Functional neuroimaging in geriatric depression.

Abnormalities in specific cerebral networks likely confer vulnerability that increases the susceptibility for development of geriatric depression and affect the course of symptoms. Functional neuroimaging enables the in vivo identification of alterations in cerebral function that characterize disease vulnerability and contribute to variability in depressive symptoms and antidepressant response. Judicious use of functional neuroimaging tools can advance pathophysiologic models of geriatric depression. Furthermore, geriatric depression provides a logical context within which to study the role of specific functional abnormalities in both antidepressant response and key behavioral and cognitive abnormalities of mood disorders.