patients before ECT compared with normal controls. After false discovery rate (FDR) correction, post-ECT grey matter volumes were increased in bilateral amygdala and hippocampus compared with pre-ECT. Resting-state ReHo maps showed significant differences in brain activity pre- and post-ECT. Compared with healthy controls, MDD patients treated with 8 courses of ECT showed higher ReHo values in the bilateral frontal lobe, bilateral parietal lobe, and right caudate nucleus. Decreased ReHo values were observed in the right medial temporal gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, right cingulate gyrus, and left anterior cerebellar lobe. CONCLUSIONS Results suggested that there were both structural and functional differences between the brains of MDD patients and healthy controls. After ECT, both structural and functional changes occurred, but without complete recovery to normal. ECT may display effects through regulating other brain regions to compensate for the original defects.

Individuals with trait anxiety are often considered to be predisposed to psychiatric disorders. However, there is great heterogeneity in the development of psychiatric disorders in this group of people and the nature of the trait anxiety is still unclear. So, we decided to explore the correlations of brain structure and brain activity with trait anxiety in normal individuals. Specifically, we investigated the correlations between trait anxiety and regional grey matter volume (rGMV) and regional BOLD, using the Amplitude of Low Frequency Fluctuations (ALFF) as an index in 382 university students. The results showed that the level of trait anxiety was negatively correlated with rGMV in the right middle occipital gyrus. This result indicates that individuals with high trait anxiety tend to have less image processing on conscious level. Furthermore, we found that trait anxiety was positively correlated with the ALFF in the bilateral superior frontal gyrus and the right supplementary motor area, and negatively correlated with the ALFF in the cerebellum and the thalamus. These results indicate that individuals with high trait anxiety may be more sensitive to relationships and sensory information. Overall, this study’s findings suggest that individuals with high trait anxiety have attenuated image processing on the conscious level, and exhibit stronger induced sensibility and over-processing of relationships, which is a brain imaging precondition for psychiatric disorders.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

To explore the relations of adolescents externalizing problem behavior to genetic and environmental factors through twin study.The externalizing problem behavior of 66 twin pairs from Chongqing City( aged from 12 to 18years) were investigated with the Youth Self-Report( YSR). The Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire( PSDQ) and Family Stresses Questionnaire( FSQ), Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale( FACES) and Stressful Life Event( SLE) were applied to assess their environment factors. The blood sample was collected to identify zygosity oftwins. Structural equation modeling( SEM) was performed to evaluate the relations of adolescents externalizing problem behavior to the additive genetic factors( A), shared environment factors( C) and individual specific environmental factors( E).The effects of A and E on adolescent externalizing problem behavior were 0. 57( 95% CI 0. 37-0. 72) and 0. 43( 95% CI 0. 28-0. 63), respectively. There were significantly negative correlation between externalizing problem behavior and family cohesion( r =-0. 221, P0. 05), the scores of adolescent externalizing problem behavior were positively correlated with the scores of family stresses( r = 0. 226, P0. 05), the scores of stress life events( r = 0. 194, P0. 05), the scores of Authoritarian-parenting-style( r = 0. 235, P0. 05), the scores of Permissive-parenting-style( r = 0. 212, P0. 05). The scores of adolescents externalizing behavioral problems were not significantly correlated with the parenting education level and occupation.Adolescents externalizing problem behavior are influenced by additive genetic factors and individual specific environmental factors. Additive genetic factors play an important role. Family environment and parental rearing-pattern also have correlation with externalizing behavioral problems.

