Objective: Comorbid anxiety symptoms are common in patients with major depressive disorders and contribute to poorer response to both psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic depression treatments. The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of Interpersonal Counseling (IPC) with antidepressant treatments in primary care patients with anxious and nonanxious major depression. Method: Participants with depression symptoms, enrolled from primary care sites, were randomized to 8 weeks treatment with either IPC or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). Participants were eligible if they met criteria for nonpsychotic Major Depression Disorder (MDD) based on the criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition). A minimum Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) score of ≥8 was also required. Using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A, score > 14) patients were classified as anxious or nonanxious. Rates of remission (defined as HAM-D score of ≤7 over 3 consecutive weeks) and change from baseline in anxiety and depression symptoms were compared between patients with anxious depression and those with nonanxious depression. Results: In the nonanxious subgroup the proportion of patients who achieved remission was no significant in the IPC group compared with the SSRI group (77.78% vs 72.73%; P= 0.9). The proportion of anxious patients who achieved remission was significantly higher in the IPC group compared with the SSRI group (100% vs 87.5%; P<0.0001). Analyses based on continuous scores indicated a significant improvement over the 8 weeks in depressive symptoms in both the nonanxious and the anxious subgroups and between the initial and final scores in anxiety symptoms in the anxious subgroup. Conclusions: IPC can be as effective as medications for the treatment of mild to moderate major depression and is an effective treatment option for the proportion of patients with MDD who have prominent anxious symptoms. These results indicate the need to consider different strategies for the management of patients with anxious depression in primary care

The prediction of future events is fundamental in a large number of critical neurobehavioral contexts including implicit motor learning. This learning process relies on the probabilities with which events occur, and is a dynamic phenomenon. The aim of present study was to investigate the development of anticipatory processes during implicit learning. A decision making task was employed in which the frequency of trial types was manipulated such that one trial type was disproportionately prevalent as compared to the remaining three trial types. A 275 channel whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) system was used to investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of event-related desynchronization (ERD) and synchronization (ERS). The results revealed that oscillations within the alpha (10-12 Hz) and beta (14-30 Hz) frequencies were associated with anticipatory processes in distinct networks in the course of learning. During early phases of learning the contralateral motor cortex, the anterior cingulate, the caudate and the inferior frontal gyrus showed ERDs within beta and alpha frequencies, putatively reflecting preparation of next motor response. As the task progressed, alpha ERSs in occipitotemporal regions and putamen likely reflect perceptual anticipation of the forthcoming stimuli.