PET AND THE FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY OF UNIPOLAR DEPRESSION

我们将使用 PET 测量局部脑血流量 (BF) 和 代谢来表征家族纯的功能解剖学 抑郁症（FPDD），单相重性抑郁症的一种亚型。我们 将评估左前额叶 BF 增加的假设 皮质、左侧杏仁核和左侧内侧丘脑的功能减少 FPDD 抑郁期的尾状核。为了区分 抑郁状态与特质异常的相关性可能是： 在抑郁倾向的基础上，我们将采用纵向 设计中，受试者的形象是未接受药物治疗的抑郁症患者， 药物抑郁症（抗抑郁药物治疗 2 周后）， 药物缓解（治疗8周后）和非药物缓解 阶段（基线扫描后 14-24 个月）。受试者内配对 这四个阶段获得的 PET 扫描的比较也将进行 用于检查抗抑郁药物对局部血液的影响 流动和新陈代谢。主要区域的生理测量 将使用 PET 和磁共振准确评估感兴趣的部位 用于并置和电位校正的图像 (MRI) 数据 解剖学差异（与情感疾病或药物治疗有关） 使用评估 BF 和每单位体积代谢的算法 组织。

We will use PET measurements of regional cerebral blood flow (BF) and metabolism to characterize the functional anatomy of familial pure depressive disease (FPDD), a subtype of unipolar major depression. We will evaluate the hypotheses that BF is increased in the left prefrontal cortex, the left amygdala, and the left medial thalamus and decreased in the caudate during the depressed phase of FPDD. To distinguish the correlates of the depressive state from trait-abnormalities that may- underlie the tendency to become depressed, we will employ a longitudinal design in -which subjects are imaged in the unmedicated-depressed, medicated-depressed (after 2 weeks of antidepressant drug treatment), medicated-remitted (after 8 weeks of treatment), and unmedicated-remitted phases (14-24 mos. after the baseline scan). Intrasubject paired comparisons of the PET scans obtained in these four phases will also be used to examine the effects of antidepressant drugs on regional blood flow and metabolism. The physiologic measurements in the primary regions of interest will be accurately assessed using PET and magnetic resonance image (MRI) data for colocation and for correction for potential anatomical differences (related to affective disease or drug treatment) using an algorithm which assesses BF and metabolism per unit volume of tissue.