Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 139, Issue 3 , Pages 165-179 , 30 August 2005

Changes in regional cerebral blood flow by therapeutic vagus nerve stimulation in depression: An exploratory approach

  • Astrid Zobel

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straβe 25, 53105 Bonn, Germany
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straβe 25, 53105 Bonn, Germany. Tel.: +49 228 2 87 5717; fax: +49 228 2 87 4760.
  • ,
  • Alexius Joe

      Affiliations

    • Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
  • ,
  • Nikolaus Freymann

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straβe 25, 53105 Bonn, Germany
  • ,
  • Hans Clusmann

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neurosurgery, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
  • ,
  • Johannes Schramm

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neurosurgery, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
  • ,
  • Michael Reinhardt

      Affiliations

    • Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
  • ,
  • Hans-Jürgen Biersack

      Affiliations

    • Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
  • ,
  • Wolfgang Maier

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straβe 25, 53105 Bonn, Germany
  • ,
  • Karl Broich

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straβe 25, 53105 Bonn, Germany

Received 8 December 2003 ,Revised 16 November 2004 ,Accepted 28 February 2005.

References 

  1. Acton PD, Friston KJ. Statistical parametric mapping in functional neuroimaging: beyond PET and fMRI activation studies. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 1998;25:663–667
  2. Barnes A, Duncan R, Chisholm JA, Lindsay K, Patterson J, Wyper D. Investigation into the mechanisms of vagus nerve stimulation for the treatment of intractable epilepsy, using 99mTc–HMPAO SPET brain images. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. 2003;30:301–305
  3. Ben-Menachem E. Vagus-nerve stimulation for the treatment of epilepsy. Lancet Neurology. 2002;1:477–482
  4. Bohning DE, Lomarev MP, Denslow S, Nahas Z, Shastri A, George MS. Feasibility of vagus nerve stimulation-synchronized blood oxygenation level-dependent functional MRI. Investigative Radiology. 2001;36:470–479
  5. Bonne O, Louzoun Y, Aharon I, Krausz Y, Karger H, Lerer B, et al. Cerebral blood flow in depressed patients: a methodological comparison of statistical parametric mapping and region of interest analyses. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. 2003;122:49–57
  6. Brody AL, Saxena S, Silverman DH, Alborzian S, Fairbanks LA, Phelps ME, et al. Brain metabolic changes in major depressive disorder from pre- to post-treatment with paroxetine. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. 1999;91:127–139
  7. Brody AL, Saxena S, Stoessel P, Gillies LA, Fairbanks LA, Alborzian S, et al. Regional brain metabolic changes in patients with major depression treated with either paroxetine or interpersonal therapy. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2001;58:631–640
  8. Buchsbaum MS, Wu J, Siegel BV, Hackett E, Trenary M, Abel L, et al. Effect of sertraline on regional metabolic rate in patients with affective disorder. Biological Psychiatry. 1997;41:15–22
  9. Catafau AM, Perez V, Gironell A, Martin JC, Kulisevsky J, Estorch M, et al. SPECT mapping of cerebral activity changes induced by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in depressed patients. A pilot study. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. 2001;106:151–160
  10. Chae JH, Nahas Z, Lomarev M, Denslow S, Lorberbaum JP, Bohning DE, et al. A review of functional neuroimaging studies of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). Journal of Psychiatric Research. 2003;37:443–455
  11. Davies J, Lloyd KR, Jones IK, Barnes A, Pilowsky LS. Changes in regional cerebral blood flow with venlafaxine in the treatment of major depression. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2003;160:374–376
  12. Drevets WC. Prefrontal cortical–amygdalar metabolism in major depression. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1999;877:614–637
  13. Drevets WC. Neuroimaging studies of mood disorders. Biological Psychiatry. 2000;48:813–829
  14. Drevets WC. Neuroimaging and neuropathological studies of depression: implications for the cognitive–emotional features of mood disorders. Current Opinion in Neurobiology. 2001;11:240–249
  15. Drevets WC, Price JL, Simpson JRJ, Todd RD, Reich T, Vannier M, et al. Subgenual prefrontal cortex abnormalities in mood disorders. Nature. 1997;386:824–827
  16. Drevets WC, Gadde K, Krishnan R. Neuroimaging studies of depression. In:  Charney DS,  Nestler EJ,  Bunney BJ editor. Neurobiology of Mental Illness. New York: Oxford University Press; 1999;p. 394–418
