USING LITHIUM BASED MEDICATIONS TO INCREASE GRAY MATTER VOLUME IN DEPRESSED ADOLESCENTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v13i1.6202Keywords:
gray matter, depression, anti-depression treatments, gray matter volume, mental illness, Lithium, Chloe EltonAbstract
In this paper, the correlation between gray matter and depression will be presented and speculations on the effectiveness of anti-depression treatments will be made. Over time, the gray matter volume in a depressed individual will continue to decrease unless the mental illness is treated. The effectiveness of treatments varies but in terms of halting the decrease of gray matter volume or increasing gray matter volume, medications containing lithium have proven to be the most effective. While an increase in gray matter volume has the potential to increase one's mood some tradeoffs come with taking antidepressants of any sort. Lithium appears to be the most effective component of medications that increase gray matter volume, but it is crucial to examine potential side effects as well as entirely different medications that target different areas of the brain.
Downloads
References or Bibliography
Asato MR, Terwilliger R, Woo J, Luna B. White matter development in adolescence: a DTI study. Cereb Cortex. 2010 Sep;20(9):2122-31. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhp282. Epub 2010 Jan 5. PMID: 20051363; PMCID: PMC2923214.
Byers, A. L., & Yaffe, K. (2011, May 3). Depression and risk of developing dementia. Nature reviews. Neurology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3327554/#:~:text=Amyloid%20plaque%20formatio n&text=Interestingly%2C%20studies%20have%20shown%20that,with%20AD%20patients%20without %20depression.
Chen, B., Bayer, T., Cowburn, R. F., Fujimaki, K., Jensen, J. B., Lowther, S., Mori, S., Murer, M. G., Reiach, J. S., Bremner, J. D., Dowlatshahi, D., Duman, R. S., & Earnest, D. J. (2001, August 20). Increased hippocampal BDNF immunoreactivity in subjects treated with antidepressant medication. Biological Psychiatry. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006322301010836
Cipriani, A., Smith, K., Burgess, S., Carney, S., Goodwin, G., & Geddes, J. (2006, October 18). Lithium versus antidepressants in the long-term treatment of unipolar affective disorder. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7003995/
Dusi, N., Barlati, S., Vita, A., & Brambilla, P. (2015). Brain structural effects of antidepressant treatment in major depression. Current neuropharmacology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4790407/
Erickson, K. I., Leckie, R. L., & Weinstein, A. M. (2014, May 14). Physical activity, fitness, and Gray Matter Volume. Neurobiology of Aging. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197458014003492#:~:text=P hysical%20activity%20is%20associated%20with%20increased%20gray%20matter%20 volume,cortex%20and%20better%20memory%20encoding.&text=Both%20increased% 20fitness%20and%20education,gray%20and%20white%20matter%20volume.
Grieve, S. M., Korgaonkar, M. S., Koslow , S. H., Gordon, E., & Williams, L. M. (2013, September 6). Widespread reductions in gray matter volume in depression. NeuroImage: Clinical. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158213001162
Harmer, C. J., Duman, R. S., & Cowen, P. J. (2017, May). How do antidepressants work? New Perspectives for Refining Future Treatment Approaches. The lancet. Psychiatry. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5410405/
Ji, A., Amanamba, U., Lawrence, B. C., & Naz Kapoğlu, N. (2020, June 25). The Adolescent Brain is literally awesome. Frontiers for Young Minds. https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2020.00075#:~:text=Gray%20matter%2
Kosten, T. A., Galloway, M. P., Duman, R. S., Russell, D. S., & D’Sa, C. (2007a, August 15). Repeated unpredictable stress and antidepressants differentially regulate expression of the bcl-2 family of apoptotic genes in rat cortical, hippocampal, and limbic brain structures. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/1301527
Kosten, T. A., Galloway, M. P., Duman, R. S., Russell, D. S., & D’Sa, C. (2007b, August 15). Repeated unpredictable stress and antidepressants differentially regulate expression of the bcl-2 family of apoptotic genes in rat cortical, hippocampal, and limbic brain structures. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/1301527
Kraus, C., Ashburner, J., Daubert, E. A., Draganski, B., Erickson, K. I., Fair, D. A., Fields, R. D., Fornito, A., Fox, M. D., Gould, E., He, B. J., Lai, C. H., Lesch, K. P., Mayberg, H. S., McCabe, C., Pearson, J. M., Reetz, K., Savli, M., Shih, P., … Anand, A. (2013, August 26). Gray matter and intrinsic network changes in the posterior cingulate cortex after selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor intake. NeuroImage. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053811913008987
Lyoo , I., Dager, S., Kim, J., Yoon, S., Friedman, S., Dunner, D., & Renshaw , P. (2010, March 31). Lithium-induced gray matter volume increase as a neural correlate of treatment response in bipolar disorder: A longitudinal brain imaging study. Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20357761/
Manji, H. K., Altamura, C., Asanuma, M., Auer, D. P., Bahr, B. A., Belanoff, J. K., Benes, F. M., Berman, R. M., Bouron, A., Bowley, M. P., Carmelli, D., Chemerinski, E., Chen, A. C., Chen, B., Delgado, P. L., Drevets, W. C., Duman, R. S., Finkbeiner, S., Fujimaki, K., … Calabrese, J. R. (2003, April 15). Enhancing neuronal plasticity and cellular resilience to develop novel, improved therapeutics for difficult-to-treat depression. Biological Psychiatry. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006322303001173
