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Altered brain response to others׳ pain in major depressive disorder.

Authors :
Fujino J
Yamasaki N
Miyata J
Kawada R
Sasaki H
Matsukawa N
Takemura A
Ono M
Tei S
Takahashi H
Aso T
Fukuyama H
Murai T
Source :
Journal of affective disorders [J Affect Disord] 2014 Aug; Vol. 165, pp. 170-5. Date of Electronic Publication: 2014 May 04.
Publication Year :
2014

Abstract

Background: Empathy has a central role in successful interpersonal engagement. Several studies have reported altered empathy in major depressive disorder (MDD), which could lead to interpersonal difficulties. However, the neural basis of altered empathy in the disorder is still largely unknown. To address this, we performed functional magnetic resonance imaging that tested empathy for others׳ pain in MDD patients.<br />Methods: Eleven patients with MDD and 11 age-, gender-, handedness-, and education level-matched healthy control subjects were studied. We compared MDD patients and healthy controls for their regional hemodynamic responses to visual perception of videos showing human hands in painful situations. We also assessed subjective pain ratings of the videos in each group.<br />Results: The MDD patients showed lower pain ratings for the painful videos compared with the healthy controls. In addition, the MDD patients showed reduced cerebral activation in the left middle cingulate cortex, and the right somatosensory-related cortices, whereas they showed greater cerebral activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus.<br />Limitations: We relied on a relatively small sample size and could not exclude effects of medications.<br />Conclusions: These results suggest that in MDD patients the altered neural activations in these regions may be associated with a deficit in the identification of pain in others. This study adds to our understanding of the neural mechanism involved in empathy in MDD.<br /> (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1573-2517
Volume :
165
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Journal of affective disorders
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
24882196
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2014.04.058