Association of anxiety and depression with microtubule-associated protein 2- and synaptopodin-immunolabeled dendrite and spine densities in hippocampal CA3 of older humans.
BACKGROUND
Chronic psychological distress has deleterious effects on many of the body's physiological systems. In experimental animal models, chronic stress leads to neuroanatomic changes in the hippocampus, in particular a decrease in the length and branching of dendrites as well as a decrease in the number of dendritic spines.


OBJECTIVE
To examine whether analogous distress-related neuroanatomic changes occur in humans and whether such changes might also be related to cognitive dysfunction observed in older people who report greater psychological distress.


METHODS
Postmortem study of brain tissues from participants of the Religious Orders Study, an ongoing population-based clinicopathological study of aging and cognition.


METHODS
The Rush University Religious Orders Study and the University of Pennsylvania Cellular and Molecular Neuropathology Program.


METHODS
Seventy-two deceased participants of the Religious Orders Study.


METHODS
Densities of microtubule-associated protein 2-immunolabeled dendrites and synaptopodin-immunolabeled dendritic spines in the CA3 subfield of the hippocampus, quantified using semiautomated image acquisition and analysis.


RESULTS
Higher levels of trait anxiety and longitudinal depression scores were associated with decreased densities of dendrites and spines in CA3. Dendrite and spine densities did not correlate with an index of global cognition or with densities of common age-related pathological changes.


CONCLUSIONS
Regressive neuronal changes occur in humans who experience greater psychological distress. These changes are analogous to neuronal changes in animal models of chronic stress.
Soetanto
Ainie
A
Cellular and Molecular Neuropathology Program, Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
Wilson
Robert S
RS
Talbot
Konrad
K
Un
Ashley
A
Schneider
Julie A
JA
Sobiesk
Mark
M
Kelly
Jeremiah
J
Leurgans
Sue
S
Bennett
David A
DA
Arnold
Steven E
SE
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D056654:CA3 Region, Hippocampal / Q000473:pathology*; D002410:Catholicism; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000473:pathology; D003712:Dendrites / Q000473:pathology; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000473:pathology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D012069:Religion and Psychology
D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins