TY - JOUR
T1 - Anterior cingulate activation and error processing during interferon-alpha treatment
AU - Capuron, Lucile
AU - Pagnoni, Giuseppe
AU - Demetrashvili, Marina
AU - Woolwine, Bobbi J.
AU - Nemeroff, Charles B.
AU - Berns, Gregory S.
AU - Miller, Andrew H.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (EB002635), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (MH067990 and MH069124), and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (DA00367).
PY - 2005/8/1
Y1 - 2005/8/1
N2 - Background: There has been increasing interest in the role of immunologic processes, notably cytokines, in the development of behavioral alterations, especially in medically ill patients. Interferon (IFN)-α is notorious for causing behavioral symptoms, including depression, fatigue, and cognitive dysfunction, and has been used to investigate the effects of cytokines on the brain. Methods: In the present study we assessed the effects of low-dose IFN-α on brain activity, using functional magnetic resonance imaging during a task of visuospatial attention in patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Results: Despite endorsing symptoms of impaired concentration and fatigue, IFN-α-treated patients (n = 10) exhibited task performance and activation of parietal and occipital brain regions similar to that seen in HCV-infected control subjects (n = 11). Interestingly, however, in contrast to control subjects, IFN-α-treated patients exhibited significant activation in the dorsal part of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which highly correlated with the number of task-related errors. No such correlation was found in control subjects. Conclusions: Consistent with the role of the ACC in conflict monitoring, ACC activation during IFN-α administration suggests that cytokines might increase processing conflict or reduce the threshold for conflict detection, thereby signaling the need to exert greater mental effort to maintain performance. Such alterations in ACC activity might in turn contribute to cytokine-induced behavioral changes.
AB - Background: There has been increasing interest in the role of immunologic processes, notably cytokines, in the development of behavioral alterations, especially in medically ill patients. Interferon (IFN)-α is notorious for causing behavioral symptoms, including depression, fatigue, and cognitive dysfunction, and has been used to investigate the effects of cytokines on the brain. Methods: In the present study we assessed the effects of low-dose IFN-α on brain activity, using functional magnetic resonance imaging during a task of visuospatial attention in patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Results: Despite endorsing symptoms of impaired concentration and fatigue, IFN-α-treated patients (n = 10) exhibited task performance and activation of parietal and occipital brain regions similar to that seen in HCV-infected control subjects (n = 11). Interestingly, however, in contrast to control subjects, IFN-α-treated patients exhibited significant activation in the dorsal part of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which highly correlated with the number of task-related errors. No such correlation was found in control subjects. Conclusions: Consistent with the role of the ACC in conflict monitoring, ACC activation during IFN-α administration suggests that cytokines might increase processing conflict or reduce the threshold for conflict detection, thereby signaling the need to exert greater mental effort to maintain performance. Such alterations in ACC activity might in turn contribute to cytokine-induced behavioral changes.
KW - Anterior cingulate
KW - Cognition
KW - Cytokines
KW - Depression
KW - fMRI
KW - Interferon-alpha
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U2 - 10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.03.033
DO - 10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.03.033
M3 - Article
C2 - 16084839
AN - SCOPUS:23444443373
VL - 58
SP - 190
EP - 196
JO - Biological Psychiatry
JF - Biological Psychiatry
SN - 0006-3223
IS - 3
ER -