Spectroscopic correlates of antidepressant response to sleep deprivation and light therapy: A 3.0 Tesla study of bipolar depression

Benedetti, Francesco; Calabrese, Giovanna; Bernasconi, Alessandro; Cadioli, Marcello; Colombo, Cristina; Dallaspezia, Sara; Falini, Andrea; Radaelli, Daniele; Scotti, Giuseppe; Smeraldi, Enrico

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2008.08.004

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 173, Issue 3 , Pages 238-242, 30 September 2009

Spectroscopic correlates of antidepressant response to sleep deprivation and light therapy: A 3.0 Tesla study of bipolar depression

Francesco Benedetti
- Department of Neuropsychiatric Sciences, Scientific Institute and University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Eccellenza Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- Corresponding author. Istituto Scientifico Ospedale San Raffaele, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, San Raffaele Turro, Via Stamira d'Ancona 20, Milano, Italy. Tel.: +39 02 26433156; fax: +39 02 26433265.
Giovanna Calabrese
- C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Eccellenza Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- Unità Operativa Radiologia, Azienda Ospedaliera G. Salvini, Garbagnate Milanese, Milan, Italy
Alessandro Bernasconi
- Department of Neuropsychiatric Sciences, Scientific Institute and University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Eccellenza Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
Marcello Cadioli
- Department of Neuroradiology, Scientific Institute and University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- Philips Medical Systems, Milan, Italy
Cristina Colombo
- Department of Neuropsychiatric Sciences, Scientific Institute and University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Eccellenza Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
Sara Dallaspezia
- Department of Neuropsychiatric Sciences, Scientific Institute and University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Eccellenza Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
Andrea Falini
- Department of Neuroradiology, Scientific Institute and University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Eccellenza Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
Daniele Radaelli
- Department of Neuropsychiatric Sciences, Scientific Institute and University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Eccellenza Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- Dottorato in Neuroscienze e Disturbi del Comportamento, Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy
Giuseppe Scotti
- Department of Neuroradiology, Scientific Institute and University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Eccellenza Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
Enrico Smeraldi
- Department of Neuropsychiatric Sciences, Scientific Institute and University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
- C.E.R.M.A.C. (Centro di Eccellenza Risonanza Magnetica ad Alto Campo), University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy

Received 22 March 2007; received in revised form 30 July 2008; accepted 12 August 2008.

Abstract

Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter of the human brain, and recent findings suggest a role for the glutamatergic system in the pathophysiology and treatment of mood disorders. Single proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) was used to study the relative in vivo levels of brain neural metabolites. We evaluated the effect of antidepressant treatments on the relative concentration of unresolved glutamate and glutamine (Glx) with GABA contamination (2.35 ppm peak) using single voxel 1H-MRS at 3.0 Tesla. We studied 19 inpatients (7 males, 12 females) affected by bipolar disorder type I, current depressive episode without psychotic features, before and after 1 week of treatment with repeated total sleep deprivation (TSD) combined with light therapy (LT). Chronobiological treatment caused a significant amelioration in mood levels. Changes in the brain Glx/creatine ratio followed a general trend toward decrease, with individual variability. We observed that the decrease in the Glx/creatine ratio significantly correlated with the improvement of both objective and subjective measures of depression.

Keywords: Bipolar depression, Proton spectroscopy, Glx, Chronotherapeutics, Light therapy