Neural correlates of psychodynamic and non-psychodynamic therapies in different clinical populations through fMRI: a meta-analysis and systematic review

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the ongoing crisis in psychiatric and psychological care, contributing to what we have identified as a new psychological and psychiatric pandemic. Psychotherapy is an effective method for easing the psychological suffering experienced also by the various impacts of COVID-19. This treatment can be examined from a neurological perspective, through the application of brain imaging techniques. Specifically, the meta-analysis of imaging studies can aid in expanding researchers' understanding of the many beneficial applications of psychotherapy. OBJECTIVES: We examined the functional brain changes accompanying different mental disorders with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), through a meta-analysis, and systematic review in order to better understand the general neural mechanism involved in psychotherapy and the potential neural difference between psychodynamic and non-psychodynamic approaches. DATA SOURCES: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were employed for our systematic review and meta-analysis. We conducted a computer-based literature search, following the Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcomes (PICO) approach, to retrieve all published articles in English regarding the above-described topics from PubMed (MEDLINE), Scopus, and Web of Science. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, PARTICIPANTS, AND INTERVENTIONS: We combined terms related to psychotherapy and fMRI: (“psychotherapy” [All Fields] OR “psychotherapy” [MeSH Terms] OR “psychotherapy” [All Fields] OR “psychotherapies” [All Fields] OR “psychotherapy s” [All Fields]) AND (“magnetic resonance imaging” [MeSH Terms]) OR (“magnetic”[All Fields] AND “resonance”[All Fields] AND “imaging”[All Fields]) OR (“magnetic resonance imaging”[All Fields] OR “fmri”[All Fields]). We considered (1) whole brain fMRI studies; (2) studies in which participants have been involved in a clinical trial with psychotherapy sessions, with pre/post fMRI; (3) fMRI results presented in coordinate-based (x, y, and z) in MNI or Talairach space; (4) presence of neuropsychiatric patients. The exclusion criteria were: (1) systematic review or meta-analysis; (2) behavioral study; (3) single-case MRI or fMRI study; and (4) other imaging techniques (i.e., PET, SPECT) or EEG. RESULTS: After duplicates removal and assessment of the content of each published study, we included 38 sources. The map including all studies that assessed longitudinal differences in brain activity showed two homogeneous clusters in the left inferior frontal gyrus, and caudally involving the anterior insular cortex (p < 0.0001, corr.). Similarly, studies that assessed psychotherapy-related longitudinal changes using emotional or cognitive tasks (TASK map) showed a left-sided homogeneity in the anterior insula (p < 0.000) extending to Broca's area of the inferior frontal gyrus (p < 0.0001) and the superior frontal gyrus (p < 0.0001). Studies that applied psychodynamic psychotherapy showed Family-Wise Error (FWE) cluster-corrected (p < 0.05) homogeneity values in the right superior and inferior frontal gyri, with a small cluster in the putamen. No FWE-corrected homogeneity foci were observed for Mindful- based and cognitive behavioral therapy psychotherapy. In both pre- and post-therapy results, studies showed two bilateral clusters in the dorsal anterior insulae (p = 0.00001 and p = 0.00003, respectively) and involvement of the medial superior frontal gyrus (p = 0.0002). LIMITATIONS: Subjective experiences, such as an individual's response to therapy, are intrinsically challenging to quantify as objective, factual realities. Brain changes observed both pre- and post-therapy could be related to other factors, not necessary to the specific treatment received. Therapeutic modalities and study designs are generally heterogeneous. Differences exist in sample characteristics, such as the specificity of the disorder and number and duration of sessions. Moreover, the sample size is relatively small, particularly due to the paucity of studies in this field and the little contribution of PDT. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF KEY FINDINGS: All psychological interventions seem to influence the brain from a functional point of view, showing their efficacy from a neurological perspective. Frontal, prefrontal regions, insular cortex, superior and inferior frontal gyrus, and putamen seem involved in these neural changes, with the psychodynamic more linked to the latter three regions

Characterization of resting state activity in MCI individuals

Objectives. Aging is the major risk factor for Alzheimer Disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). The aim of this study was to identify novel modifications of brain functional connectivity in MCI patients. MCI individuals were compared to healthy elderly subjects. Methods. We enrolled 37 subjects (age range 60–80 y.o.). Of these, 13 subjects were affected by MCI and 24 were age-matched healthy elderly control (HC). Subjects were evaluated with Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), and prose memory (Babcock story) tests. In addition, with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), we investigated resting state network (RSN) activities. Resting state (Rs) fMRI data were analyzed by means of Independent Component Analysis (ICA). Subjects were followed-up with neuropsychological evaluations for three years. Results. Rs-fMRI of MCI subjects showed increased intrinsic connectivity in the Default Mode Network (DMN) and in the Somatomotor Network (SMN). Analysis of the DMN showed statistically significant increased activation in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and left inferior parietal lobule (lIPL). During the three years follow-up, 4 MCI subjects converted to AD. The subset of MCI AD-converted patients showed increased connectivity in the right Inferior Parietal Lobule (rIPL). As for SMN activity, MCI and MCI-AD converted groups showed increased level of connectivity in correspondence of the right Supramarginal Gyrus (rSG). Conclusions. Our findings indicate alterations of DMN and SMN activity in MCI subjects, thereby providing potential imaging-based markers that can be helpful for the early diagnosis and monitoring of these patients

