Cortical thickness is not associated with current depression in a clinical treatment study

BackgroundReduced cortical thickness is a candidate biological marker of depression, although findings are inconsistent. This could reflect analytic heterogeneity, such as use of region‐wise cortical thickness based on the Freesurfer Desikan–Killiany (DK) atlas or surface‐based morphometry (SBM). The Freesurfer Destrieux (DS) atlas (more, smaller regions) has not been utilized in depression studies. This could also reflect differential gender and age effects.MethodsCortical thickness was collected from 170 currently depressed adults and 52 never‐depressed adults. Visually inspected and approved Freesurfer‐generated surfaces were used to extract cortical thickness estimates according to the DK atlas (68 regions) and DS atlas (148 regions) for region‐wise analysis (216 total regions) and for SBM.ResultsOverall, except for small effects in a few regions, the two region‐wise approaches generally failed to discriminate depressed adults from nondepressed adults or current episode severity. Differential effects by age and gender were also rare and small in magnitude. Using SBM, depressed adults showed a significantly thicker cluster in the left supramarginal gyrus than nondepressed adults (P = 0.047) but there were no associations with current episode severity.ConclusionsThree analytic approaches (i.e., DK atlas, DS atlas, and SBM) converge on the notion that cortical thickness is a relatively weak discriminator of current depression status. Differential age and gender effects do not appear to represent key moderators. Robust associations with demographic factors will likely hinder translation of cortical thickness into a clinically useful biomarker. Hum Brain Mapp, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4370–4385, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138250/1/hbm23664_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138250/2/hbm23664.pd

Test–retest reliability of freesurfer measurements within and between sites: Effects of visual approval process

In the last decade, many studies have used automated processes to analyze magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data such as cortical thickness, which is one indicator of neuronal health. Due to the convenience of image processing software (e.g., FreeSurfer), standard practice is to rely on automated results without performing visual inspection of intermediate processing. In this work, structural MRIs of 40 healthy controls who were scanned twice were used to determine the test–retest reliability of FreeSurfer‐derived cortical measures in four groups of subjects—those 25 that passed visual inspection (approved), those 15 that failed visual inspection (disapproved), a combined group, and a subset of 10 subjects (Travel) whose test and retest scans occurred at different sites. Test–retest correlation (TRC), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and percent difference (PD) were used to measure the reliability in the Destrieux and Desikan–Killiany (DK) atlases. In the approved subjects, reliability of cortical thickness/surface area/volume (DK atlas only) were: TRC (0.82/0.88/0.88), ICC (0.81/0.87/0.88), PD (0.86/1.19/1.39), which represent a significant improvement over these measures when disapproved subjects are included. Travel subjects’ results show that cortical thickness reliability is more sensitive to site differences than the cortical surface area and volume. To determine the effect of visual inspection on sample size required for studies of MRI‐derived cortical thickness, the number of subjects required to show group differences was calculated. Significant differences observed across imaging sites, between visually approved/disapproved subjects, and across regions with different sizes suggest that these measures should be used with caution. Hum Brain Mapp 36:3472–3485, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113142/1/hbm22856.pd

Neuroticism And Individual Differences In Neural Function In Unmedicated Major Depression: Findings From The Embarc Study

BACKGROUND: Personality dysfunction represents one of the only predictors of differential response between active treatments for depression to have replicated. We examine whether depressed patients with higher neuroticism scores, a marker of personality dysfunction, show differences compared with depressed patients with lower scores in the functioning of two brain regions associated with treatment response, the anterior cingulate and anterior insula cortices. METHODS: Functional magnetic resonance imaging data during an emotional Stroop task were collected from 135 adults with major depressive disorder at four academic medical centers participating in the EMBARC (Establishing Moderators and Biosignatures of Antidepressant Response for Clinical Care) study. Secondary analyses were conducted including a sample of 28 healthy subjects. RESULTS: In whole-brain analyses, higher neuroticism among adults with depression was associated with increased activity in and connectivity with the right anterior insula cortex to incongruent compared with congruent emotional stimuli (all k $ 281, all p , .05 familywise error corrected), covarying for concurrent psychiatric distress. We also observed an unanticipated relationship between neuroticism and reduced activity in the precuneus (k 5 269, p , .05 familywise error corrected). Exploratory analyses including healthy subjects suggested that associations between neuroticism and brain function may be nonlinear over the full range of neuroticism scores. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides convergent evidence for the importance of the right anterior insula cortex as a brain-based marker of clinically meaningful individual differences in neuroticism among adults with depression. This is a critical next step in linking personality dysfunction, a replicated clinical predictor of differential antidepressant treatment response, with differences in underlying brain function

The Relationship Between ADHD Symptomology and Decision Making

Objective: To explore the relationship between the symptoms of ADHD, the extent to which college students seek to maximize their decisions, and the degree to which students feel regret for their decisions. Method: Undergraduate students (N = 275) completed four questionnaires measuring ADHD symptomology, internal restlessness, maximization tendencies, and regret. It was hypothesized that (a) participants who reported more behaviors associated with ADHD and internal restlessness would report more maximizing tendencies, (b) participants reporting greater ADHD symptoms and internal restlessness symptoms would be more likely to report feelings of regret, (c) men would report more symptoms of ADHD and internal restlessness than women, and (d) men would be more likely to report maximization tendencies than women. Results: Findings supported the hypotheses and interaction were found. Conclusions: Findings provided new information concerning relationships between ADHD symptomology, internal restlessness, maximization tendencies, and regret

