Low dopamine transporter binding in the nucleus accumbens in geriatric patients with severe depression

Aim Dysfunction of dopaminergic neurons in the central nervous system is considered to be related to major depressive disorder (MDD). Especially, MDD in geriatric patients is characterized by anhedonia, which is assumed to be associated with reduced dopamine neurotransmission in the reward system. D...

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Published in:Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences 2020-08, Vol.74 (8), p.424-430
Main Authors: Moriya, Hiroki, Tiger, Mikael, Tateno, Amane, Sakayori, Takeshi, Masuoka, Takahiro, Kim, WooChan, Arakawa, Ryosuke, Okubo, Yoshiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Central nervous system
Computed tomography
Dopamine
Dopamine receptors
Dopamine transporter
geriatric psychiatry
Geriatrics
Hedonic response
major depressive disorder
Medicin och hälsovetenskap
Mental depression
Neostriatum
Neurotransmission
Nucleus accumbens
Positron emission tomography
Putamen
Reinforcement
Single photon emission computed tomography
Substantia nigra
Tomography
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Summary:Aim Dysfunction of dopaminergic neurons in the central nervous system is considered to be related to major depressive disorder (MDD). Especially, MDD in geriatric patients is characterized by anhedonia, which is assumed to be associated with reduced dopamine neurotransmission in the reward system. Dopamine transporter (DAT) is considered to reflect the function of the dopamine nerve system. However, previous DAT imaging studies using single photon emission computed tomography or positron emission tomography (PET) have shown inconsistent results. The radioligand [18F]FE‐PE2I for PET enables more precise evaluation of DAT availability. Hence, we aimed to evaluate the DAT availability in geriatric patients with MDD using [18F]FE‐PE2I. Methods Eleven geriatric patients with severe MDD and 27 healthy controls underwent PET with [18F]FE‐PE2I, which has high affinity and selectivity for DAT. Binding potentials (BPND) in the striatum (caudate and putamen), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and substantia nigra were calculated. BPND values were compared between MDD patients and healthy controls. Results MDD patients showed significantly lower DAT BPND in the NAc (P = 0.009), and there was a trend of lower BPND in the putamen (P = 0.032) compared to controls. Conclusion We found low DAT in the NAc and putamen in geriatric patients with severe MDD, which could be related to dysregulation of the reward system.
ISSN:1323-1316
1440-1819
1440-1819
DOI:10.1111/pcn.13020