Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Orbitofrontal cortex function and structure in depression.

Wayne C Drevets1

  • 1Section on Neuroimaging in Mood and Anxiety Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-2670, USA. drevetsw@intra.nimh.nih.gov

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|September 18, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Efficacy and Safety of the Selective, Brain-Penetrant P2X7 Receptor Antagonist JNJ-55308942 (Zanvipixant) in Bipolar Depression: A Phase 2a Study.

Biological psychiatry global open science·2026
Same author

Esketamine Nasal Spray: Mechanism of Action, Clinical, and Translational Science.

Clinical and translational science·2026
Same author

Safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of seltorexant versus quetiapine extended release as adjunctive therapy in major depressive disorder: a randomized, flexible-dose, 6-month, parallel-group, exploratory study.

The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology·2026
Same author

Efficacy and safety of adjunctive treatment with the fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor JNJ-42165279 in participants with major depressive disorder with anxious distress: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised study.

European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2026
Same author

Biomarker innovations in precision psychiatry diagnostics and treatment strategies.

European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2026
Same author

Clinical outcomes of youth at familial risk for bipolar disorder: A 2-year longitudinal, observational study.

Journal of affective disorders·2025
Same journal

Wired for Corruption: Inter-Brain Synchrony Encodes Bribery-Related Value Information and Predicts Bribery Agreement.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2026
Same journal

LM-YOLO: A Lightweight Multi-Scale Enhanced Model for Forest Smoke Detection Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2026
Same journal

Polyrhythm Perception and Production: A Scoping Review.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2026
Same journal

DARTS-CNN-BiLSTM: Intelligent Fault Diagnosis for Computer Numerical Control Machine Tool Feed System.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2026
Same journal

Synchrony and Reciprocity in Rhythmic Interaction.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2026
Same journal

Leveraging Salt Fortification Platforms to Address Multiple-Micronutrient Deficiencies in Africa: A Policy Opportunity.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·2026
See all related articles

The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a key role in major depression. Specific OFC regions are involved in mood regulation, with altered activity linked to depression severity and treatment response.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychiatry
  • Brain Imaging

Background:

  • The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is increasingly implicated in the pathophysiology of major depression.
  • Neuroimaging, neuropathologic, and lesion analysis studies reveal regional specificity in OFC abnormalities.
  • Distinct cytoarchitectural OFC regions appear to have distinct functional roles in mood regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the specific roles of different orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) regions in the pathophysiology of major depression.
  • To correlate OFC activity and structure with depression severity and treatment response.
  • To understand how OFC dysfunction contributes to mood disorders.

Main Methods:

  • Neuroimaging techniques (e.g., fMRI, volumetric analysis)

Related Experiment Videos

  • Neuropathologic examination
  • Lesion analysis
  • Analysis of hemodynamic responses to emotional stimuli and cognitive tasks (e.g., reversal learning, reward processing)

    • Main Results:

    • Severity of depression correlates inversely with activity in posterior lateral and medial OFC regions.
    • Posterior lateral and medial OFC regions show grey-matter reductions and histopathologic abnormalities in depressed individuals.
    • Anteromedial OFC activity increases during depression, correlating positively with severity, and decreases with effective antidepressant treatment.
    • OFC dysfunction is linked to increased vulnerability for major depressive syndrome.

    Conclusions:

    • Alterations in the functional balance of specific OFC subregions and their circuits are implicated in the pathophysiology of major depression.
    • Some OFC regions may inhibit emotional expression, while others enhance it, with imbalances contributing to mood disorders.
    • OFC dysfunction is a critical factor in the development and maintenance of major depressive disorder.