PREFRONTAL AND CEREBELLAR ABNORMALITIES IN MAJOR DEPRESSION - EVIDENCE FROM OCULOMOTOR STUDIES

Background: Neurobehavioral studies have identified multiple cognitive and motor system disturbances in depressed patients. Neuroimaging stu dies have identified abnormalities in neocortex, striatum, and cerebel lar vermis that are probable causes of these impairments. Methods: To further clarify the origins of motor and cognitive disturbances in maj or depression, unmedicated depressed inpatients (n = 29) and an age-an d gender matched healthy comparison group (n = 19) were tested with a battery of oculomotor tasks selected to assess the functional integrit y of frontostriatal circuitry and the cerebellar vermis. Results: Depr essed patients demonstrated increased rates of response suppression er rors on an antisaccade task, less accurate memory for spatial location information in a spatial delayed response task, dysmetric visually gu ided saccades, and increased rates of saccadic intrusions during visua l fixation. Conclusions: These results provide quantitative documentat ion of significant disturbances in neurophysiological processes subser ved by prefrontal cortex and the cerebellar vermis during episodes of major depression. (C) 1998 Society of Biological Psychiatry.