Structural Changes in Hippocampal Subfields in Major Depressive Disorder: A High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.01.005

Biological Psychiatry

Volume 74, Issue 1, 1 July 2013, Pages 62-68

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.01.005 Get rights and content

Background

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown lower hippocampal volume in major depressive disorder (MDD). Preclinical and postmortem studies show that chronic stress and MDD may affect hippocampal subfields differently, but MRI spatial resolution has previously been insufficient to measure subfield volumes.

Methods

Twenty MDD participants (9 unmedicated and 11 medicated, both>6 months) and 27 healthy control subjects were studied. We used T2-weighted two-dimensional fast spin echo and T1-weighted three-dimensional magnetization prepared rapid acquisition gradient-echo sequences at 4.7 T to compare hippocampal subfield volumes at .09 μL voxel volume.

Results

Unmedicated MDD participants had a lower dentate gyrus volume than control subjects or medicated MDD participants and a lower cornu ammonis (CA1–3) volume in the hippocampal body subregion than control subjects.

Conclusions

Hippocampal volumes in unmedicated MDD showed evidence of localization to specific subfields and subregions, findings that appear, on the surface, consistent with preclinical evidence for localized mechanisms of hippocampal neuroplasticity. Strengths include in vivo measurement of entire hippocampal subfields and separation between unmedicated and medicated MDD. Limitations include power to control for multiple comparisons and that MRI landmarks approximate the subfields defined by cellular microstructure.

Section snippets

Participants

Twenty patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for MDD with moderate or severe episodes were recruited, based on full clinical assessment and the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnosis for DSM-IV (SCID) (34), together with 27 healthy control subjects. Participants were males or premenopausal females aged 18 to 50 years, and the groups were similar in age, sex, education, and smoking. Of the MDD participants, 11 reported continuous use of antidepressant treatment for more than 6 months (median 30,

Participants

MDD participants did not differ in ICV between subgroups or from healthy subjects (control subjects = 1576±163 cm³; MDD = 1618±126 cm³; unmedicated MDD = 1662±155 cm³; medicated MDD = 1583±89 cm³; all ps>.1). Unmedicated and medicated MDD participants did not differ in age at onset, disease extent, or childhood maltreatment, but medicated MDD participants had lower HAM-D scores (Table 1).

Hippocampal Total and Subregion Volumes

Diagnosis (MDD vs. control subjects)×hemisphere, or treatment (unmedicated MDD vs. medicated MDD vs. control

Discussion

To our knowledge, this is the first study to report that mean DG volume and volume of CA1–3 in the hippocampal body were smaller in medication-naive or recently unmedicated MDD participants than in healthy control subjects. A secondary finding is that, consistent with other recent MRI studies, there is also topographical variation along the longitudinal axis of the hippocampus, with smaller volume posteriorly, in the hippocampal body and tail in unmedicated MDD, rather than anteriorly in the

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Archival ReportStructural Changes in Hippocampal Subfields in Major Depressive Disorder: A High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Participants

Participants

Hippocampal Total and Subregion Volumes

Discussion

Biol Psychiatry

J Psychiatr Res

Biol Psychiatry

Biol Psychiatry

J Psychiatr Res

Prog Neurobiol

Am J Pathol

Biol Psychiatry

Neuroimage

Neuron

Biol Psychiatry

J Affect Disord

Biol Psychiatry

Psychiatry Res Neuroimag

Biol Psychiatry

Psychiatry Res

Biol Psychiatry

Neurosci Biobehav Rev

Biol Psychiatry

Biol Psychiatry

Eur J Pharmacol

Behav Brain Res

Neuropharmacology

Neuropharmacology

A meta-analysis examining clinical predictors of hippocampal volume in patients with major depressive disorder

J Psychiatry Neurosci

Effect of hippocampal and amygdala volumes on clinical outcomes in major depression: A 3-year prospective magnetic resonance imaging study

J Psychiatry Neurosci

Structural changes in the hippocampus in major depressive disorder: Contributions of disease and treatment

J Psychiatry Neurosci

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What causes the hippocampal volume decrease in depression? Are neurogenesis, glial changes and apoptosis implicated?

Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci

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Neuropsychopharmacology

Archival Report
Structural Changes in Hippocampal Subfields in Major Depressive Disorder: A High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study