Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 146, Issue 2 , Pages 179-184, 31 March 2006

Cerebral blood flow changes during vagus nerve stimulation for depression

  • Charles R. Conway

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 1221 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +1 314 577 8725; fax: +1 314 268 5736.
    • ,
  • Yvette I. Sheline

      Affiliations

    • Washington University School of Medicine, Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Radiology, St. Louis, MO, USA
    • ,
  • John T. Chibnall

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 1221 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA
    • ,
  • Mark S. George

      Affiliations

    • Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Psychiatry, Charleston, SC, USA
    • ,
  • James W. Fletcher

      Affiliations

    • Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Indianapolis, IN, USA
    • ,
  • Mark A. Mintun

      Affiliations

    • Washington University School of Medicine, Departments of Psychiatry and Radiology, St. Louis, MO, USA

Received 19 July 2005; received in revised form 15 November 2005; accepted 5 December 2005.

Abstract 

Positron emission tomography (PET oxygen-15 labeled water or PET [15O]H2O) was used to identify changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in response to acute vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in four subjects with treatment-resistant major depression (TRMD). Four 90-s PET [15O]H2O scans were performed on each subject in an off-on sequence (2 VNS de-activated; 2 VNS activated). PET images were aligned, normalized for global uptake, and resampled to standard atlas space. Statistical t-images were used to evaluate change. VNS-induced increases in rCBF were found in the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex, bilateral anterior cingulate cortex, and right superior and medial frontal cortex. Decreases were found in the bilateral temporal cortex and right parietal area. Regions of change were consistent with brain structures associated with depression and the afferent pathways of the vagus nerve.

Keywords: Vagus nerve stimulation, Affective disorder, Positron emission tomography, Regional blood flow

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PII: S0925-4927(05)00207-6

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2005.12.007

Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 146, Issue 2 , Pages 179-184, 31 March 2006

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