Effects of acute cortisol administration on response inhibition in patients with major depression and healthy controls |
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Authors: | Nicole Schlosser,Oliver Tobias Wolf,Silvia Carvalho Fernando,Kirsten Terfehr,Christian Otte,Carsten Spitzer,Thomas Beblo,Martin Driessen,Bernd Lö we,Katja Wingenfeld |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Bethel, Ev. Hospital Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany;2. Department of Cognitive Psychology, University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany;3. Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf & Schoen Klinik Hamburg Eilbek, Hamburg, Germany;4. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany;5. Department of Psychiatry, Charité University Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Eschenallee 3, 14050 Berlin, Germany;6. Luebeck School of Medicine, Luebeck, Germany |
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Abstract: | Glucocorticoids (GCs) have repeatedly been shown to impair hippocampus-mediated, declarative memory retrieval and prefrontal cortex-based working memory in healthy subjects. However, recent experimental studies indicated that patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) lack these impairing effects. These missing effects have been suggested to result from dysfunctional brain GC receptors. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether response inhibition, an executive function relying on the integrity of the prefrontal cortex, would be impaired after cortisol administration in patients with MDD. In a placebo-controlled, double blind crossover study, 50 inpatients with MDD and 54 healthy control participants conducted an emotional go/no-go task consisting of human face stimuli (fearful, happy, and neutral) after receiving a dose of 10 mg hydrocortisone and after placebo. GC administration had an enhancing effect on inhibitory performance in healthy control participants, indicated by faster responses, while no GC effect was revealed for the patients group. Moreover, patients showed an overall worse performance than healthy participants. In conclusion, this study further supports the hypothesis of impaired central glucocorticoid receptor function in MDD patients. Regarding the importance of inhibitory functioning for daily living, further studies are needed to examine the impact of glucocorticoids on response inhibition. |
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Keywords: | Major depressive disorder Hypothalamus&ndash pituitary&ndash adrenal axis Go/no-go Prefrontal cortex Human |
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