The Third Reviewer

Glass et al (). have not replicated our preliminary finding of shorter telomeres in adults reporting a history of childhood maltreatment. Unfortunately, their analysis is not comparable with the design of our study, and the number of affected subjects … . . . → Read More: In Response to “No Correlation Between Childhood Maltreatment and Telomere Length”

Background: Genome-wide association studies are a powerful tool for unravelling the genetic background of complex disorders such as major depression.Methods: We conducted a genome-wide association study of 604 patients with major depression and 1364 po… . . . → Read More: Genome-Wide Association-, Replication-, and Neuroimaging Study Implicates HOMER1 in the Etiology of Major Depression

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most acutely effective treatment for depression, but is limited by cognitive side effects. However, research on their persistence, severity, and pattern is inconsistent. We aimed to quantify ECT-associ… . . . → Read More: Objective Cognitive Performance Associated with Electroconvulsive Therapy for Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Telomeres are lengths of repetitive DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes. They protect the ends of the chromosome and shorten with each cell division. Short leukocyte telomere length has been related to a number of age-related diseases (). In addition,… . . . → Read More: No Correlation Between Childhood Maltreatment and Telomere Length

Background: The neuroplasticity hypothesis of depression proposes that a dysfunction of neural plasticity—the basic ability of living organisms to adapt their neural function and structure to external and internal cues—might represent a final commo… . . . → Read More: Learning as a Model for Neural Plasticity in Major Depression

Background: The serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) has been proposed as a predictor of antidepressant response. Insertion or deletion of a 44-base pair-long region gives rise to short “S” and long “L” forms of the p… . . . → Read More: Antidepressant Response and the Serotonin Transporter Gene-Linked Polymorphic Region

Background: Genetic variation in CACNA1C has been repeatedly shown to increase risk for psychiatric disorders, with the strongest evidence for involvement in bipolar disorder. To elucidate the mechanisms by which such effects on psychiatric disease are… . . . → Read More: Genetic Variation in CACNA1C, a Gene Associated with Bipolar Disorder, Influences Brainstem Rather than Gray Matter Volume in Healthy Individuals

We read with interest Garriock and colleagues’ article “A Genomewide Association Study of Citalopram Response in Major Depressive Disorder” (). This work is an important step in analyzing the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (… . . . → Read More: A Genomewide Association Study of Citalopram Response in Major Depressive Disorder—A Psychometric Approach

Objectives: The absence of pathophysiologically relevant diagnostic markers of bipolar disorder (BD) leads to its frequent misdiagnosis as unipolar depression (UD). We aimed to determine whether whole brain white matter connectivity differentiated BD f… . . . → Read More: Right Orbitofrontal Corticolimbic and Left Corticocortical White Matter Connectivity Differentiate Bipolar and Unipolar Depression

Background: Circadian rhythm abnormalities are strongly associated with bipolar disorder; however the role of circadian genes in mood regulation is unclear. Previously, we reported that mice with a mutation in the Clock gene (Clock?19) display a behav… . . . → Read More: Knockdown of Clock in the Ventral Tegmental Area Through RNA Interference Results in a Mixed State of Mania and Depression-Like Behavior

Background: The protein p11 (also called S100A10) is downregulated in human and rodent depressive-like states. Considerable experimental evidence also implicates p11 in the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive seizures, in … . . . → Read More: A Role for p11 in the Antidepressant Action of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor

Background: The ?-aminobutyric acid (GABA) Type A receptor deficits that are induced by global or forebrain-specific heterozygous inactivation of the ?2 subunit gene in mouse embryos result in behavior indicative of trait anxiety and depressive state… . . . → Read More: ?-Aminobutyric Acid-Type A Receptor Deficits Cause Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Hyperactivity and Antidepressant Drug Sensitivity Reminiscent of Melancholic Forms of Depression

Background: The hippocampus is likely involved in mood disorders, but in vivo evidence for the role of anatomically distinct hippocampal subregions is lacking. Multiple sclerosis, an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, is linked to a high prevalence of depression as well as hippocampal damage and may thus provide important insight into the pathologic correlates of medical depression. We examined the role of subregional hippocampal volume for depression in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.Methods: Anatomically defined hippocampal subregional volumes (cornu ammonis 1–3 [CA1–CA3] and the dentate gyrus [CA23DG], subiculum, entorhinal cortex) were measured using a high-resolution T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging sequence in 29 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients and 20 matched healthy control subjects. Diurnal salivary cortisol was assessed at awakening, 4 pm, and 9 pm on 2 consecutive days. Subjects also completed the Beck Depression Inventory.Results: Multiple sclerosis patients showed smaller hippocampal volumes compared with control subjects, particularly in the CA1 and subiculum subregions. In addition, multiple sclerosis patients with depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory score >13) also showed smaller CA23DG volumes and higher cortisol levels. Within the multiple sclerosis group, CA23DG volume was correlated with depressive symptoms and cortisol levels. There were no associations with number of previous steroid treatments, global atrophy, or disease duration.Conclusions: This report provides in vivo evidence for selective association of smaller CA23DG subregional volumes in the hippocampus with cortisol hypersecretion and depressive symptoms in multiple sclerosis. . . . → Read More: Smaller Cornu Ammonis 2–3/Dentate Gyrus Volumes and Elevated Cortisol in Multiple Sclerosis Patients with Depressive Symptoms

Background: Despite recent interest in glycogen synthase kinase-3? (GSK-3?) as a target for the treatment of mood disorders, there has been very little work related to these illnesses on the upstream signaling molecules that regulate this kinase as w… . . . → Read More: Wnt2 Expression and Signaling Is Increased by Different Classes of Antidepressant Treatments