Cited by 176Tryptophan and brain disordersStress Responses and CortisolTreatment of Major Depression

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 254 of the 254 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 321 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

The role of inflammation in core features of depression: Insights from paradigms using exogenously-induced inflammation.

Open access

Abstract

HighlightsExogenously‐induced inflammation leads to expression of 3 features of depression.They are neural reactivity to negative stimuli, reward processing, somatic symptoms.Little evidence for the role of inflammation in cognitive control was observed.Effects of inflammation on behavior depend on the timing and dose of the stimulus. Abstract A wealth of evidence has implicated inflammation in the development of depression. Yet, the heterogeneous nature of depression has impeded efforts to understand, prevent, and treat the disease. The purpose of this integrative review is to summarize the connections between inflammation and established core features of depression that exhibit more homogeneity than the syndrome itself: exaggerated reactivity to negative information, altered reward processing, decreased cognitive control, and somatic syndrome. For each core feature, we first provide a brief overview of its relevance to depression and neurobiological underpinnings, and then review evidence investigating a potential role of inflammation. We focus primarily on findings from experimental paradigms of exogenously‐induced inflammation. We conclude that inflammation likely plays a role in exaggerated reactivity to negative information, altered reward reactivity, and somatic symptoms. There is less evidence supporting an effect of inflammation on cognitive control as assessed by standard neuropsychological measures. Finally, we discuss implications for future research and recommendationsfor how to test the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of heterogeneous psychiatric disorders.

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.09.006

Cites

254 of 254 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

0 of 321 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

Show all 211 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 55
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 26
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
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  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The four selected core features are largely transdiagnostic.

    “It should be noted that while these core features were identified from studies aimed specifically at identifying endophenotypes for depression, each of these constructs is largely transdiagnostic.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The three inflammatory challenge paradigms can test a causal role of inflammation in psychological constructs.

    “The strength of limiting our review to studies using these three paradigms is that such studies can test a causal role of inflammation in each psychological construct.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The IFN-α paradigm models chronic exposure to moderate inflammation, while endotoxin and typhoid vaccination model acute exposure at high and low levels, respectively.

    “While the IFN-α paradigm models the effects of chronic exposure to moderate levels of inflammation, endotoxin and typhoid vaccination model the short-term effects of acute exposure at high and low levels, respectively.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The network perspective treats symptoms as causally influencing each other over time, not as arising from one common cause.

    “A network perspective of psychopathology assumes that symptoms causally influence one another over time, rather than emerge from a singular, common cause (Borkulo et al., 2015; Borsboom and Cramer, 2013).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Inflammation's effects on mood and behavior are mediated by brain inflammatory signaling (neuroinflammation), and peripheral markers only approximate this.

    “However, the impact of inflammation on mood and behavior occurs through inflammatory signaling in the brain or neuroinflammation, for which peripheral markers are only a proxy.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Even with chronic inflammation, only some people develop depressive symptoms.

    “Given that depressive symptoms only arise in a subset of individuals even under chronic inflammatory conditions, inflammation must interact with pre-existing host factors to determine mood outcomes.”
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Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • REM-latency direction reverses in the sleep summary

    Minor

    The sleep section reports that IFN-α treatment increased REM latency, but its summary describes decreased REM latency following IFN-α.

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Citations

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  1. Weinstein, 2010, Acute mental stress in depression, Russell J. Bertrand Russell Arch., 84, 228

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Metadata

Authors
Dooley, L. N., Kuhlman, K. R., Robles, T. F., Eisenberger, N. I., Craske, M. G., & Bower, J. E.
Affiliations
University of California, Los Angeles (US)
Corresponding author
Kuhlman, Kate R.
Venue
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-11
Volume
94
Pages
219-237
ISSN
0149-7634 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2889889361
Cited by
176
References
254
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 1
FWCI
1.51
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (K08MH112773)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Biological Psychiatry › Tryptophan and brain disorders
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology (medical) › Treatment of Major Depression
Keywords
depression, inflammation, reward processing, cognitive control, somatic symptoms, neuroinflammation, depression pathogenesis, depression heterogeneity
MeSH terms
Animals, Depression, Depressive Disorder, Humans, Inflammation

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