Purpose To investigate the efficacy and safety of saffron in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in comparison to placebo and synthetic antidepressants. Patients and methods We conducted a systematic search in several electronic databases as well as manual search in bibliographies of relevant studies. We included randomized controlled trials that investigated the efficacy and safety of saffron for treating MDD in adults in comparison to either placebo or synthetic antidepressants. Primary outcome was change in scores on depressive symptoms from baseline. Secondary outcomes included remission rate, response rate, and drop-out rate for all reasons. We chose a random-effects model in order to obtain more conservative results. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated as the overall effect index by inverse variance models. Results Seven studies were included in this meta-analysis. Overall quality of these included studies was moderate. As for the primary outcome, saffron showed more improvements in depression symptoms when compared with placebo, with an SMD of −1.22 (95% CI −1.94, −0.49, P=0.001). Meanwhile, saffron was as effective as synthetic antidepressants, with an SMD of 0.16 (95% CI −0.25, 0.57, P=0.44). Moderate heterogeneity existed in our analysis. Through subgroup analyses, we found that treatment dosage and duration, types of synthetic antidepressants administered in the comparison group, and outcome measures could explain most of the variance. No differences were found in remission rate, response rate, or drop-out rate. Conclusion Saffron was effective in the treatment of MDD and had comparable efficacy to synthetic antidepressants. Saffron was also a safe drug without serious adverse events reported.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most effective treatments for major depression disorder (MDD). ECT can induce neurogenesis and synaptogenesis in hippocampus, which contains distinct subfields, e.g., the cornu ammonis (CA) subfields, a granule cell layer (GCL), a molecular layer (ML), and the subiculum. It is unclear which subfields are affected by ECT and whether we predict the future treatment response to ECT by using volumetric information of hippocampal subfields at baseline? In this study, 24 patients with severe MDD received the ECT and their structural brain images were acquired with magnetic resonance imaging before and after ECT. A state-of-the-art hippocampal segmentation algorithm from Freesurfer 6.0 was used. We found that ECT induced volume increases in CA subfields, GCL, ML and subiculum. We applied a machine learning algorithm to the hippocampal subfield volumes at baseline and were able to predict the change in depressive symptoms (r = 0.81; within remitters, r = 0.93). Receiver operating characteristic analysis also showed robust prediction of remission with an area under the curve of 0.90. Our findings provide evidence for particular hippocampal subfields having specific roles in the response to ECT. We also provide an analytic approach for generating predictions about clinical outcomes for ECT in MDD.

Alterations in resting-state networks (RSNs) are often associated with psychiatric and neurologic disorders. Given this critical linkage, it has been hypothesized that RSNs can potentially be used as endophenotypes for brain diseases. To validate this notion, a critical step is to show that RSNs exhibit heritability. However, the investigation of the genetic basis of RSNs has only been attempted in the default-mode network at the region-of-interest level, while the genetic control on other RSNs has not been determined yet. Here, we examined the genetic and environmental influences on eight well-characterized RSNs using a twin design. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data in 56 pairs of twins were collected. The genetic and environmental effects on each RSN were estimated by fitting the functional connectivity covariance of each voxel in the RSN to the classic ACE twin model. The data showed that although environmental effects accounted for the majority of variance in wide-spread areas, there were specific brain sites that showed significant genetic control for individual RSNs. These results suggest that part of the human brain functional connectome is shaped by genomic constraints. Importantly, this information can be useful for bridging genetic analysis and network-level assessment of brain disorders.

Objective: To analyze the impact of family environment on only-children’s personality. Methods: Using cross-sectional design to recruit only-children aged 6 - 16 years old; using EPQ to evaluate the children’s personality. The general questionnaire, PSDQ (Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire), FAD-GFS (The General Functioning Scale of MacMaster family activity device), SLE(Stressful Life Events), FSQ (Family Stresses Questionnaire), FLQ (Family Life Questionnaire), EFQ (Everyday Feelings Questionnaire) were used to collect information about family environment from parents. Results: In only-child family, standardized regression equations of family environment influence on children personality include: 1) EPQ-p = 0.087 × SLE + 0.207 × father autocratic parenting + 0.131 × education of father + 0.110 × family type - 0.110 × role of discipline - 0.080 × parental attitude + 0.087 × family adaptability; 2) EPQ-e = 0.105 × EFQ- 0.088 × SLE - 0.101 × family income; 3) EPQ-n = 0.143 × SLE - 0.090 × family cohesion + 0.089 × family income + 0.117 × the orderly’s attitude - 0.138 × the child’s role experience of FLQ - 0.101 × parents shaping the behavior of children of FLQ and 4) EPQ - l = -0.136× SLE - 0.093 × relationship between parents - 0.155 × attitude of the old. Conclusion: It is important for children to develop personality normally if the father doesn’t choose autocratic parent style. Children tend to be optimistic if the parent can feel happy. The stressful life events are a double-blade sword depending on the parent’s handling. The difference of the parenting style can influence the lie-personality of children.

