Keio University · Medicine
Professor Akihiro Takamiya's research lab specializes in neuropsychiatry and neuroimaging, focusing on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in severe mood disorders. The lab investigates how ECT induces structural and functional brain changes—particularly in limbic circuits, default mode network, and frontotemporal connectivity—linking these to clinical outcomes in treatment-resistant depression and late-life depression. Using advanced neuroimaging techniques such as amyloid PET and structural MRI, the lab explores the interplay between depression, neurodegeneration, and Alzheimer’s disease pathology in older adults. The research also emphasizes patient-reported outcomes and ethical considerations in involuntary ECT, integrating clinical, neurobiological, and psychosocial perspectives.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
ECT increased brain volume in the limbic structures. The clinical relevance of volume increase needs further investigation. Declaration of interest None.
The current meta-analysis suggests the potential benefit of ECT on motor and non-motor symptoms in presumably complicated and difficult-to-treat subgroups. © 2020 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
Approximately 80% of the patients showed overall satisfaction with ECT irrespective of consent status. Relatives were more satisfied with ECT than patients. Electroconvulsive therapy can be a lifesaving treatment for severely depressed patients, and the subjective experience of involuntary patients should be taken into consideration when discussing involuntary ECT treatment.
ECT-induced change in the right frontotemporal connectivity and thalamocortical connectivity, and changes in the nodes of the default mode network were associated with clinical improvement. Modulation of these networks may explain the underlying mechanisms by which ECT exert its potent and rapid antidepressant effect.
Right unilateral ECT induces widespread, bilateral regional volume expansion and contraction, with the largest change in the right MTL. This dynamic volume change cannot be explained by the effect of electrical stimulation alone and is related to the cumulative effect of ECT-induced seizures.
Late-life depression (LLD) is associated with a risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the role of AD-pathophysiology in LLD, and its association with clinical symptoms and cognitive function are elusive. In this study, one hundred subjects underwent amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with [<sup>18</sup>F]-flutemetamol and structural MRI: 48 severely depressed elderly subjects (age 74.1 ± 7.5 years, 33 female) and 52 age-/gender-matched healthy controls (72.4 ± 6.4
status: Published
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