Abnormalities of cortical-limbic-cerebellar white matter networks may contribute to treatment-resistant depression: a diffusion tensor imaging study

BMC Psychiatry

Research Article

Jun Liu¹  Hui-rong Zheng²  Yu-ping Ning³  Bao-ci Shan⁴  Yan Zhang⁵  Hai-chen Yang⁵  Jian-song Zhou⁵  Ze-xuan Li⁵  Li Zhang⁵  Ling-jiang Li⁶  Hong-jun Peng⁷  Zhi-jun Zhang⁸ 

[1] Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China;Guangdong Mental Health Institute, Guangdong General Hospital, Guangzhou, China;Guangzhou Psychiatric Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College, Guangzhou, China;Key Laboratory of Nuclear Analysis, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China;Mental Health Institute, The 2nd Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 139 Renmin Zhong Road, 410011, Changsha, China;Mental Health Institute, The 2nd Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 139 Renmin Zhong Road, 410011, Changsha, China;Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China;Mental Health Institute, The 2nd Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 139 Renmin Zhong Road, 410011, Changsha, China;Guangzhou Psychiatric Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College, Guangzhou, China;The Department of Neuropsychiatry and Institute of Neuropsychiatric Research, Affiliated ZhongDa Hospital of Southeast University, Nanjing, China;

关键词: Treatment-resistant depression;    Diffusion tensor imaging;    Fractional anisotropy;    Voxel-based analysis method;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-244X-13-72

 received in 2012-08-30, accepted in 2013-02-21,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundWhite matter abnormalities can cause network dysfunction that underlies major depressive disorder (MDD). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is used to examine the neural connectivity and integrity of the white matter. Previous studies have implicated frontolimbic neural networks in the pathophysiology of MDD. Approximately 30% of MDD patients demonstrate treatment-resistant depression (TRD). However, the neurobiology of TRD remains unclear.MethodsWe used a voxel-based analysis method to analyze DTI data in young patients with TRD (n = 30; 19 males, 11 females) compared with right-handed, age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers (n = 25; 14 males, 11 females).ResultsWe found a significant decrease in fractional anisotropy (FA) (corrected, cluster size >50) in the left middle frontal gyrus (peak coordinates [−18 46–14]), left limbic lobe uncus (peak coordinates [−18 2–22]), and right cerebellum posterior lobe (peak coordinates [26–34 -40]). There was no increase in FA in any brain region in patients. We also found a significant negative correlation between mean regional FA values in the three areas and Beck Depression Inventory symptom scores.ConclusionsWe found significant differences in white matter FA in the frontal lobe, limbic lobe and cerebellum between TRD patients and controls. These data suggest that abnormalities of cortical-limbic-cerebellar white matter networks may contribute to TRD in young patients.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Peng et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.