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Decrease in genu of the corpus callosum in medication-naïve, early-onset dysthymia and depressive personality
In Kyoon Lyoo1, Jun Soo Kwon, Soo Jin Lee
1Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine and Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Biological Psychiatry
|December 19, 2002
Summary
Early-onset minor depression in young women is associated with smaller areas of the corpus callosum (CC), particularly the genu, suggesting frontal lobe structural abnormalities. These findings highlight the role of frontal lobe differences in the pathophysiology of milder depression.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Brain Imaging
Background:
- Previous research suggests reduced frontal lobe volume and altered hemispheric lateralization in depression.
- The corpus callosum (CC) facilitates communication between the brain's frontal regions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate regional differences in the corpus callosum (CC) between individuals with early-onset minor depression and healthy controls.
- To test the hypothesis that the genu of the CC, connecting frontal regions, is smaller in subjects with early-onset minor depression.
Main Methods:
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure seven regional areas of the CC in 40 female subjects with early-onset minor depression and 42 age- and gender-matched healthy comparison subjects.
- Subjects were medication-naïve and right-handed.
- Measurements were taken in both native and stereotaxic space.
Main Results:
- Significant interactions between diagnosis and CC region were observed.
- Subjects with early-onset minor depression exhibited a significantly smaller genu of the CC (9.9% in native space, 6.9% in stereotaxic space) compared to controls.
- A smaller posterior midbody of the CC was also observed in the minor depression group (7.8% in native space).
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest structural, and potentially functional, abnormalities in the frontal lobes of young adult females with early-onset minor depression (dysthymia or depressive personality disorder).
- These results indicate a potential role for frontal lobe abnormalities in the pathophysiology of early-onset minor depression.