Antidepressants Normalize the Default Mode Network in Patients With Dysthymia
JAMA Psychiatry February 6, 2013 Jonathan Posner, David J. Hellerstein, Inbal Gat et al. 275 citations
People with dysthymic disorder (DD) show greater coherence of neural activity within the brain's default mode network (DMN) compared with healthy controls, similar to abnormalities seen in major depressive disorder. In a 10-week double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of duloxetine, treatment with duloxetine normalized DMN connectivity, while placebo did not. The findings suggest increased DMN connectivity may be important in the pathophysiology of depressive illness, and its normalization may be a causal pathway through which antidepressants reduce depression.