  17. Drevets WC, Bogers W, Raichle ME. Functional anatomical correlates of antidepressant drug treatment assessed using PET measures of regional glucose metabolism. European Neuropsychopharmacology. 2002;12:527–544
  18. Friston KJ, Holmes A, Worsley KJ, Poline J-P, Frith CD, Frackowiak RS. Statistical parametric maps in functional imaging: a general linear approach. Human Brain Mapping. 1995;2:189–210
  19. George MS, Sackeim HA, Rush AJ, Marangell LB, Nahas Z, Husain MM, et al. Vagus nerve stimulation: a new tool for brain research and therapy. Biological Psychiatry. 2000;47:287–295
  20. Henry TR, Bakay RA, Votaw JR, Pennell PB, Epstein CM, Faber TL. Brain blood flow alterations induced by therapeutic vagus nerve stimulation in partial epilepsy: I. Acute effects at high and low levels of stimulation. Epilepsia. 1998;39:983–990
  21. Holmes A, Poline JB, Friston KJ. Characterising brain images with the general linear model. In:  Frackowiak RS editors. Human Brain Function. San Diego: Academic Press; 1997;p. 59–84
  22. Ishii K, Sasaki M, Yamaji S, Sakamoto S, Kitagaki H, Mori E. Demonstration of decreased posterior cingulate perfusion in mild Alzheimer's disease by means of H215O positron emission tomography. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 1997;24:670–673
  23. Ishii K, Sasaki M, Yamaji S, Sakamoto S, Maeda K. Cerebral blood flow changes in the primary motor and premotor cortices during hyperventilation. Annals of Nuclear Medicine. 1998;12:29–33
  24. Kennedy SH, Evans KR, Kruger S, Mayberg HS, Meyer JH, McCann S, et al. Changes in regional brain glucose metabolism measured with positron emission tomography after paroxetine treatment of major depression. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2001;158:899–905
  25. Kocmur M, Milcinski M, Budihna NV. Evaluation of brain perfusion with technetium-99m bicisate single-photon emission tomography in patients with depressive disorder before and after drug treatment. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 1998;25:1412–1414
  26. Liotti M, Mayberg HS, McGinnis S, Brannan SL, Jerabek P. Unmasking disease-specific cerebral blood flow abnormalities: mood challenge in patients with remitted unipolar depression. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2002;159:1830–1840
  27. Lomarev M, Denslow S, Nahas Z, Chae JH, George MS, Bohning DE. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) synchronized BOLD fMRI suggests that VNS in depressed adults has frequency/dose dependent effects. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 2002;36:219–227
  28. Matthew E, Hill TC. Brain mapping with single photon emission CT. Radiology. 1998;206:483–489
  29. Matthews K, Eljamel MS. Vagus nerve stimulation and refractory depression: please can you switch me on doctor?. British Journal of Psychiatry. 2003;183:181–183
  30. Mayberg HS. Modulating dysfunctional limbic–cortical circuits in depression: towards development of brain-based algorithms for diagnosis and optimised treatment. British Medical Bulletin. 2003;65:193–207
  31. Mayberg HS, Brannan SK, Tekell JL, Silva JA, Mahurin RK, McGinnis S, et al. Regional metabolic effects of fluoxetine in major depression: serial changes and relationship to clinical response. Biological Psychiatry. 2000;48:830–843
  32. Mayberg HS, Silva JA, Brannan SK, Tekell JL, Mahurin RK, McGinnis S, et al. The functional neuroanatomy of the placebo effect. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2002;159:728–737
  33. Mottaghy FM, Krause BJ, Kemna LJ, Topper R, Tellmann L, Beu M, et al. Modulation of the neuronal circuitry subserving working memory in healthy human subjects by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. Neuroscience Letters. 2000;280:167–170
  34. Mottaghy FM, Keller CE, Gangitano M, Ly J, Thall M, Parker JA, et al. Correlation of cerebral blood flow and treatment effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in depressed patients. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. 2002;115:1–14
  35. Nadeau SE, McCoy KJ, Crucian GP, Greer RA, Rossi F, Bowers D, et al. Cerebral blood flow changes in depressed patients after treatment with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: evidence of individual variability. Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology, and Behavioral Neurology. 2002;15:159–175
  36. Nahas Z, Teneback CC, Kozel A, Speer AM, DeBrux C, Molloy M, et al. Brain effects of TMS delivered over prefrontal cortex in depressed adults: role of stimulation frequency and coil-cortex distance. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. 2001;13:459–470
  37. Nobler MS, Roose SP, Prohovnik I, Moeller JR, Louie J, Van Heertum RL, et al. Regional cerebral blood flow in mood disorders, V.: effects of antidepressant medication in late-life depression. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2000;8:289–296
