RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Elevated body weight modulates subcortical volume change and associated clinical response following electroconvulsive therapy JF Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience JO JPN FD Canadian Medical Association SP E418 OP E426 DO 10.1503/jpn.200176 VO 46 IS 4 A1 Opel, Nils A1 Narr, Katherine L. A1 Abbott, Christopher A1 Argyelan, Miklos A1 Espinoza, Randall A1 Emsell, Louise A1 Bouckaert, Filip A1 Sienaert, Pascal A1 Vandenbulcke, Mathieu A1 Nordanskog, Pia A1 Repple, Jonathan A1 Kavakbasi, Erhan A1 Jorgensen, Martin B. A1 Paulson, Olaf B. A1 Hanson, Lars G. A1 Dols, Annemieke A1 van Exel, Eric A1 Oudega, Mardien L. A1 Takamiya, Akihiro A1 Kishimoto, Taishiro A1 Ousdal, Olga Therese A1 Haavik, Jan A1 Hammar, Åsa A1 Oedegaard, Ketil Joachim A1 Kessler, Ute A1 Bartsch, Hauke A1 Dale, Anders M. A1 Baune, Bernhard T. A1 Dannlowski, Udo A1 Oltedal, Leif A1 Redlich, Ronny YR 2021 UL http://jpn.ca/content/46/4/E418.abstract AB Background: Obesity is a frequent somatic comorbidity of major depression, and it has been associated with worse clinical outcomes and brain structural abnormalities. Converging evidence suggests that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) induces both clinical improvements and increased subcortical grey matter volume in patients with depression. However, it remains unknown whether increased body weight modulates the clinical response and structural neuroplasticity that occur with ECT.Methods: To address this question, we conducted a longitudinal investigation of structural MRI data from the Global ECT-MRI Research Collaboration (GEMRIC) in 223 patients who were experiencing a major depressive episode (10 scanning sites). Structural MRI data were acquired before and after ECT, and we assessed change in subcortical grey matter volume using FreeSurfer and Quarc.Results: Higher body mass index (BMI) was associated with a significantly lower increase in subcortical grey matter volume following ECT. We observed significant negative associations between BMI and change in subcortical grey matter volume, with pronounced effects in the thalamus and putamen, where obese participants showed increases in grey matter volume that were 43.3% and 49.6%, respectively, of the increases found in participants with normal weight. As well, BMI significantly moderated the association between subcortical grey matter volume change and clinical response to ECT. We observed no significant association between BMI and clinical response to ECT.Limitations: Because only baseline BMI values were available, we were unable to study BMI changes during ECT and their potential association with clinical and grey matter volume change.Conclusion: Future studies should take into account the relevance of body weight as a modulator of structural neuroplasticity during ECT treatment and aim to further explore the functional relevance of this novel finding.