Striatal Hypersensitivity During Stress in Remitted Individuals with Recurrent Depression.

Background: Increased sensitivity to stress and dysfunctional reward processing are two primary characteristics of major depressive disorder (MDD) that may persist after remission. Preclinical work has established the pivotal role of the striatum in mediating both stress and reward responses. Human neuroimaging studies have corroborated these preclinical findings and highlighted striatal dysfunction in MDD in response to reward but have yet to investigate striatal function during stress, in particular in individuals with recurrent depression.

17β-estradiol differentially regulates stress circuitry activity in healthy and depressed women.

Many regions within stress neurocircuitry, including the anterior hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, and medial prefrontal cortex, are densely populated with sex steroid receptors. Substantial evidence from animal studies indicates that the gonadal hormone 17β-estradiol (E₂) impacts the structure and function of these regions, but human studies are limited. Characterizing estradiol's role in stress circuitry in vivo in humans may have important clinical implications given the comorbidity between major depressive disorder (MDD), stress circuitry dysfunction and endocrine dysregulation.

Abnormal relationships between the neural response to high- and low-calorie foods and endogenous acylated ghrelin in women with active and weight-recovered anorexia nervosa.

Evidence contributing to the understanding of neurobiological mechanisms underlying appetite dysregulation in anorexia nervosa draws heavily on separate lines of research into neuroendocrine and neural circuitry functioning. In particular, studies consistently cite elevated ghrelin and abnormal activation patterns in homeostatic (hypothalamus) and hedonic (striatum, amygdala, insula) regions governing appetite. The current preliminary study examined the interaction of these systems, based on research demonstrating associations between circulating ghrelin levels and activity in these regions in healthy individuals.