Objective: To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of PSDQ (Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire, PSDQ). Method: 443 parents of children aged 6 to 16 who lived in Chongqing were selected. .52 of them were retested 6 weeks later in order to assess the retest reliability. Determination of reliability included: internal consistency: to calculate Cronbach coefficient; coefficient of retest reliability: to calculate person correlation of results in every subscale in twice measurements of 52 parents. Determination of validity: content validity, structural validity, confirmatory factor analysis. Results: For each subscale and factor, the values of kappa for inter-rater reliability were between .625 and .884 (p < .05); the values of retest reliability were between .537 and .832 (p < .05); The scores of the subscale of PSDQ were correlated with each factor significantly (coefficient of correlation: .732 - .951, p < .05), and the correlation coefficient was more than those between each factor of this subscale (correlation coefficient: .382 - .834, p < .05). The confirmatory factor analysis of PSDQ showed the result met the criteria standard for adequacy of fit. (CMIN/df: 2.218 - 3.745; TLI: .808 - .920; RMSEA: .052 - .079; MECVI of default model was very close to that of saturated model, most of proliferation index were more than .8). Conclusion: Parenting Style and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ), in line with requirements of psychometric, had good reliability and validity and was useful as a tool to evalua

The gray matter volumes of 58 pairs of twins ranging in age from 12 to 18 were measured by MRI to explore the genetic and environmental impacts on gray matter volume in twin children and adolescents. By means of A/C/E structural equation modeling, it was found that the gray matter volume in children and adolescents was jointly affected by genetic (A: 0.89) and environmental factors while genetic factors play a greater role. The gray matter volume in frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe and lateral temporal lobe was mainly affected by genetics (A: 0.7–0.89), where as the gray matter volume in medial temporal lobe and cingulate cortex was affected by both genetics and environment.

The current study explored the influences of genetic and environmental factors on the mental health of twins between ages 6 and 16. A total of 41 monozygotic (MZ) twins and 35 dizygotic twins were recruited. The psychological attributes and environmental information of children were evaluated. A significant correlation was found between twins in the diagnostic categories of any psychiatric disorder and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)/hyperkinesis based on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire scale in MZ twins. Furthermore, fathers' authoritarian parenting style was positively correlated with the probability of any psychiatric disorders and oppositional/conduct disorders, whereas mothers' authoritative parenting style was negatively correlated with the probability of any psychiatric disorders and ADHD/hyperkinesis. The probability of emotional disorders was negatively correlated with scores on the Stressful Life Events Scale. These results collectively suggest that genetic and environmental elements, such as parental rearing style and stressful life events, may influence children's mental health. [ Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 54 (8), 29–34.]

To explore the influence of genetic and environmental factors on adolescents violence behaviors.The violence behaviors of 111 twin pairs from Chongqing (aged from 11 to 18 years) were investigated with risk behavior questionnaire-adolescent (RBQ-A). The Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) and Stressful Life Event (SLE) and the General Functioning Scale of the MacMaster Family Activity Device (FAD-GFS) were applied to assess their environment factors. Structural equation modeling was performed to evaluate the effects of the additive genetic factors (A), shared environment factors (C) and individual specific environmental factors (E) on the adolescents violence behaviors.The effects of A and E on adolescents violence behaviors were 0.41 (95% CI 0.19-0.58) and 0.59 (95% CI 0.42-0.81) respectively. There were significantly negative correlation between violence behaviors and authoritative-parenting-style (r = -0.140, P0.05), the score of adolescents violence behaviors was positively correlated with repressive-parenting-style score (r = 0.133, P0.05), the score of adolescents violence behaviors were not significantly correlated with the family functions, stress life events and the parenting education level and occupation.Adolescents violence behaviors were influenced by additive genetic factors and individual specific environmental factors. Environmental plays an important role. It should not been ignored that parental rearing pattern play a role in adolescents violence behaviors.

