Gene expression and response to psychological therapy

This study represents the first investigation of genome-wide expression profiles with respect to psychological treatment outcome. Participants (n=102) with panic disorder or specific phobia received exposure-based CBT. Treatment outcome was defined as percentage reduction from baseline in clinician-rated severity of their primary anxiety diagnosis at post-treatment and six month follow-up. Gene expression was determined from whole blood samples at 3 time-points using the Illumina HT-12v4 BeadChip microarray. No changes in gene expression were significantly associated with treatment outcomes when correcting for multiple testing (q<0.05), although a small number of genes showed a suggestive association with treatment outcome (q<0.5, n=20). Study reports suggestive evidence for the role of a small number of genes in treatment outcome. Although preliminary, the findings contribute to a growing body of research suggesting that response to psychological therapies may be associated with changes at a biological level. Whole blood RNA was collected from patients (n=102) receiving exposure-based CBT at pre- and post-treatment and at follow-up, for investigation of association with therapy outcome. Includes 9 technical replicates.