title: Rostral anterior cingulate cortex volume correlates with depressed mood in normal healthy children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) has been implicated as a structural neural correlate of familial major depressive disorder, raising the possibility that the structure of this region may act as a biologic marker of depression vulnerability. The aim of the current study was to determine whether children and adolescents with depressive symptoms have lower rACC volume relative to those without symptoms and examine how a positive family history of depression affects this relationship.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred twelve normal healthy children (59 boys, 53 girls), age 7 to 17, without a current diagnosis or history of depression or other psychiatric illness, were recruited from the community. Mood symptoms were collected using the Pediatric Behavior Scale, a parent- and teacher-reported questionnaire. Volumetric measures of the rACC were generated using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The relationship of depressive symptoms and rACC volume was examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  1) The rACC volume was significantly lower in boys with subclinical depressive symptoms compared with boys with no depressive symptoms, particularly on the left side (14.6% reduction; F = 8.90, p = .005). 2) There was a negative correlation of rACC volume and depressive symptoms in boys, a finding that was more robust in subjects with a positive family history of depression. 3) In girls, there was not a significant association of depressive symptoms and rACC volume.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings lend further support to the notion that rACC structure may act as a biologic marker of vulnerability or trait marker of depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA. aaron-boes@uiowa.edu
authors.forename: Aaron D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Boes
authors.forename: Laurie M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Coryell
authors.forename: Peg
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nopoulos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007360:Intelligence; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values