Electroconvulsive therapy and cognitive performance from the Global ECT MRI Research Collaboration.

The Global ECT MRI Research Collaboration (GEMRIC) has collected clinical and neuroimaging data of patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) from around the world. Results to date have focused on neuroimaging correlates of antidepressant response. GEMRIC sites have also collected longitudinal cognitive data.

The impact of need-based care on formal caregivers' wellbeing in nursing homes: A cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: Need-based care is a structured and standardized model that supports formal caregivers in nursing homes in delivering person-centered care by responding with tailored non-pharmacological interventions on residents' unmet needs as well as having positive effects on behavioral and psychological symptoms on residents with dementia. However, limited resources as well as the shortage of caregivers in nursing homes make the implementation of need-based care challenging, especially when it comes to finding ways to spend more time with residents. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of the implementation of need-based care in nursing homes on formal caregivers' wellbeing.

Electroconvulsive therapy-induced volumetric brain changes converge on a common causal circuit in depression.

Neurostimulation is a mainstream treatment option for major depression. Neuromodulation techniques apply repetitive magnetic or electrical stimulation to some neural target but significantly differ in their invasiveness, spatial selectivity, mechanism of action, and efficacy. Despite these differences, recent analyses of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and deep brain stimulation (DBS)-treated individuals converged on a common neural network that might have a causal role in treatment response.

Effect of need-based care on behavioural and psychological symptoms in residents with dementia and formal caregivers' distress in nursing homes: a three-arm cluster randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: To evaluate to what extent the standardized concept of need-based care on Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD), and formal caregiver distress, is superior when compared to spending more time or standard care with residents with BPSD.

Methods: A longitudinal cluster randomized controlled study in 23 nursing homes in Belgium with 3 parallel groups was set up. A total of 481 residents with dementia participated.

Electroconvulsive therapy-induced volumetric brain changes converge on a common causal circuit in depression.

Neurostimulation is a mainstream treatment option for major depression. Neuromodulation techniques apply repetitive magnetic or electrical stimulation to some neural target but significantly differ in their invasiveness, spatial selectivity, mechanism of action, and efficacy. Despite these differences, recent analyses of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and deep brain stimulation (DBS)-treated individuals converged on a common neural network that might have a causal role in treatment response.

Reviewing the neurobiology of electroconvulsive therapy on a micro- meso- and macro-level.

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains the one of the most effective of biological antidepressant interventions. However, the exact neurobiological mechanisms underlying the efficacy of ECT remain unclear. A gap in the literature is the lack of multimodal research that attempts to integrate findings at different biological levels of analysis METHODS: We searched the PubMed database for relevant studies.

White matter changes following electroconvulsive therapy for depression: a multicenter ComBat harmonization approach.

ECT is proposed to exert a therapeutic effect on WM microstructure, but the limited power of previous studies made it difficult to highlight consistent patterns of change in diffusion metrics. We initiated a multicenter analysis and sought to address whether changes in WM microstructure occur following ECT. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data (n = 58) from 4 different sites were harmonized before pooling them by using ComBat, a batch-effect correction tool that removes inter-site technical variability, preserves inter-site biological variability, and maximizes statistical power.

Cognitive trajectories during and after electroconvulsive therapy in patients with MDE: Taking different perspectives.

Cognitive function during an ECT care pathway is mainly investigated at the group level by analyzing mean cognitive test scores over time. However, there are important inter-individual differences, with some patients experiencing residual invalidating cognitive deficits. This study provides a nuanced examination of cognitive functioning during and after ECT by combining three approaches for data analysis.

Interrogating Associations Between Polygenic Liabilities and Electroconvulsive Therapy Effectiveness.

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for severe major depressive episodes (MDEs). Nonetheless, firmly established associations between ECT outcomes and biological variables are currently lacking. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) carry clinical potential, but associations with treatment response in psychiatry are seldom reported.

Movement, mood and cognition: Preliminary insights into the therapeutic effects of electroconvulsive therapy for depression through a resting-state connectivity analysis.

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective treatment for depression but how it achieves its clinical effects remains unclear.

Methods: We set out to study the brain's response to ECT from a large-scale brain-network perspective. Using a voxelwise analysis, we looked at resting-state functional connectivity before and after a course of ECT at the whole-brain and the between- and within-network levels in 17 patients with a depressive episode.

Inflammatory Markers May Inform the Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy on Cognition in Patients with Depression.