Medical School, U. of P. (2017, May 26). Penn study finds gray matter density increases during adolescence. Penn Medicine. https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2017/may/penn-study-finds-gray-matter-density-increases-during-adolescence
Mercadante, A. A. (2022, July 25). Neuroanatomy, gray matter - statpearls - NCBI bookshelf. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553239/
Miguel-Hidalgo, J. J. (2013). Brain structural and functional changes in adolescents with psychiatric disorders. International journal of adolescent medicine and health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3936342/
Qiao, H., Li, M.-X., Xu, C., Chen, H.-B., An, S.-C., & Ma, X.-M. (2016, January 10). Dendritic spines in depression: What we learned from Animal Models. Neural Plasticity. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/np/2016/8056370/
Richmond, P., & Roehner, B. M. (2016, September). Decrease of the volume of gray matter. the graph describes ...Peter. Research Gate. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Decrease-of-the-volume-of-gray-matter-The-graph-describes-quantitatively-the-shrinkage_fig1_308692729
Singh, M. K. S. K. S., & Gotlib, I. H. (2014, November 1). Mapping adolescent brain change reveals dynamic wave of ... - PNAS. National Library of Medicine. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.201243998
Singh, M. K., & Gotlib, I. H. (2014, November). The neuroscience of depression: Implications for assessment and Intervention. Behaviour research and therapy. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4253641/
Soo-Eun Lee, S.-E., Ammerman, B. A., Ando, A., Ansell, E. B., Apkarian, A. V., Ashburner, J., Bonenberger, M., Bresin, K., Chambers, C. D., Chapman, A. L., Criaud, M., Dusi, N., Elsenbruch, S., Emerson, N. M., Erpelding, N., Kelly, S., Kirtley, O. J., Kraus, A., Law, K. C., … Bushnell, M. C. (2023, June 22). Decreased gray matter volume in regions associated with affective pain processing in unmedicated individuals with nonsuicidal self-injury. Psychiatry Research. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165178123002640
Sun , Y. R., Bearden, C. E., Benedetti, F., Bora, E., Brooks, J. O., Chiu, C. T., Cousins, D. A., Ha, T. H., Hallahan, B., Hauser, P., Keshavan, M. S., Lai, C. H., Lim, K. O., Marvel, C. L., McDonald, C., Moore, G. J., Morey, R. A., Oruch, R., Phillips, M. L., … Arnone, D. (2017, August 30). Global Grey matter volume in adult bipolar patients with and without lithium treatment: A meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032717309540#:~:te xt=Results%20suggest%20that%20lithium%2Dtreated,abnormal%20changes%20in%2 0brain%20structure.
Taki, Y., Thyreau, B., Kinomura, S., Sato, K., Goto, R., Kawashima, R., & Fukuda, H. (2011). Correlations among brain gray matter volumes, age, gender, and hemisphere in healthy individuals. PloS one. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3144937/
Tello, N., Harika-Germaneau, G., Serra, W., Jaafari, N., & Chatard, A. (2020). Forecasting a Fatal Decision: Direct Replication of the Predictive Validity of the Suicide–Implicit Association Test. Psychological Science, 31(1), 65–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619893062
Thompson, P. M., Vidal, C., Giedd, J. N., Gochman, P., Blumenthal, J., Nicolson, R., Toga, A. W., & Rapoport, J. L. (2001, September 25). Mapping adolescent brain change reveals dynamic wave of ... - PNAS. PNAS. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.201243998
Watson, K. (2018, November 26). Lithium for depression: Dosage, safety, side effects, and more. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/can-lithium-help-treat-depression#:~:text=Lithi um%20is%20only%20approved%20for,but%20more%20trials%20are%20needed. Lithium for Depression: Dosage, Safety, Side Effects, and More https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20357761/
Wilson, S. (2023, March 14). 5 ways depression can physically affect the brain. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/depression-physical-effects-on-the-brain#:~:tex t=Depression%20has%20been%20linked%20to,is%20not%20getting%20enough%20o xygen.
Wise, T., Radua, J., Via, E., Cardoner, N., Abe, O., Adams, T. M., Amico, F., Cheng, Y., Cole, J. H., de Azevedo Marques Périco, C., Dickstein, D. P., Farrow, T. F. D., Frodl, T., Wagner, G., Gotlib, I. H., Gruber, O., Ham, B. J., Job, D. E., Kempton, M. J., … Arnone, D. (2016, May 24). Common and distinct patterns of grey-matter volume alteration in major depression and bipolar disorder: Evidence from Voxel-based meta-analysis. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/mp201672
Zeng, L., Liu, L., Liu, Y., Shen, H., Li, Y., & Hu, D. (n.d.). Antidepressant treatment normalizes white matter volume in patients with major depression. PloS one. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22957005/
Zheng, R., Zhang, Y., Yang, Z., Han, S., & Cheng, J. (2021, June 2). Reduced brain gray matter volume in patients with first-episode major depressive disorder: A quantitative meta-analysis. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.671348/full
Zhang, X., Yao, S., Zhu, X., Wang, X., Zhu, X., & Zhong, M. (2012). Gray matter Vol. abnormalities in individuals with cognitive vulnerability to depression: A voxel-based morphometry study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 136(3), 443–452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2011.11.005
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2024 Chloe Elton; Ms. Gilyard
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright holder(s) granted JSR a perpetual, non-exclusive license to distriute & display this article.