title: Structural Asymmetry of Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Correlates with Depressive Symptoms: Evidence from Healthy Individuals and Patients with Major Depressive Disorder.
abstract: In this study, we investigated the role of structural asymmetry of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in the continuum of depression from healthy individuals to patients. Structural magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 70 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), 49 matched controls, and 349 healthy university students to calculate structural asymmetry indexes of the DLPFC. First-episode, treatment-naive MDD patients showed a relatively lower asymmetry index than healthy controls, and their asymmetry index was negatively correlated with the depressive symptoms. This abnormality was normalized by antidepressants in medicated MDD patients. Furthermore, the asymmetry index was negatively correlated with the depressive symptoms in university students; this was replicated at two time points in a subgroup of students, suggesting good test-retest reliability. Our findings are consistent with previous studies that support the imbalance hypothesis of MDD and suggest a potential structural basis underlying the functional asymmetry of the DLPFC in depression. In future, the structural index of the DLPFC may become a potential biomarker to evaluate individuals' risk for the onset of MDD.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400715, China.|Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400715, China.|Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400715, China.|Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.
authors.forename: Dongtao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400715, China.|Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.
authors.forename: Junyi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400715, China.|Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. xiepeng@cqmu.edu.cn.|Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Chongqing, 400016, China. xiepeng@cqmu.edu.cn.|Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. xiepeng@cqmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400715, China. qiuj318@swu.edu.cn.|Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China. qiuj318@swu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qiu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents
keywords: Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; Major depressive disorder; Structural asymmetry; Structural magnetic resonance imaging