ArticleNeuropsychobiology2023
Effects of Psychotherapy on Glutamatergic Neurotransmission.
Article in Neuropsychobiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neurometabolics of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in major depressive disorder (MDD): A systematic review and meta-analysis.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2026Pooled it
- Lack of association between pretreatment glutamate/GABA and major depressive disorder treatment response.Translational psychiatry · 2025Trial
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionPsychodynamic psychotherapy is an effective and widely used treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD); however, little is known about neurobiological changes associated with induced symptom improvement.
methodsProton magnetic resonance spectroscopy with a two-dimensional J-resolved sequence served to test the relationship between glutamate (Glu) and glutamine (Gln) levels, measured separately in pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC) and the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) as a control region, with change in depression symptoms after 6 months of weekly psychodynamic psychotherapy sessions in MDD patients. Depressed (N = 45) and healthy (N = 30) subjects participated in a baseline proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurement and a subgroup of MDD subjects (N = 21) then received once-a-week psychodynamic psychotherapy and participated in a second proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurement after 6 months. Change in depression symptoms was assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD).
resultsHigher pretreatment pgACC Gln concentrations in MDD patients compared to healthy controls were associated with symptom severity. Patients and controls did not differ regarding Gln levels in aMCC nor regarding Glu levels in both regions. The association of pgACC Gln concentration and severity of depressive symptoms was reversed after 6 months of psychotherapy in MDD subjects. Regarding Gln in aMCC as well as Glu in both regions, there were no significant associations with improvement of depressive symptoms in the course of psychotherapy. DISCUSSION: Findings indicate specific regional effects of psychodynamic psychotherapy on glutamatergic neurotransmission and thereby highlight the key role of the pgACC in both depression pathophysiology and recovery.
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