SynthesisBiological psychiatry2023
Medial Frontal Cortex GABA Concentrations in Psychosis Spectrum and Mood Disorders: A Meta-analysis of Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Studies.
Synthesis in Biological psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Glutamatergic Modulation of Brain Function in Psychosis: A Systematic Review of Neuroimaging Studies.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2025Pooled it
- Glutamate- and GABA-targeted drugs for Cc-occurring bipolar and alcohol use disorders: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study of N-acetylcysteine, gabapentin, and placebo.Translational psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Alterations in gamma-aminobutyric acid and glutamate neurotransmission linked to intermittent theta-burst stimulation in depression: a sham-controlled study.Translational psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Article
- GABAergic Neuroactive Steroids and Network States: Relevance to Peripartum Depression.Biological psychiatry · 2026Review
- Investigating the disturbance in cortical glutamate and GABA function in psychosis and its origins and consequences.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- A Longitudinal Assessment of Anterior Cingulate Cortex Gamma-aminobutyric Acid in Antipsychotic Medication-naïve First Episode Psychosis Patients.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2026Article
- The link between GABA levels and P300 abnormalities in schizophrenia spectrum disorders: regional and symptom-based insights.Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Age-dependent alterations in anterior cingulate excitation-inhibition balance in major depressive disorder revealed by 7-Tesla magnetic resonance spectroscopy.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2026Article
- Concerted elevations of cortical and striatal glutamate and GABA in antipsychotic-free individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Molecular Mechanisms Explaining Neuroanatomical Subtypes in Major Depressive Disorder: Insights From Cortical Morphometric Inverse Divergence.Human brain mapping · 2025Article
- State-dependent reactivity of anterior cingulate cortex neurochemistry and downstream autonomic arousal in intrusive thinking.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2025Article
- Cell-type specific reductions in interneuron gene expression within the cingulate gyrus of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder subjects.Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Cerebellar contribution to emotion regulation and its association with medial frontal GABA level.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2025Article
- GABAergic and inflammatory changes in the frontal cortex following neonatal PCP plus isolation rearing, as a dual-hit neurodevelopmental model for schizophrenia.Molecular neurobiology · 2024Article
- Longitudinal trajectories of anterior cingulate glutamate and subclinical psychotic experiences in early adolescence: the impact of bullying victimization.Molecular psychiatry · 2024Article
- From air to mind: unraveling the impact of indoor pollutants on psychiatric disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Review
- Evaluation of Brain-Body Health in Individuals With Common Neuropsychiatric Disorders.JAMA psychiatry · 2023Article
- Increased rostral medial frontal GABA+ in early psychosis is obscured by levels of negative affect.Schizophrenia research · 2023Article
- Progress in the application of molecular imaging in psychiatric disorders.Psychoradiology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAbnormalities of GABAergic (gamma-aminobutyric acidergic) systems may play a role in schizophrenia and mood disorders. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy allows for noninvasive in vivo quantification of GABA; however, studies of GABA in schizophrenia have yielded inconsistent findings. This may stem from grouping together disparate voxels from functionally heterogeneous regions.
methodsWe searched PubMed for magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies of GABA in the medial frontal cortex (MFC) in patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression and in individuals meeting criteria for ultra-high risk for psychosis. Voxel placements were classified as rostral-, rostral-mid-, mid-, or posterior MFC, and meta-analyses were conducted for each group for each subregion.
resultsOf 341 screened articles, 23 studies of schizophrenia, 6 studies of bipolar disorder, 20 studies of depression, and 7 studies of ultra-high risk met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis revealed lower mid- (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -0.28, 95% CI, -0.48 to -0.07, p < .01) and posterior (SMD = -0.29, 95% CI, -0.49 to -0.09, p < .01) MFC GABA in schizophrenia and increased rostral MFC GABA in bipolar disorder (SMD = 0.76, 95% CI, 0.25 to -1.25, p < .01). In depression, reduced rostral MFC GABA (SMD = -0.36, 95% CI, -0.64 to -0.08, p = .01) did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. We found no evidence for GABA differences in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis.
conclusionsWhile limited by small numbers of published studies, these results substantiate the relevance of GABA in the pathophysiology of psychosis spectrum and mood disorders and underline the importance of voxel placement.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.