Amygdala activity after subchronic escitalopram administration in healthy volunteers: A pharmaco-functional magnetic resonance imaging study

作者：Paulina B. Lukow, Millie Lowther, Alexandra C. Pike, Yumeya Yamamori, Alice V. Chavanne, Siobhan Gormley, Jessica Aylward, Tayla McCloud, Talya Goble, Julia Rodriguez-Sanchez, Ella W Tuominen, Sarah Buehler, Peter Alexander Kirk, Oliver J. Robinson · 发表于：Journal of Psychopharmacology · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1177/02698811241286773 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior、Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies、Treatment of Major Depression

Background: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are used for the treatment of several conditions including anxiety disorders, but the basic neurobiology of serotonin function remains unclear. The amygdala and prefrontal cortex are strongly innervated by serotonergic projections and have been suggested to play an important role in anxiety expression. However, serotonergic function in behaviour and SSRI-mediated neurobiological changes remain incompletely understood. Aims: To investigate the neural correlates of subchronic antidepressant administration. Methods: We investigated whether the 2- to 3-week administration of a highly selective SSRI (escitalopram) would alter brain activation on a task robustly shown to recruit the bilateral amygdala and frontal cortices in a large healthy volunteer sample. Participants performed the task during a functional magnetic resonance imaging acquisition before ( n = 96) and after subchronic escitalopram ( n = 46, days of administration mean (SD) = 15.7 (2.70)) or placebo ( n = 40 days of administration mean (SD) = 16.2 (2.90)) self-administration. Results: Compared to placebo, we found an elevation in right amygdala activation to the task after escitalopram administration without significant changes in mood. This effect was not seen in the left amygdala, the dorsomedial region of interest, the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex or the right fusiform area. There were no significant changes in connectivity between the dorsomedial...