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Regional cerebral blood flow in depression measured by positron emission tomography: the relationship with clinical dimensions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

C. J. Bench*
Affiliation:
Academic Department of Psychiatry, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, MRC Cyclotron Unit, Hammersmith Hospital, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and MRC Human Movement and Balance Unit, London
K. J. Friston
Affiliation:
Academic Department of Psychiatry, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, MRC Cyclotron Unit, Hammersmith Hospital, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and MRC Human Movement and Balance Unit, London
R. G. Brown
Affiliation:
Academic Department of Psychiatry, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, MRC Cyclotron Unit, Hammersmith Hospital, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and MRC Human Movement and Balance Unit, London
R. S. J. Frackowiak
Affiliation:
Academic Department of Psychiatry, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, MRC Cyclotron Unit, Hammersmith Hospital, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and MRC Human Movement and Balance Unit, London
R. J. Dolan
Affiliation:
Academic Department of Psychiatry, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, MRC Cyclotron Unit, Hammersmith Hospital, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and MRC Human Movement and Balance Unit, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Christopher J. Bench, MRC Cyclotron Unit, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0HS.

Synopsis

We have previously reported focal abnormalities of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in a group of 33 patients with major depression. This report, on an extended sample of 40 patients who demonstrated identical regional deficits to those previously described, examines the relationships between depressive symptoms and patterns of rCBF. Patients' symptom ratings were subjected to factor analysis, producing a three-factor solution. The scores for these three factors, which corresponded to recognizable dimensions of depressive illness, were then correlated with rCBF. The first factor had high loadings for anxiety and correlated positively with rCBF in the posterior cingulate cortex and inferior parietal lobule bilaterally. The second factor had high loadings for psychomotor retardation and depressed mood and correlated negatively with rCBF in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left angular gyrus. The third factor had a high loading for cognitive performance and correlated positively with rCBF in the left medial prefrontal cortex. These data indicate that symptomatic specificity may be ascribed to regional functional deficits in major depressive illness.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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