Depression-related variation in brain morphology over 3 years: effects of stress?
BACKGROUND
Results of experimental studies suggest that neuroplastic changes may occur during depressive episodes. These effects have not been confirmed in patients with depression, to our knowledge.


OBJECTIVE
To examine changes in the brains of patients with major depression vs those of healthy control subjects.


METHODS
Prospective longitudinal 3-year study.


METHODS
Inpatients with major depression were recruited from the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany, and controls were recruited from the local community.


METHODS
The study included 38 patients with major depression and 30 healthy controls.


METHODS
High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging was performed at baseline and 3 years later. Voxel-based morphometric measurements were estimated from magnetic resonance images, and psychopathologic findings were assessed at baseline, weekly during the inpatient phase, and then after 1, 2, and 3 years.


RESULTS
Compared with controls, patients showed significantly more decline in gray matter density of the hippocampus, anterior cingulum, left amygdala, and right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Patients who remitted during the 3-year period had less volume decline than nonremitted patients in the left hippocampus, left anterior cingulum, left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and bilaterally in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.


CONCLUSIONS
This study supports findings from animal studies of neuroplastic stress-related processes that occur in the hippocampus, amygdala, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and anterior cingulum during depressive episodes.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Thomas S
TS
Frodl
Nikolaos
N
Koutsouleris
Ronald
R
Bottlender
Christine
C
Born
Markus
M
Jäger
Isabel
I
Scupin
Maximilian
M
Reiser
Hans-Jürgen
HJ
Möller
Eva M
EM
Meisenzahl
D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001284:Atrophy; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000473:pathology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D012016:Reference Values; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology
D000928:Antidepressive Agents