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Updated: May 21, 2026

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression
Published on: May 19, 2015
Altered white matter integrity in young adults with first-episode, treatment-naive, and treatment-responsive
Wen-bin Guo1, Feng Liu, Zhi-min Xue
1Mental Health Institute, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China.
Abstract:
Abnormalities of the white matter (WM) tracts integrity in brain areas involved in emotional regulation have been postulated in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, there is no diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study in patients with treatment-responsive MDD at present. DTI scans were performed on 22 patients with treatment-responsive MDD and 19 well-matched healthy subjects. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) approach was employed to analyze the scans. Voxel-wise statistics revealed four brain WM tracts with lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in patients compared to healthy subjects: the bilateral internal capsule, the genu of corpus callosum, the bilateral anterior corona radiata, and the right external capsule. FA values were nowhere higher in patients compared to healthy subjects. Our findings demonstrate that the abnormalities of the WM tracts, major in the projection fibers and corpus callosum, may contribute to the pathogenesis of treatment-responsive MDD.
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