The available evidence suggests the early changes in cognition may predict treatment response in individuals with MDD .
The results depict an emerging trend towards early changes in facial emotion recognition ( i.e. , a hot cognitive process ) as a predictor of treatment outcome .
Conclusion : The identification of reliable early treatment predictors of antidepressant response would be clinical ly significant , enabling clinicians to more accurately evaluate the efficacy of selected treatment avenues .
HIGHLIGHTSCognitive dysfunction is a principal feature and determinant of health outcome in MDD.Cognitive changes have shown to occur prior to improvements in mood symptoms .
Early changes in emotional processing may predict treatment response in MDD
Background : Despite the widespread use of antidepressants in clinical practice , the current trial‐ and ‐error approach to medication selection contributes to treatment failure and underscores the need to identify reliable predictors of antidepressant response .
Since changes in measures of cognition have been reported to occur early in treatment and prior to improvements in overall mood symptoms , the present review aims to determine whether early changes in measures of cognition can predict response in individuals with MDD .
Agomelatine facilitates positive versus negative affective processing in healthy volunteer models
Agomelatine is a new antidepressant with a novel profile of pharmacological action . The clinical efficacy of agomelatine has been established in major depression , but its actions on emotional bias are unknown . Consequently , the current experimental study assessed the effect of agomelatine on emotional processing in healthy volunteers using an Emotional Test Battery shown to be sensitive to serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors . Volunteers were r and omized to receive placebo , 25 mg or 50 mg of agomelatine over a 7-day period in a double-blind parallel groups design . Emotional processing ( n = 48 ) was assessed on the morning of day 8 using the Emotional Test Battery which included facial expression recognition , emotional memory , attentional visual probe and emotion-potentiated startle . Mood and subjective state were monitored before and during treatment . Agomelatine ( 25 mg ) decreased subjective ratings of sadness , reduced recognition of sad facial expressions , improved positive affective memory and reduced the emotion-potentiated startle response . The results show that agomelatine has more selective effects on the processing of social facial cues than conventional antidepressants , which could contribute to less blunting of emotional experience . The study highlights the potential value of volunteer models in drug development for screening and profiling of novel antidepressants
The available evidence suggests the early changes in cognition may predict treatment response in individuals with MDD .
The results depict an emerging trend towards early changes in facial emotion recognition ( i.e. , a hot cognitive process ) as a predictor of treatment outcome .
Conclusion : The identification of reliable early treatment predictors of antidepressant response would be clinical ly significant , enabling clinicians to more accurately evaluate the efficacy of selected treatment avenues .
HIGHLIGHTSCognitive dysfunction is a principal feature and determinant of health outcome in MDD.Cognitive changes have shown to occur prior to improvements in mood symptoms .
Early changes in emotional processing may predict treatment response in MDD
Background : Despite the widespread use of antidepressants in clinical practice , the current trial‐ and ‐error approach to medication selection contributes to treatment failure and underscores the need to identify reliable predictors of antidepressant response .
Since changes in measures of cognition have been reported to occur early in treatment and prior to improvements in overall mood symptoms , the present review aims to determine whether early changes in measures of cognition can predict response in individuals with MDD .