Epigenome, Brain Laterality, ECT: New Review in brain sciences

 Out on PubMed, from authors in Boston, is this article:

Epigenome Defines Aberrant Brain Laterality in Major Mental Illnesses.

Abdolmaleky HM, Nohesara S, Thiagalingam S.Brain Sci. 2024 Mar 7;14(3):261. doi: 10.3390/brainsci14030261.PMID: 38539649

The abstract is copied below:

Brain-hemisphere asymmetry/laterality is a well-conserved biological feature of normal brain development. Several lines of evidence, confirmed by the meta-analysis of different studies, support the disruption of brain laterality in mental illnesses such as schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and autism. Furthermore, as abnormal brain lateralization in the planum temporale (a critical structure in auditory language processing) has been reported in patients with SCZ, it has been considered a major cause for the onset of auditory verbal hallucinations. Interestingly, the peripheral counterparts of abnormal brain laterality in mental illness, particularly in SCZ, have also been shown in several structures of the human body. For instance, the fingerprints of patients with SCZ exhibit aberrant asymmetry, and while their hair whorl rotation is random, 95% of the general population exhibit a clockwise rotation. In this work, we present a comprehensive literature review of brain laterality disturbances in mental illnesses such as SCZ, BD, ADHD, and OCD, followed by a systematic review of the epigenetic factors that may be involved in the disruption of brain lateralization in mental health disorders. We will conclude with a discussion on whether existing non-pharmacological therapies such as rTMS and ECT may be used to influence the altered functional asymmetry of the right and left hemispheres of the brain, along with their epigenetic and corresponding gene-expression patterns.

The paper is here.

And from the text:

This a long, complicated article; the ECT-related bits are all copied above. It's an interesting idea that RUL ECT can restore "lateralized epigenetic alterations observed in mental illness." That, however, seems to ignore the fact that bilateral ECT works even better then RUL...

In any case, it is good to see ECT considered as both a therapeutic agent and an experimental platform to unravel the underlying mysteries of psychiatric illness. 

(We can overlook the faux-precise misinformation about ECT stimulus dosing.)

And that brain graphic with annotated hemispheric functions is, alone, worth the price of admission.