Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39406999›Full record

SynthesisMolecular psychiatry2025

Convergent functional effects of antidepressants in major depressive disorder: a neuroimaging meta-analysis.

Amin Saberi, Amir Ebneabbasi, Sama Rahimi, Sara Sarebannejad, Zumrut Duygu Sen, Heiko Graf, Martin Walter, Christian Sorg, Julia A Camilleri, Angela R Laird and 4 more

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Molecular psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Amin SaberiInstitute of Neurosciences and Medicine (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
Amir EbneabbasiDepartment of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-9348-5702
Sama RahimiInstitute of Neurosciences and Medicine (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
Sara SarebannejadKavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Zumrut Duygu SenDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany.
Heiko GrafDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Martin WalterDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-7857-4483
Christian SorgTUM-Neuroimaging Center, School of Medicine and Healthy, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany.
Julia A CamilleriInstitute of Neurosciences and Medicine (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
Angela R LairdDepartment of Physics, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3379-8744
Peter T FoxResearch Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0465-2028
Sofie L ValkInstitute of Neurosciences and Medicine (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
Simon B EickhoffInstitute of Neurosciences and Medicine (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-6363-2759
Masoud TahmasianInstitute of Neurosciences and Medicine (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany. m.tahmasian@fz-juelich.de.ORCID 0000-0003-3999-3807

Funding

Meta-anaylsis in human brain mappingR01MH074457 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · PI FOX, PETER THORNTON · 2006 to 2024
$10.5M
Helmholtz Association InterLabs-0015NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH074457
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNeuroimaging studies have provided valuable insights into the macroscale impacts of antidepressants on brain functions in patients with major depressive disorder. However, the findings of individual studies are inconsistent. Here, we aimed to provide a quantitative synthesis of the literature to identify convergence of the reported findings at both regional and network levels and to examine their associations with neurotransmitter systems.

methodsThrough a comprehensive search in PubMed and Scopus databases, we reviewed 5258 abstracts and identified 36 eligible functional neuroimaging studies on antidepressant effects in major depressive disorder. Activation likelihood estimation was used to investigate regional convergence of the reported foci of antidepressant effects, followed by functional decoding and connectivity mapping of the convergent clusters. Additionally, utilizing group-averaged data from the Human Connectome Project, we assessed convergent resting-state functional connectivity patterns of the reported foci. Next, we compared the convergent circuit with the circuits targeted by transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy. Last, we studied the association of regional and network-level convergence maps with selected neurotransmitter receptors/transporters maps.

resultsNo regional convergence was found across foci of treatment-associated alterations in functional imaging. Subgroup analysis in the Treated > Untreated contrast revealed a convergent cluster in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which was associated with working memory and attention behavioral domains. Moreover, we found network-level convergence of the treatment-associated alterations in a circuit more prominent in the frontoparietal areas. This circuit was co-aligned with circuits targeted by "anti-subgenual" and "Beam F3" transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy. We observed no significant correlations between our meta-analytic findings with the maps of neurotransmitter receptors/transporters.

conclusionOur findings highlight the importance of the frontoparietal network and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the therapeutic effects of antidepressants, which may relate to their role in improving executive functions and emotional processing.

Indexed as

Antidepressive AgentsMajor Depressive DisorderBrainBrain MappingConnectomeHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingNeuroimagingTranscranial Magnetic StimulationAntidepressive Agents

Identifiers

PMID39406999
PMCPMC11746144

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.