Altered white matter integrity in young adults with first-episode, treatment-naive, and treatment-responsive depression.
Abnormalities of the white matter (WM) tracts integrity in brain areas involved in emotional regulation have been postulated in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, there is no diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study in patients with treatment-responsive MDD at present. DTI scans were performed on 22 patients with treatment-responsive MDD and 19 well-matched healthy subjects. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) approach was employed to analyze the scans. Voxel-wise statistics revealed four brain WM tracts with lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in patients compared to healthy subjects: the bilateral internal capsule, the genu of corpus callosum, the bilateral anterior corona radiata, and the right external capsule. FA values were nowhere higher in patients compared to healthy subjects. Our findings demonstrate that the abnormalities of the WM tracts, major in the projection fibers and corpus callosum, may contribute to the pathogenesis of treatment-responsive MDD.
Mental Health Institute, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China.
Wen-bin
WB
Guo
Feng
F
Liu
Zhi-min
ZM
Xue
Keming
K
Gao
Ren-rong
RR
Wu
Chao-qiong
CQ
Ma
Zhe-ning
ZN
Liu
Chang-qing
CQ
Xiao
Hua-fu
HF
Chen
Jing-ping
JP
Zhao
D000328:Adult; D016880:Anisotropy; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
D000928:Antidepressive Agents