title: Cortical abnormalities and association with symptom dimensions across the depressive spectrum.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Few studies have investigated the relationship between structural brain abnormalities and dimensions of depressive symptomatology.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the current study, we examined the relationship between cortical structural abnormalities and specific behavioral dimensions relevant to depression in a sample of unmedicated patients with major depressive disorder (MDD, n=57) and demographically similar healthy control volunteers (HC, n=29). All subjects underwent diagnostic assessment with the SCID, MRI at 3T, and dimensional assessments using the visual analog scales (VAS). Cortical regions were extracted for each subject, and group comparisons of cortical volume (CV), surface area (SA), and cortical thickness (CT) were performed controlling for multiple comparisons using a bootstrapping technique. Regions demonstrating group differences were analyzed for correlation with specific dimensions assessments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  As compared with HC, MDD subjects exhibited reduced CV within the left supramarginal gyrus, right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), entorhinal cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, fusiform gyrus and pericalcarine; reduced SA in the right VLPFC, cuneus, and left temporal pole; and reduced CT in the right rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) (all p's<0.05, corrected). The largest effect occurred within the right VLPFC for CV and SA (MDD<HC; effect sizes: 0.60). CV in the right VLPFC inversely correlated with sadness, fatigue and worry; CT in the right rACC inversely correlated with irritability and fatigue.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Future studies will be required to further map the anatomical changes in depression to behavioral dimensions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that specific cortical abnormalities are associated with specific behavioral components linked to depression.
authors.affiliation: Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch, National Institute of Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United States.
authors.forename: Marc S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lener
authors.affiliation: Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute, Department of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.
authors.forename: Prantik
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kundu
authors.affiliation: Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute, Department of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.
authors.forename: Edmund
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1230, New York, NY, United States.
authors.forename: Kaitlin E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Dewilde
authors.affiliation: Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute, Department of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.
authors.forename: Cheuk Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute, Department of Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.
authors.forename: Priti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Balchandani
authors.affiliation: Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1230, New York, NY, United States; Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States; Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States. Electronic address: james.murrough@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Murrough
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D059906:Neuroimaging; D055815:Young Adult