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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Neuroimaging
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1434434

Electroconvulsive Therapy Modulates Loudness Dependence of Auditory Evoked Potentials: A Pilot MEG Study

Provisionally accepted
Michael Dib Michael Dib 1Jeffrey D. Lewine Jeffrey D. Lewine 2Christopher C. Abbott Christopher C. Abbott 3Zhi-De Deng Zhi-De Deng 3*
  • 1 University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, Maryland, United States
  • 2 Mind Research Network (MRN), Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
  • 3 National Institute of Mental Health (NIH), Bethesda, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains a critical intervention for treatment-resistant depression (MDD), yet its neurobiological underpinnings are not fully understood. This pilot study utilizes high-resolution magnetoencephalography (MEG) in nine depressed patients receiving right unilateral ECT, to investigate the changes in loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP), a proposed biomarker of serotonergic activity, following ECT. We hypothesized that ECT would reduce the LDAEP slope, reflecting enhanced serotonergic neurotransmission. Contrary to this, our findings indicated a significant increase in LDAEP post-ECT (t 8 = 3.17, p = .013).The increase in LDAEP was not associated with changes in depression severity or cognitive performance, as assessed by the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS 24 ) and Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). We discussed potential mechanisms for the observed increase, including ECT's impact on serotonergic, dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and GABAergic receptor activity, neuroplasticity involving brainderived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and inflammatory modulators such as TNF-α. Our results suggest a complex interaction between ECT and these neurobiological systems, rather than a direct reflection of serotonergic neurotransmission.

    Keywords: Electroconvulsive Therapy, Loudness depedence of auditory evoked potentials, Major Depressive Disorder, Magnetoencephalography, Serotonin

    Received: 17 May 2024; Accepted: 24 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Dib, Lewine, Abbott and Deng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zhi-De Deng, National Institute of Mental Health (NIH), Bethesda, United States

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