The mechanisms underlying the effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in major depressive disorder (MDD) are not fully understood. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) is a new tool to study the effects of brain stimulation interventions, particularly ECT. The authors aim to investigate the mechanisms of ECT in MDD by rs-fMRI. They used rs-fMRI to measure functional changes in the brain of first-episode, treatment-naive MDD patients (n = 23) immediately before and then following 8 ECT sessions (brief-pulse square-wave apparatus, bitemporal). They also computed voxel-wise amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) as a measure of regional brain activity and selected the left subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) to evaluate functional connectivity between the sgACC and other brain regions. Increased regional brain activity measured by ALFF mainly in the left sgACC following ECT. Functional connectivity of the left sgACC increased in the ipsilateral parahippocampal gyrus, pregenual ACC, contralateral middle temporal pole, and orbitofrontal cortex. Importantly, reduction in depressive symptoms were negatively correlated with increased ALFF in the left sgACC and left hippocampus, and with distant functional connectivity between the left sgACC and contralateral middle temporal pole. That is, across subjects, as depression improved, regional brain activity in sgACC and its functional connectivity increased in the brain. Eight ECT sessions in MDD patients modulated activity in the sgACC and its networks. The antidepressant effects of ECT were negatively correlated with sgACC brain activity and connectivity. These findings suggest that sgACC-associated prefrontal-limbic structures are associated with the therapeutic effects of ECT in MDD.

Background Modified electroconvulsive therapy (MECT) has been regarded as the most effective antidepressant therapy, despite its cognitive side effects. However, how MECT influences problem-solving capacity in major depressive disorder (MDD), as well as its underlying neurobiological mechanisms, remains unclear. The present study aimed to assess alterations in problem-solving capacity after MECT and to explore spontaneous brain activity using amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF)/fractional ALFF. Methods Thirteen first-episode, treatment-naive MDD patients treated by MECT were recruited. We collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, and we evaluated their Modified Card Sorting Test performance before and after single-session MECT. Another 11 MDD patients without MECT were also recruited and interviewed with Modified Card Sorting Test twice as a control group. Results After a single MECT, MDD patients showed significantly decreased ALFF in the right cerebellar posterior lobe. Compared to the control group, perseverative errors significantly decreased after MECT, controlling for practice effects. Some cognitive functional changes significantly correlated to changed ALFF in several brain regions, including Brodmann areas BA9, BA19, BA 21, and BA48, right thalamus, left cerebellum, and right postcentral gyrus. Conclusions The MECT could improve problem-solving capacity, even after controlling for practice effects, and it could induce changes in spontaneous brain activity. These changes in cognitive functioning might result from changes in the cerebral functions of some regions, including frontal cortex, a key region for problem-solving capacity.

Cortical surface area (CSA) has particular relevance for understanding development, behavior, and the connection between brain structure and function. Little is known about genetic and environmental determinants of CSA during development. We utilized bivariate twin methods to identify global and regionally specific genetic factors which influence CSA in a preliminary sample of typically-developing adolescents, with hypotheses based on findings in middle-aged adults. Similar to previous findings, we observed high heritability for total CSA. There was also significant evidence for genetic influences on regional CSA, particularly when these were not adjusted for total CSA, with highest heritability in frontal cortex and relatively fewer genetic contributions to medial temporal cortical structures. Adjustment for total CSA reduced regional CSA heritability dramatically, but a moderate influence of genetic factors remained in some regions. Both global and regionally-specific genetic factors influence regional CSA during adolescence.