Longitudinal White Matter Changes After ECT in MDD: Insights from Neurite and Free Water Imaging

Poster No:

505 

Submission Type:

Abstract Submission 

Authors:

Sha Liu1,2, Liangda Zhong1,2, Jing Wu1,2, Zhiang Su1,2, Xinhu Yang1,2, Wei Zheng1,2, Huawang Wu1,2

Institutions:

1The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 2Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China, Guangzhou, China

First Author:

Sha Liu  
The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University|Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province|Guangzhou, China

Co-Author(s):

Liangda Zhong  
The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University|Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province|Guangzhou, China
Jing Wu  
The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University|Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province|Guangzhou, China
Zhiang Su  
The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University|Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province|Guangzhou, China
Xinhu Yang  
The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University|Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province|Guangzhou, China
Wei Zheng  
The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University|Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province|Guangzhou, China
Huawang Wu  
The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University|Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province|Guangzhou, China

Introduction:

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a safe and fast-acting intervention for patients with severe major depressive disorder (MDD) who have high risks of suicidal behaviors (Ottosson & Odeberg, 2012). Previous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have suggested that ECT may contribute to brain white matter integrity changes (Gryglewski et al., 2020; Repple et al., 2020). However, these findings are limited by single shell DTI's inability to distinguish crossing fiber. Our study aimed to utilize free water and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) of multi-shell DTI to provide a more precise understanding of white matter microstructural changes after ECT in MDD patients.

Methods:

Longitudinal multi-shell diffusion data were obtained from 16 MDD patients before and after ECT treatment to calculate the parameters of NODDI, the orientation dispersion index (ODI), and free water-corrected axial diffusivity (fweAD). A tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis was conducted to identify voxel-wise longitudinal differences in these metrics across white matter tracts. All voxel-wise differences were corrected for multiple comparisons using threshold-free cluster enhancement and family-wise error rate correction (p < 0.05).

Results:

The TBSS analyses revealed decreased NODDI and ODI values in MDD patients who had received ECT treatment (Fig 1a/b). For NODDI, reduced values were observed in three clusters, covering the right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFO), right anterior thalamic radiation (ATR), right uncinate fasciculus (UF), occipital corpus callosum (CC) radiations, and the temporal part of the right SLF. For ODI, a reduction was found in a cluster encompassing the frontal CC radiations, left IFO, bilateral ATR, occipital CC radiations, left corticospinal tract (CST), and bilateral cingulum bundle. In contrast, MDD patients after ECT displayed increased fweAD (Fig 1c) in a cluster including voxels in the occipital and frontal CC radiations, bilateral SLF, bilateral IFO, bilateral CST, bilateral ATR, left cingulum bundle, left inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and right UF. Additionally, ODI values within this cluster showed a significant positive correlation with Hamiton Depression Scale (HAMD) scores (r = 0.39, p < 0.05, Fig. 2).
Supporting Image: DWM_F1.png
Supporting Image: DWM_F2.png
 

Conclusions:

In conclusion, our TBSS analyses reveal that ECT treatment in MDD patients is associated with reduced NODDI and ODI values in several key white matter tracts, including the SLF, IFO, ATR, UF, CC, and CST. Conversely, increased fweAD was observed in regions such as the occipital and frontal CC, SLF, IFO, CST, ATR, and cingulum bundle. Moreover, ODI values showed a significant positive correlation with HAMD scores, suggesting that microstructural changes in white matter may be linked to the severity of depressive symptoms. These findings provide important insights into the neurobiological effects of ECT in MDD.

Brain Stimulation:

Non-invasive Electrical/tDCS/tACS/tRNS

Disorders of the Nervous System:

Psychiatric (eg. Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia) 1

Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:

Emotion and Motivation Other 2

Keywords:

ADULTS
Emotions
Psychiatric Disorders

1|2Indicates the priority used for review

Abstract Information

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Please indicate below if your study was a "resting state" or "task-activation” study.

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Healthy subjects only or patients (note that patient studies may also involve healthy subjects):

Patients

Was this research conducted in the United States?

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Were any human subjects research approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board or ethics panel? NOTE: Any human subjects studies without IRB approval will be automatically rejected.

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Were any animal research approved by the relevant IACUC or other animal research panel? NOTE: Any animal studies without IACUC approval will be automatically rejected.

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Please indicate which methods were used in your research:

Diffusion MRI

For human MRI, what field strength scanner do you use?

3.0T

Which processing packages did you use for your study?

FSL

Provide references using APA citation style.

Gryglewski, G., Seiger, R., Baldinger-Melich, P., Unterholzner, J., Spurny, B., Vanicek, T., . . . Lanzenberger, R. (2020). Changes in White Matter Microstructure After Electroconvulsive Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 23(1), 20-25. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyz059

Ottosson, J.-O., & Odeberg, H. (2012). Evidence-based electroconvulsive therapy. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 125(3), 177-184. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2011.01812.x

Repple, J., Meinert, S., Bollettini, I., Grotegerd, D., Redlich, R., Zaremba, D., . . . Dannlowski, U. (2020). Influence of electroconvulsive therapy on white matter structure in a diffusion tensor imaging study. Psychological Medicine, 50(5), 849-856. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291719000758

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