Cited by 57Treatment of Major DepressionFunctional Brain Connectivity StudiesNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

MRI predictors of pharmacotherapy response in major depressive disorder

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Gerlach, Andrew R., Karim, Helmet T., Peciña, Marta, Ajilore, Olusola, Taylor, Warren D., Butters, Meryl A., Andreescu, Carmen·2022·NeuroImage: Clinical

Abstract

Major depressive disorder is among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders, exacting a substantial personal, social, and economic toll. Antidepressant treatment typically involves an individualized trial and error approach with an inconsistent success rate. Despite a pressing need, no reliable biomarkers for predicting treatment outcome have yet been discovered. Brain MRI measures hold promise in this regard, though clinical translation remains elusive. In this review, we summarize structural MRI and functional MRI (fMRI) measures that have been investigated as predictors of treatment outcome. We broadly divide these into five categories including three structural measures: volumetric, white matter burden, and white matter integrity; and two functional measures: resting state fMRI and task fMRI. Currently, larger hippocampal volume is the most widely replicated predictor of successful treatment. Lower white matter hyperintensity burden has shown robustness in late life depression. However, both have modest discriminative power. Higher fractional anisotropy of the cingulum bundle and frontal white matter, amygdala hypoactivation and anterior cingulate cortex hyperactivation in response to negative emotional stimuli, and hyperconnectivity within the default mode network (DMN) and between the DMN and executive control network also show promise as predictors of successful treatment. Such network-focused measures may ultimately provide a higher-dimensional measure of treatment response with closer ties to the underlying neurobiology.

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Authors
Gerlach, A. R., Karim, H. T., Peciña, M., Ajilore, O., Taylor, W. D., Butters, M. A., & Andreescu, C.
Affiliations
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
  • University of Illinois Chicago (US)
  • VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (US)
Corresponding author
Andreescu, Carmen
Venue
NeuroImage: Clinical
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2022
Volume
36
Pages
103157
ISSN
2213-1582 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4292342431
Cited by
57
References
162
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 10
FWCI
1.69
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • NeuroImage Clinical (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (K01MH122741, R01 MH076079, R01 MH102246, R01 MH108509, R01 MH121619, RO1 MH121620, T32 MH019986)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
major depressive disorder, antidepressant response, treatment outcome prediction, brain MRI biomarkers, hippocampal volume, white matter hyperintensities, white matter integrity, fractional anisotropy, cingulum, anterior cingulate cortex, default mode network, frontoparietal network, resting-state fMRI, task-based fMRI
MeSH terms
Brain, Brain Mapping, Depressive Disorder, Major, Major Depressive Disorder, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, White Matter

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