Journal of International Psychiatry

[Abstract] Objective To explore the effect of sertraline on resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging in the treatment of depression. Methods Fifty patients with depression from February 2021 to October 2022 were selected as the study subjects, and they were divided into the depression group. All patients were treated with sertraline, and 30 healthy volunteers matched with general information were selected as the control group. Both the control group and the depression group underwent functional imaging scans in a resting state before and after treatment. The brain regions with significant differences in low-frequency oscillation amplitude (fALFF) and local consistency (ReHo) between the depression group and the control group, as well as the depression group before and after treatment were recorded. The Hamilton Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAMA, HAMD) before and after treatment were evaluated. Results The fALFF of right middle temporal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus and right anterior cuneiform lobe in depression group was higher than that in control group. The fALFF in the left cerebellar hemisphere and left middle occipital gyrus was lower than that in the control group, the ReHo in the left middle frontal gyrus was higher than that in the control group, and the ReHo in the right precentral gyrus and left posterior central gyrus were significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). Compared with the depression group before and after treatment, fALFF in the left cerebellar hemisphere and left occipital gyrus increased, while ReHo in the left frontal gyrus increased (P<0.05). The HAMA score and HAMD score of the depression group were significantly reduced before and after treatment (P<0.05). Conclusion Depression patients have changes in fALFF and ReHo in multiple brain regions before treatment. Sertraline has shown significant short-term efficacy in treating depression and can alter fALFF and ReHo in some brain regions.

Key words Sertraline; Depression; Resting State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Brain Imaging; Ratio low-frequency Oscillation Amplitude; Local Consistency