Rostral anterior cingulate cortex volume correlates with depressed mood in normal healthy children

The rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) has been implicated as a structural neural correlate of familial major depressive disorder, raising the possibility that the structure of this region may act as a biologic marker of depression vulnerability. The aim of the current study was to determine whether children and adolescents with depressive symptoms have lower rACC volume relative to those without symptoms and examine how a positive family history of depression affects this relationship.

One hundred twelve normal healthy children (59 boys, 53 girls), age 7 to 17, without a current diagnosis or history of depression or other psychiatric illness, were recruited from the community. Mood symptoms were collected using the Pediatric Behavior Scale, a parent- and teacher-reported questionnaire. Volumetric measures of the rACC were generated using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The relationship of depressive symptoms and rACC volume was examined.

1) The rACC volume was significantly lower in boys with subclinical depressive symptoms compared with boys with no depressive symptoms, particularly on the left side (14.6% reduction; F = 8.90, p = .005). 2) There was a negative correlation of rACC volume and depressive symptoms in boys, a finding that was more robust in subjects with a positive family history of depression. 3) In girls, there was not a significant association of depressive symptoms and rACC volume.

These findings lend further support to the notion that rACC structure may act as a biologic marker of vulnerability or trait marker of depression.