Medial temporal N-acetyl-aspartate in pediatric major depression.

The medial temporal cortex (MTC) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of pediatric major depressive disorder (MDD). Eleven MDD case-control pairs underwent proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging. N-acetyl-aspartate was lower in the left MTC (27%) in MDD patients versus controls.

Pituitary volume in treatment-naïve pediatric major depressive disorder.

Background: Prior pilot investigation identified a larger pituitary gland volume (PGV) in pediatric patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) compared with healthy pediatric control subjects that was most prominent in boys with MDD. In this independent sample, we focus on gender differences in pituitary volume in a larger sample of pediatric patients with MDD.

Methods: Volumetric magnetic resonance imaging studies were conducted in 35 psychotropic drug-naïve children (15 boys, 20 girls), ages 8-17 years, and 35 case-matched healthy control subjects.

Increased medial thalamic creatine-phosphocreatine found by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in children with obsessive-compulsive disorder versus major depression and healthy controls.

Altered brain creatine-phosphocreatine levels might reflect changes in brain energy use and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder and major depressive disorder. We used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure absolute concentrations of creatine-phosphocreatine in the right and left medial thalami in 18 pediatric patients with major depressive disorder 9 to 17 years of age, 18 case-matched healthy controls, and 27 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder 7 to 16 years old. The two patient groups were psychotropic drug naive and were not comorbid for the diagnosis of the comparison group.

Pituitary volume in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Abnormalities in the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (LHPA) axis have been implicated in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To our knowledge, however, no prior study has measured pituitary gland volume in OCD.

Methods: Volumetric magnetic resonance imaging studies were conducted in 31 psychotropic drug-naïve children (10 boys, 21 girls) aged 8-17 years and 31 case-matched healthy comparison subjects.

Reduced anterior cingulate glutamatergic concentrations in childhood OCD and major depression versus healthy controls.

Objective: To examine in vivo glutamatergic neurochemical alterations in the anterior cingulate cortex of pediatric patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) without major depressive disorder (MDD) versus pediatric patients with MDD without OCD and healthy controls.

Method: Single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic examinations of the anterior cingulate cortex were conducted in 14 psychotropic-naïve children and adolescents with MDD without OCD, 10 to 19 years of age, 14 case-matched healthy controls, and 20 nondepressed, psychotropic-naïve pediatric patients with OCD 7 to 19 years of age.

Results: Anterior cingulate glutamatergic concentrations were significantly reduced in both patients with OCD (15.

Reduced anterior cingulate cortex glutamatergic concentrations in childhood major depression.

Objective: To examine in vivo glutamatergic neurochemical alterations in the anterior cingulate cortex of children with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Method: Single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic (H-MRS) examinations of the anterior cingulate cortex were conducted in 13 psychotropic-naïve children and adolescents with MDD and 13 age- and sex-matched healthy children and adolescents. Ten of the 13 MDD patient-control pairs also had a H-MRS examination of occipital cortex.

Increased medial thalamic choline found in pediatric patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder versus major depression or healthy control subjects: a magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

Background: Neurobiologic abnormalities in medial thalamus have been implicated in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We previously used multislice proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (1-H MRSI) to identify localized functional neurochemical marker alterations in choline (Cho) in medial but not lateral thalamus in treatment-naïve pediatric patients with OCD compared with matched control subjects. Altered brain Cho levels have also been implicated in the pathogenesis of mood disorders.

Localized functional neurochemical marker abnormalities in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Neurobiological abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex have been implicated in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Although OCD commonly arises during childhood and adolescence, to our knowledge, no prior study has examined prefrontal cortex neurochemistry in pediatric patients with OCD.

Methods: A multislice spectroscopic imaging sequence with validated phantom replacement methodology was used to measure N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), a putative neuronal marker; choline compounds (Cho); and creatine/phosphocreatine (Cr) in right and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of 15 treatment-naïve OCD patients, 8-15 years of age, and 15 case-matched healthy comparison subjects.

On the reliability of laterality effects in a dichotic emotion recognition task.

The present study examined the reliability of a dichotic emotion recognition task under three different conditions presumed to provide different levels of control of attention deployment. Sixty right-handed undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions. The task involved dichotic presentation of words pronounced in an angry, happy, sad, or neutral, emotional tone.