| Autor: |
Kuhn M; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany., Mainberger F; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany., Feige B; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany., Maier JG; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany., Wirminghaus M, Limbach L, Mall V; Department of Pediatrics, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany., Jung NH; Department of Pediatrics, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany., Reis J; Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany., Klöppel S; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.; Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany., Normann C; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany., Nissen C; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. |
| Abstrakt: |
The synaptic plasticity hypothesis of major depressive disorder (MDD) posits that alterations in synaptic plasticity represent a final common pathway underlying the clinical symptoms of the disorder. This study tested the hypotheses that patients with MDD show an attenuation of cortical synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP)-like plasticity in comparison with healthy controls, and that this attenuation recovers after remission. Cortical synaptic LTP-like plasticity was measured using a transcranial magnetic stimulation protocol, ie, paired associative stimulation (PAS), in 27 in-patients with MDD according to ICD-10 criteria and 27 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. The amplitude of motor-evoked potentials was measured before and after PAS. Patients were assessed during the acute episode and at follow-up to determine the state- or trait-character of LTP-like changes. LTP-like plasticity, the PAS-induced increase in motor-evoked potential amplitudes, was significantly attenuated in patients with an acute episode of MDD compared with healthy controls. Patients with remission showed a restoration of synaptic plasticity, whereas the deficits persisted in patients without remission, indicative for a state-character of impaired LTP-like plasticity. The results provide first evidence for a state-dependent partial occlusion of cortical LTP-like plasticity in MDD. This further identifies impaired LTP-like plasticity as a potential pathomechanism and treatment target of the disorder. |
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