RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Attentional Bias Modification is associated with fMRI Response towards Negative Stimuli in Residual Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 322842
DO 10.1101/322842
A1 E. Hilland
A1 N.I. Landrø
A1 C. J. Harmer
A1 M. Browning
A1 L. A. Maglanoc
A1 R. Jonassen
YR 2018
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/07/25/322842.abstract
AB Background Modification of attentional biases (ABM) may lead to more adaptive emotion perception and emotion regulation. Understanding the neural basis of these effects may lead to greater precision for future treatment development. Task-related fMRI following ABM training has so far not been investigated in depression. The main aim of the RCT was to explore differences in brain activity after ABM training in response to emotional stimuli.Methods A total of 134 previously depressed individuals were randomized into 14 days of ABM-or a placebo training followed by an fMRI emotion regulation task. Depression symptoms and subjective ratings of perceived negativity during fMRI was examined between the training groups. Brain activation was explored within predefined areas (SVC) and across the whole brain. Activation in areas associated with changes in attentional biases (AB) and degree of depression was explored.Results The ABM group showed reduced activation within the amygdala and within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) when passively viewing negative images compared to the placebo group. No group differences were found within predefined SVC’s associated with emotion regulation strategies. Response within the temporal cortices was associated with degree of change in AB and with degree of depressive symptoms in ABM versus placebo.Limitations The findings should be replicated in other samples of depressed patients and in studies using designs that allow analyses of within-group variability from baseline to follow-up.Conclusions ABM training has an effect on brain function within circuitry associated with emotional appraisal and the generation of affective states.Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02931487