Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32307560›Full record

Trial reportPsychopharmacology2020

Intrinsic connections between thalamic sub-regions and the lateral prefrontal cortex are differentially impacted by acute methylphenidate.

Adam X Gorka, Tiffany R Lago, Nicholas Balderston, Salvatore Torrisi, Bari Fuchs, Christian Grillon, Monique Ernst

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Psychopharmacology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 37% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Frontiers in neuroanatomy · 2021
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Adam X GorkaSection on the Neurobiology of Fear & Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, 15K North Drive Rm 300-F, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA. adam.gorka@nih.gov.
Tiffany R LagoSection on the Neurobiology of Fear & Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, 15K North Drive Rm 300-F, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
Nicholas BalderstonSection on the Neurobiology of Fear & Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, 15K North Drive Rm 300-F, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
Salvatore TorrisiSection on the Neurobiology of Fear & Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, 15K North Drive Rm 300-F, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
Bari FuchsDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, Penn State University, State College, PA, 16801, USA.
Christian GrillonSection on the Neurobiology of Fear & Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, 15K North Drive Rm 300-F, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
Monique ErnstSection on the Neurobiology of Fear & Anxiety, National Institute of Mental Health, 15K North Drive Rm 300-F, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
National Institute of Mental Health · USPennsylvania State University · US

Funding

The Psychophysiology Of Fear And AnxietyZIAMH002798 · NIMH · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH · PI GRILLON, CHRISTIAN · 2009 to 2022
$29.0M
Intramural NIH HHS ZIA MH002798NIMH NIH HHS ZIAMH002798
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe thalamus is a major target of dopaminergic projections and is densely connected with the prefrontal cortex. A better understanding of how dopamine changes thalamo-cortical communication may shed light on how dopamine supports cognitive function. Methylphenidate has been shown to facilitate cognitive processing and reduce connectivity between the thalamus and lateral prefrontal cortex.

aimsThe thalamus is a heterogeneous structure, and the present study sought to clarify how the intrinsic connections of thalamic sub-regions are differentially impacted by acute dopamine transporter blockade.

methodsSixty healthy volunteers were orally administered either 20 mg of methylphenidate (N = 29) or placebo (N = 31) in a double-blind, randomized, between-subject design. Multi-echo fMRI was used to assess intrinsic functional connectivity of sub-regions of the thalamus during a resting state scan. An N-back working-memory paradigm provided a measure of cognitive performance.

resultsAcute methylphenidate significantly reduced connectivity of the lateral prefrontal cortex with the motor and somatosensory sub-regions of the thalamus and reduced connectivity with the parietal and visual sub-regions at a trend level. Connectivity with the premotor, prefrontal, and temporal sub-regions was not impacted. The intrinsic connectivity between the thalamus and the lateral prefrontal cortex was not associated with working-memory performance.

conclusionsMethylphenidate decreases functional connections between the lateral prefrontal cortex and thalamus broadly, while sparing intrinsic connectivity with thalamic sub-regions involved with working-memory and language related processes. Collectively, our results suggest that the dopamine transporter regulates functional connections between the prefrontal cortex and non-cognitive areas of the thalamus.

Indexed as

AdultDopamine Uptake InhibitorsDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHealthy VolunteersHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMemory, Short-TermMethylphenidateNerve NetPrefrontal CortexThalamusYoung AdultDopamine Uptake InhibitorsMethylphenidateAcute methylphenidateDopamineIntrinsic functional connectivityPrefrontal cortexResting state fMRIThalamus

Identifiers

PMID32307560
PMCPMC7437544
OpenAlexW3016438097

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.