Kajian Perbedaan Konsentrasi Larutan Garam Pada Perendaman Rgh Dan Vaksin Terhadap Kelulushidupan Dan Pertumbuhan Benih Ikan Lele Sangkuriang (Clarias Gariepinus)

Berdasarkan data KKP (2013), pencapaian produksi ikan lele pada tahun 2013 mampu melampaui target. Ikan lele merupakan ikan yang mudah dibudidayakan, sehingga banyak dilakukan penelitian agar didapatkan benih lele dengan pertumbuhan dan kelulushidupan yang lebih baik, serta tahan terhadap serangan penyakit. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh konsentrasi larutan garam yang berbeda dan konsentrasi yang terbaik pada perendaman rGH dan vaksin terhadap kelulushidupan dan pertumbuhan benih lele sangkuriang. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada tanggal 13 November 2014 – 15 Februari 2015 di Satuan Kerja Pembenihan dan Budidaya Ikan Air Tawar (SATKER PBIAT), Siwarak, Ungaran, Semarang. Ikan uji yang digunakan adalah benih lele sangkuriang umur 12 hari. Metode yang digunakan adalah eksperimental dengan rancangan acak lengkap (RAL) 4 perlakuan dan 3 ulangan, yaitu: (A) perlakuan tanpa larutan garam, (B) konsentrasi 0,5%, (C) konsentrasi 1,0% dan (D) konsentrasi 1,5%. Pemeliharaan ikan dilakukan selama 42 hari. Variabel data yang diamati meliputi kelulushidupan, SGR, panjang mutlak, FCR, EPP dan kelulushidupan setelah uji tantang. Analisa data dengan menggunakan anova untuk mengetahui pengaruh perlakuan yang berbeda nyata, apabila hasil yang didapatkan berbeda nyata, maka dilanjutkan dengan uji duncan untuk mengetahui perlakuan yang terbaik. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan perlakuan terbaik adalah perlakuan C, dengan nilai kelulushidupan (87,00±1,00%), SGR (7,79±0,03%), nilai panjang mutlak (6,75±0,15cm), nilai FCR (0,71±0,01) dan nilai EPP (140,28±1,25%), sedangkan untuk kelulushidupan setelah uji tantang didapatkan hasil yang tidak berbeda nyata, dimana: A (93,33±5,77%), B (96,67±5,77%), C (96,67±5,77%) dan D (96,67±5,77%). Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini ialah pemberian konsentrasi larutan garam yang berbeda berpengaruh sangat nyata terhadap kelulushidupan, SGR, panjang mutlak, FCR dan EPP, namun tidak berpengaruh nyata terhadap kelulushidupan setelah uji tantang. Konsentrasi larutan garam terbaik pada penelitian ini adalah 1,0%. Based on data from KKP (2013), the achievement of the production of catfish in 2013 was able of exceeding the target. Catfish is a fish that easily cultivated, so a lot of research done to get catfish\u27s seed with better survival and growth, and it can resistant to attack of deseases. This research was aimed to find out the effect of different salt solution concentrations and the best concentration from immersion of rGH and vaccine for survival rate and growth of sangkuriang catfish\u27s seed. This research was conducted on November 13th, 2014 – February 15th, 2015 at Satuan Kerja Pembenihan dan Budidaya Ikan Air Tawar (SATKER PBIAT), Siwarak, Ungaran, Semarang. The fish that used for this research is sangkuriang catfish\u27s seed aged 12 days. Completely randomized design (CRD) was used in this research with four treatments and three replication, which treatments are: (A) without salt solution concentration, (B) Using concentration 0.5%, (C) Concentration 1.0% and (D) Concentration 1.5%. The Fishes are maintained for 42 days. Observational variable are survival rate, SGR, absolute length, FCR, EPP and survival rate after challenge test. Data analysis using anova to know the effect of treatment is significantly different, if the result is significantly different, then continue with duncan test to know the best treatment. The best result is treatment C, with survival rate (87.00±1.00%), SGR (7.79±0.03%), absolute length (6.75±0.15cm), FCR (0.71±0.01), EPP (140.28±1.25%), and for survival rate after challenge test are not significantly different, where: treatment A (93.33±5.77%), B (96.67±5.77%), C (96.67±5.77%) and D (96.67±5.77%). The conclusion of this research is giving of salt solution with different concentration take significantly effect for survival rate, SGR, absolute length, FCR and EPP, but did not take significantly effect for survival rate after challenge test. The best salt solution concentration is 1.0%