  38. Nobler MS, Teneback CC, Nahas Z, Bohning DE, Shastri A, Kozel FA, et al. Structural and functional neuroimaging of electroconvulsive therapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Depression and Anxiety. 2000;12:144–156
  39. Nobler MS, Oquendo MA, Kegeles LS, Malone KM, Campbell CC, Sackeim HA, et al. Decreased regional brain metabolism after ECT. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2001;158:305–308
  40. Oquendo MA, Malone KM, Ellis SP, Sackeim HA, Mann JJ. Inadequacy of antidepressant treatment for patients with major depression who are at risk for suicidal behavior. American Journal of Psychiatry. 1999;156:190–194
  41. Prudic J, Haskett RF, Mulsant B, Malone KM, Pettinati HM, Stephens S, et al. Resistance to antidepressant medications and short-term clinical response to ECT. American Journal of Psychiatry. 1996;153:985–992
  42. Prudic J, Sackeim HA, Devanand DP. Medication resistance and clinical response to electroconvulsive therapy. Psychiatry Research. 1990;31:287–296
  43. Ring HA, White S, Costa DC, Pottinger R, Dick JP, Koeze T, et al. A SPECT study of the effect of vagal nerve stimulation on thalamic activity in patients with epilepsy. Seizure. 2000;9:380–384
  44. Rosenberg R, Vorstrup S, Andersen A, Bolwig TG. Effect of ECT on cerebral blood flow in melancholia assessed with SPECT. Convulsive Therapy. 1988;4:62–73
  45. Rush AJ, George MS, Sackeim HA, Marangell LB, Husain MM, Giller C, et al. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for treatment-resistant depressions: a multicenter study. Biological Psychiatry. 2000;47:276–286
  46. Sackeim HA, Prudic J, Devanand DP, Decina P, Kerr B, Malitz S. The impact of medication resistance and continuation pharmacotherapy on relapse following response to electroconvulsive therapy in major depression. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 1990;10:96–104
  47. Sackeim HA, Rush AJ, George MS, Marangell LB, Husain MM, Nahas Z, et al. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for treatment-resistant depression: efficacy, side effects, and predictors of outcome. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2001;25:713–728
  48. Saxena S, Brody AL, Ho ML, Alborzian S, Maidment KM, Zohrabi N, et al. Differential cerebral metabolic changes with paroxetine treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorder vs major depression. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2002;59:250–261
  49. Silfverskiold P, Risberg J. Regional cerebral blood flow in depression and mania. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1989;46:253–259
  50. Silfverskiold P, Gustafson L, Risberg J, Rosen I. Acute and late effects of electroconvulsive therapy. Clinical outcome, regional cerebral blood flow, and electroencephalogram. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1986;462:236–248
  51. Speer AM, Kimbrell TA, Wassermann EM, Repella D, Willis MW, Herscovitch P, et al. Opposite effects of high and low frequency rTMS on regional brain activity in depressed patients. Biological Psychiatry. 2000;48:1133–1141
  52. Speer AM, Willis MW, Herscovitch P, Daube-Witherspoon M, Shelton JR, Benson BE, et al. Intensity-dependent regional cerebral blood flow during 1-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in healthy volunteers studied with H215O positron emission tomography: I. Effects of primary motor cortex rTMS. Biological Psychiatry. 2003;54:818–825
  53. Tatsch K, Asenbaum S, Bartenstein P, Catafau A, Halldin C, Pilowsky LS, et al. European Association of Nuclear Medicine procedure guidelines for brain perfusion SPET using 99mTc-labelled radiopharmaceuticals. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. 2002;29:36–42
  54. Van Laere K, Vonck K, Boon P, Brans B, Vandekerckhove T, Dierckx R. Vagus nerve stimulation in refractory epilepsy: SPECT activation study. Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 2000;41:1145–1154
  55. Van Laere K, Vonck K, Boon P, Versijpt J, Dierckx R. Perfusion SPECT changes after acute and chronic vagus nerve stimulation in relation to prestimulus condition and long-term clinical efficacy. Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 2002;43:733–744
  56. Vonck K, Boon P, Van Laere K, D'Have M, Vandekerckhove T, O'Connor S, et al. Acute single photon emission computed tomographic study of vagus nerve stimulation in refractory epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2000;41:601–609
  57. Weeks RA, Cunningham VJ, Piccini P, Waters S, Harding AE, Brooks DJ. 11C-diprenorphine binding in Huntington's disease: a comparison of region of interest analysis with statistical parametric mapping. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. 1997;17:943–949

PII: S0925-4927(05)00091-0

doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2005.02.010

Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 139, Issue 3 , Pages 165-179 , 30 August 2005