Differential engagement of cognitive control regions and subgenual cingulate based upon presence or absence of comorbid anxiety with depression.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) and anxiety disorders are highly comorbid, sharing many similar symptoms, including impairments in cognitive control. Deficits in cognitive control could be a potential mechanism underlying impaired emotion regulation in mood disorders.

Methods: Participants were 44 individuals with no history of mental illness (healthy controls, HC), 31 individuals in the remitted state of MDD (rMDD), and 18 individuals who met lifetime DSM-IV-TR criteria for rMDD and an anxiety disorder in remission (Comorbid).

A map of LTP-related synaptic changes in dorsal hippocampus following unsupervised learning.

Recent work showed that unsupervised learning of a complex environment activates synaptic proteins essential for the stabilization of long-term potentiation (LTP). The present study used automated methods to construct maps of excitatory synapses associated with high concentrations of one of these LTP-related proteins [CaMKII phosphorylated at T286/287, (pCaMKII)]. Labeling patterns across 42 sampling zones covering entire cross sections through rostral hippocampus were assessed for two groups of rats that explored a novel two-room arena for 30 min, with or without a response contingency involving mildly aversive cues.