title: Reduced amygdala volume in newly admitted psychiatric in-patients with unipolar major depression.
abstract: Structural neuroimaging studies investigating amygdala volumes in patients suffering from major depression have yielded variable results. Discrepant findings across studies may be attributable in part to heterogeneity with respect to antidepressant medication and to lack of adequate control for the effects of total brain volume and age. Here, 24 unipolar depressed in-patients newly admitted to a psychiatric unit and 14 healthy control participants matched for age, gender, and years of education underwent quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) toward the end of a one-week washout period. Saliva cortisol was measured at 08.00 and at 16.00h in patients during washout. Absolute amygdala volumes were significantly reduced in the patient group (by 13% in left amygdala and 12% in right amygdala). The effect of reduced amygdala volumes in patients remained significant after correction for brain volume (BV) and age. Furthermore, amygdala volume measurements in the patient sample showed a significant inverse relationship to the number of preceding depressive episodes. In patients, severity of disease (baseline HAMD scores) and baseline cortisol levels were not related to amygdala volume. This study of a sample of unmedicated depressed in-patients adds to the small, yet growing, body of evidence linking untreated major depression to reduced amygdala volume.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Golo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kronenberg
authors.forename: Ludger
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tebartz van Elst
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Regen
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deuschle
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Heuser
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Colla
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007297:Inpatients; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone