Habenula responses during appetitive and aversive conditioning in major depressive disorder.

The lateral habenula (LHb) has been shown to respond to cues that predict aversive stimuli in non-human primates (Matsumoto & Hikosaka, 2009, Nat Neurosci, 12 (1), 77-84) and has been implicated in reinforcement processing and the pathophysiology of major depression (MDD) (Roiser et al, Biol Psychiatry, 66 (5), 441-450), possibly via reciprocal connections with monoaminergic nuclei. We report the first high-resolution fMRI investigation of haemodynamic responses during appetitive and aversive conditioning in the LHb in unipolar MDD. Additionally, we report the first assessment of tonic habenula function using quantitative Arterial Spin Labelling (ASL) in MDD