Neuroplasticity-Related Genes and Dopamine Receptors Associated with Regional Cortical Thickness Increase Following Electroconvulsive Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective neuromodulatory therapy for major depressive disorder (MDD). Treatment is associated with regional changes in brain structure and function, indicating activation of neuroplastic processes. To investigate the underlying neurobiological mechanism of macroscopic reorganization following ECT, we longitudinally (before and after ECT in two centers) collected magnetic resonance images for 96 MDD patients. Similar patterns of cortical thickness (CT) changes following ECT were observed in two centers. These CT changes were spatially colocalized with a weighted combination of genes enriched for neuroplasticity-related ontology terms and pathways (e.g., synaptic pruning) as well as with a higher density of D2/3 dopamine receptors. A multiple linear regression model indicated that the region-specific gene expression and receptor density patterns explained 40% of the variance in CT changes after ECT. In conclusion, these findings suggested that dopamine signaling and neuroplasticity-related genes are associated with the ECT-induced morphological reorganization.