The relationship between ADHD symptomology and decision making

Objective: To explore the relationship between the symptoms of ADHD, the extent to which college students seek to maximize their decisions, and the degree to which students feel regret for their decisions. Method: Undergraduate students (N = 275) completed four questionnaires measuring ADHD symptomology, internal restlessness, maximization tendencies, and regret. It was hypothesized that (a) participants who reported more behaviors associated with ADHD and internal restlessness would report more maximizing tendencies, (b) participants reporting greater ADHD symptoms and internal restlessness symptoms would be more likely to report feelings of regret, (c) men would report more symptoms of ADHD and internal restlessness than women, and (d) men would be more likely to report maximization tendencies than women. Results: Findings supported the hypotheses and interaction were found. Conclusions: Findings provided new information concerning relationships between ADHD symptomology, internal restlessness, maximization tendencies, and regret. © 2012 SAGE Publications

Cortical Thickness Is Not Associated With Current Depression In A Clinical Treatment Study: Association Of Cortical Thickness And Depression

Background: Reduced cortical thickness is a candidate biological marker of depression, although findings are inconsistent. This could reflect analytic heterogeneity, such as use of region-wise cortical thickness based on the Freesurfer Desikan–Killiany (DK) atlas or surface-based morphometry (SBM). The Freesurfer Destrieux (DS) atlas (more, smaller regions) has not been utilized in depression studies. This could also reflect differential gender and age effects. Methods: Cortical thickness was collected from 170 currently depressed adults and 52 never-depressed adults. Visually inspected and approved Freesurfer-generated surfaces were used to extract cortical thickness estimates according to the DK atlas (68 regions) and DS atlas (148 regions) for region-wise analysis (216 total regions) and for SBM. Results: Overall, except for small effects in a few regions, the two region-wise approaches generally failed to discriminate depressed adults from nondepressed adults or current episode severity. Differential effects by age and gender were also rare and small in magnitude. Using SBM, depressed adults showed a significantly thicker cluster in the left supramarginal gyrus than nondepressed adults (P 5 0.047) but there were no associations with current episode severity. Conclusions: Three analytic approaches (i.e., DK atlas, DS atlas, and SBM) converge on the notion that cortical thickness is a relatively weak discriminator of current depression status. Differential age and gender effects do not appear to represent key moderators. Robust associations with demographic factors will likely hinder translation of cortical thickness into a clinically useful biomarker. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4370–4385, 2017. VC 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Test-retest Reliability Of Freesurfer Measurements Within And Between Sites: Effects Of Visual Approval Process: Test-retest Reliability Of Freesurfer Measurements

In the last decade, many studies have used automated processes to analyze magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data such as cortical thickness, which is one indicator of neuronal health. Due to the convenience of image processing software (e.g., FreeSurfer), standard practice is to rely on automated results without performing visual inspection of intermediate processing. In this work, structural MRIs of 40 healthy controls who were scanned twice were used to determine the test–retest reliability of FreeSurfer-derived cortical measures in four groups of subjects—those 25 that passed visual inspection (approved), those 15 that failed visual inspection (disapproved), a combined group, and a subset of 10 subjects (Travel) whose test and retest scans occurred at different sites. Test–retest correlation (TRC), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and percent difference (PD) were used to measure the reliability in the Destrieux and Desikan–Killiany (DK) atlases. In the approved subjects, reliability of cortical thickness/surface area/volume (DK atlas only) were: TRC (0.82/0.88/0.88), ICC (0.81/0.87/0.88), PD (0.86/1.19/1.39), which represent a significant improvement over these measures when disapproved subjects are included. Travel subjects’ results show that cortical thickness reliability is more sensitive to site differences than the cortical surface area and volume. To determine the effect of visual inspection on sample size required for studies of MRI-derived cortical thickness, the number of subjects required to show group differences was calculated. Significant differences observed across imaging sites, between visually approved/disapproved subjects, and across regions with different sizes suggest that these measures should be used with caution

Accounting for Dynamic Fluctuations across Time when Examining fMRI Test-Retest Reliability: Analysis of a Reward Paradigm in the EMBARC Study.

Longitudinal investigation of the neural correlates of reward processing in depression may represent an important step in defining effective biomarkers for antidepressant treatment outcome prediction, but the reliability of reward-related activation is not well understood. Thirty-seven healthy control participants were scanned using fMRI while performing a reward-related guessing task on two occasions, approximately one week apart. Two main contrasts were examined: right ventral striatum (VS) activation fMRI BOLD signal related to signed prediction errors (PE) and reward expectancy (RE). We also examined bilateral visual cortex activation coupled to outcome anticipation. Significant VS PE-related activity was observed at the first testing session, but at the second testing session, VS PE-related activation was significantly reduced. Conversely, significant VS RE-related activity was observed at time 2 but not time 1. Increases in VS RE-related activity from time 1 to time 2 were significantly associated with decreases in VS PE-related activity from time 1 to time 2 across participants. Intraclass correlations (ICCs) in VS were very low. By contrast, visual cortex activation had much larger ICCs, particularly in individuals with high quality data. Dynamic changes in brain activation are widely predicted, and failure to account for these changes could lead to inaccurate evaluations of the reliability of functional MRI signals. Conventional measures of reliability cannot distinguish between changes specified by algorithmic models of neural function and noisy signal. Here, we provide evidence for the former possibility: reward-related VS activations follow the pattern predicted by temporal difference models of reward learning but have low ICCs