Effect of temporal lobe structure volume on memory in elderly depressed patients.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the volume of the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus in elderly individuals with and without depressive disorders, and to determine whether the volumes of these regions correlate with scores on memory tests.


METHODS
Clinical and demographic differences, as well as differences in regional gray matter volumes, were assessed in 48 elderly patients with depressive disorders and 31 control subjects. Brain (structural MRI) scans were processed using statistical parametric mapping and voxel-based morphometry. Cognitive tests were administered to subjects in both groups.


RESULTS
There were no between-group gray matter volume differences in the hippocampus or parahippocampal gyrus. In the elderly depressed group only, the volume of the left parahippocampal gyrus correlated with scores on the delayed naming portion of the visual-verbal learning test. There were also significant direct correlations in depressed subjects between the volumes of the left hippocampus, right and left parahippocampal gyrus and immediate recall scores on verbal episodic memory tests and visual learning tests. In the control group, there were direct correlations only between overall cognitive performance (as assessed with the MMSE) and the volume of right hippocampus, and between the total score on the visual-verbal learning test and the volume of the right and left parahippocampal gyrus.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings highlight different patterns of relationship between cognitive performance and volumes of medial temporal structures in depressed individuals and healthy elderly subjects. The direct correlation between delayed visual-verbal memory recall scores with left parahippocampal volumes specifically in elderly depressed individuals provides support to the view that depression in elderly populations may be a risk factor for dementia.
Avila
Renata
R
Projeto Terceira Idade (PROTER, Old Age Research Group), Institute and Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05403-010, Brazil. avilarenata@uol.com.br
Ribeiz
Salma
S
Duran
Fábio L S
FL
Arrais
Jony P J
JP
Moscoso
Marco A A
MA
Bezerra
Diana M
DM
Jaluul
Omar
O
Castro
Claudio C
CC
Busatto
Geraldo F
GF
Bottino
Cássio M C
CM
D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology