Title |
Smaller gray matter volume of hippocampus/parahippocampus in elderly people with subthreshold depression: a cross-sectional study
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Published in |
BMC Psychiatry, July 2016
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DOI | 10.1186/s12888-016-0928-0 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Huixia Zhou, Rui Li, Zhenling Ma, Sonja Rossi, Xinyi Zhu, Juan Li |
Abstract |
Hippocampal/parahippocampal structural changes accompany major depressive disorders in the elderly, but whether subthreshold depression (StD) at an advanced age is also accompanied by similar changes in hippocampal/parahippocampal volumes is still unknown. By using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis of the gray matter, we explored whether there are structural alterations of the hippocampus/parahippocampus and the correlations between its volume and participants' self-reported depressive symptoms. Participants were 19 community-dwelling older adults with StD assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) scores. We collected magnetic resonance images of their brain compared to images of 17 healthy aged-matched adults. We used VBM to analyze differences in gray matter volume (GMV) of the hippocampus/parahippocampus between the two groups. Moreover, we examined the correlation between the GMV of the hippocampus/parahippocampus and participants' self-reported depressive symptoms. VBM revealed that elderly individuals with StD had substantially reduced volumes of the right parahippocampus compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, the volumes of the hippocampus/parahippocampus were significantly associated with participants' self-reported depressive symptoms in StD. Gray matter volume alterations in the hippocampus/parahippocampus are correlated with subthreshold depression suggesting that early structural changes in the hippocampus/parahippocampus can constitute a risk indicator of depression. |
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Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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Unknown | 84 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
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Researcher | 11 | 13% |
Student > Master | 10 | 12% |
Student > Bachelor | 10 | 12% |
Student > Postgraduate | 6 | 7% |
Other | 14 | 17% |
Unknown | 21 | 25% |
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Neuroscience | 8 | 10% |
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Sports and Recreations | 2 | 2% |
Other | 10 | 12% |
Unknown | 27 | 32% |