The contribution of the cingulate cortex: treating depressive symptoms in first-episode drug naïve schizophrenia

Haoran Shen; Likun Ge; Bo Cao; Gao-Xia Wei; Xiangyang Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.ijchp.2023.100372

The contribution of the cingulate cortex: treating depressive symptoms in first-episode drug naïve schizophrenia

Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2023 Jul-Sep;23(3):100372. doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2023.100372. Epub 2023 Jan 28.

Authors

Haoran Shen^{1

2}, Likun Ge^{1

2}, Bo Cao³, Gao-Xia Wei^{1

2}, Xiangyang Zhang^{4

2}

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
² Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Background: Our previous study has shown the cingulate cortex abnormalities in first-episode drug naïve (FEDN) schizophrenia patients with comorbid depressive symptoms. However, it remains largely unknown whether antipsychotics may induce morphometric change in cingulate cortex and its relationship with depressive symptoms. The purpose of this study was to further clarify the important role of cingulate cortex in the treatment on depressive symptoms in FEDN schizophrenia patients.

Method: In this study, 42 FEDN schizophrenia patients were assigned into depressed patients group (DP, n = 24) and non-depressed patients group (NDP, n = 18) measured by the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD). Clinical assessments and anatomical images were obtained from all patients before and after 12-week treatment with risperidone.

Results: Although risperidone alleviated psychotic symptoms in all patients, depressive symptoms were decreased only in DP. Significant group by time interaction effects were found in the right rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and other subcortical regions in the left hemisphere. After risperidone treatment, the right rACC were increased in DP. Further, the increasing volume of right rACC was negatively associated with improvement in depressive symptoms.

Conclusion: These findings suggested that the abnormality of the rACC is the typical characteristics in schizophrenia with depressive symptoms. It's likely key region contributing to the neural mechanisms underlying the effects of risperidone treatment on depressive symptoms in schizophrenia.

Keywords: Depression; Rostral anterior cingulate cortex; Schizophrenia; Treatment.