Chunk #80 — Comorbidity of Post-traumatic stress disorder or major depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder and immune signaling — Major depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder
2003). Clinical findings link increases in peripheral inflammatory markers with decreases in the functional connectivity of PFC–striatum pathways (Felger et al., 2015). For instance, the inflammatory marker CRP is associated with decreased connectivity between ventral striatum and ventromedial PFC, which in turn correlates with increased depressive symptom severity (i.e. anhedonia) (Felger et al., 2015). Furthermore, symptoms of depression such as fatigue, hyperalgesia, anorexia, and social withdrawal, mirror the adaptive response to acute inflammation known as “sickness behavior” (Dantzer, 2006). Chronic depression may kindle a progressive sensitization of inflammatory pathways, resulting in long-term positive feedback loops between neuroinflammation and resulting cognitive symptoms (Maes et al., 2012; Miller and Raison, 2016).