Introduction: The neurobiological mechanisms underlying the acute cognitive effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remain poorly understood. Prior research has shown that proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, TNF-α, IL1-β, and IL-10 may interfere with cognitive functioning. Interestingly, immunomodulation is one of the proposed modes of action of ECT.

Improvement of psychomotor retardation after electroconvulsive therapy is related to decreased IL-6 levels.

Background: Prior studies suggest that IL-6 may be involved in the pathophysiology of psychomotor symptoms in depression. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), as yet the most effective biological treatment of severe depression, is known to improve psychomotor functioning, while recent studies have shown a decrease in the elevated IL-6 levels of depressed patients following ECT.

Objectives: This study investigates whether the improvement in psychomotor functions in patients with depression after ECT is related to changes in IL-6 levels.

Inflammation, Hippocampal Volume, and Therapeutic Outcome following Electroconvulsive Therapy in Depressive Patients: A Pilot Study.

Introduction: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) influences the concentration of peripheral inflammatory markers, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). In which way this immune effect contributes to the impact of ECT on the central nervous system in depression remains unknown.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine whether the hippocampal volumetric increase in depressed patients treated with ECT is related to changes in peripheral IL-6 and TNF-α levels.

The basal ganglia: A central hub for the psychomotor effects of electroconvulsive therapy.

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective biological treatment for depression. Aside the well-known therapeutic effect on mood symptoms, it has also a unique positive impact on psychomotor agitation and retardation, which are core symptoms of depression. The neurobiology behind these effects, however, remains unclear.

Performance of the Psychotic Depression Assessment Scale as a Predictor of ECT Outcome.

Objectives: The presence of psychotic symptoms is an important predictor of responsiveness to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This study investigates whether a continuous severity measure, the Psychotic Depression Assessment Scale (PDAS), is a more accurate predictor.

Methods: Depression severity was assessed before and after the ECT course using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) in 31 patients with psychotic depression and 34 depressed patients without psychotic symptoms.

A mood state-specific interaction between kynurenine metabolism and inflammation is present in bipolar disorder.

Objectives: Cytokines are thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of psychiatric symptoms by kynurenine pathway activation. Kynurenine metabolites affect neurotransmission and can cause neurotoxicity. We measured inflammatory markers in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and studied their relation to kynurenine metabolites and mood.

Can psychomotor disturbance predict ect outcome in depression?

Psychomotor symptoms are core features of melancholic depression. This study investigates whether psychomotor disturbance predicts the outcome of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and how the treatment modulates psychomotor disturbance. In 73 adults suffering from major depressive disorder psychomotor functioning was evaluated before, during and after ECT using the observer-rated CORE measure and objective measures including accelerometry and a drawing task.

Cognitive Deficits in Older Adults With Psychotic Depression: A Meta-Analysis.

A major depressive disorder with psychotic features, that is, psychotic depression (PD), is often accompanied by cognitive deficits, particularly in older patients. We aimed to assess to what extent various cognitive domains are affected in older patients with PD compared to those with nonpsychotic depression (NPD). Therefore, a systematic search was conducted in Medline, Embase, Web of Science, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Literature (CINAHL), Google Scholar, and Cochrane for all relevant studies.

[Psychotic depression in older adults: an overview].

Psychotic depression is a frequent, severe psychiatric condition in older depressive inpatients aged 60 years and older. Older adults with a psychotic depression exhibit specific symptoms that are different from those in younger adults with psychotic depression. Moreover, the symptoms are also different from those in older adults  with a major depression without psychotic features.

Observer-rated retardation but not agitation corresponds to objective motor measures in depression.

Objective: To explore the correlations between observer ratings and instrumental parameters across domains of psychomotor functioning in depression.

Method: In total, 73 patients with major depressive disorder underwent extensive psychomotor and clinical testing. Psychomotor functioning was assessed with (i) an observer-rated scale (the CORE measure) and also objectively with (ii) 24-h actigraphy, and (iii) a fine motor drawing task.

Distinguishing Subgroups Based on Psychomotor Functioning among Patients with Major Depressive Disorder.

Background: Retardation and agitation are symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD), and their presence could play a role in determining clinically meaningful depressive subtypes such as nonmelancholic depression (NMD) and melancholic depression (MD). In this project, we explored whether three depression subgroups (NMD, MD with psychotic symptoms, and MD without psychotic symptoms) could be distinguished based on objective measures of psychomotor functioning.

Methods: Sixty-nine patients with MDD underwent extensive clinical and psychomotor testing prior to treatment with electroconvulsive therapy.