Procesamiento de la música en el primer episodio de trastorno depresivo mayor sin tratamiento

Abstract

The purpose of this study is the assessment of the differences in brain activity when patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) listen to two different types of music, with healthy subjects as control, by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Brain activity in musical stimuli with healthy subjects has been investigated extensively, but there are few neurobiologic music studies in mental illness, particularly in MDD. Studies in this area provide a new perspective on interdisciplinary research to explore the neurobiological substrates of MDD. This study involved 20 male subjects: 10 patients (34 ± 7 years), and 10 control subjects (33 ± 7 years). The MDD Patients were selected in the pre-consultation service of the National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz (INPRFM) of Mexico City, and control subjects were selected among workers of the Institute who responded to the invitation. All participants completed the Hamilton scales for anxiety and depression, Beck inventories for depression and anxiety and, the SCL-90-R. The Mini-Mental State Examination test was also administered to patients for diagnostic purposes. The fMRI was obtained by Philips Achieva 3-Tesla in the INPRF; the analysis was done using SPM2 format MRIcro system. The experimental stimuli were two pieces of music: one by JS Bach validated as quiet and another one by J Prodromidès validated as disturbing. Results show differences between both groups of subjects and between types of music. In all cases, the parahippocampal area, the tail of the caudate nucleus and the auditory temporal cortex were activated. The neurobiological processing of music is affected by MDD. We discuss the clinical and cognitive implications of these findings.