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The British Journal of Psychiatry (2002) 181: 411-415
© 2002 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Cerebellar responses during anticipation of noxious stimuli in subjects recovered from depression

Functional magnetic resonance imaging study

KATHARINE A. SMITH, MRCPsych

University Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford

ALEXANDER PLOGHAUS, DPhil

Department of Clinical Neurology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford

PHILIP J. COWEN, FRCPsych, JENNY M. McCLEERY, MRCPsych and GUY M. GOODWIN, FRCPsych

University Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford

STEPHEN SMITH, DPhil, IRENE TRACEY, DPhil and PAUL M. MATTHEWS, FRCP

Department of Clinical Neurology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK

Correspondence: Professor Paul Matthews, Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain, Department of Clinical Neurology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headley Way, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 1865 222493; fax +44 (0) 1865 222717; e-mail: paul{at}fmrib.ox.ac.uk

Declaration of interest Supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC) (P.M.M.). P.J.C. is a MRC Clinical Scientist. J.M.McC. was a Wellcome Training Fellow.

Background Subjects recovered from depression have a substantial risk for recurrence of depression, suggesting persistent abnormalities in brain activity.

Aims To test whether women recovered from depression show abnormal brain activity in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a conditioning paradigm with a noxious pain stimulus.

Method Ten unmedicated women who had recovered from major depression and eight healthy control women each received either noxious hot or non-noxious warm stimuli, the onset of which was signalled by a specific coloured light during 3-tesla echo planar imaging-based fMRI.

Results Similar patterns of brain activation were found during painful stimulation for both patients and healthy controls. However, relative to healthy controls, subjects recovered from depression showed a reduced response in the cerebellum during anticipation of the noxious stimulus compared with anticipation of the non-noxious stimulus.

Conclusions Our data suggest that abnormal cerebellar function could be a marker of vulnerability to recurrent depression. This could provide a new target for therapeutic interventions.


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