Automated hippocampal subfields segmentation in late life depression
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Updated: May 20, 2026

High-resolution In Vivo Manual Segmentation Protocol for Human Hippocampal Subfields Using 3T Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: November 10, 2015
Hyun Kook Lim1, Seung Chul Hong, Won Sang Jung
1Department of Psychiatry, The Saint Vincent Hospital, Suwon, The College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Although a few automated hippocampal subfields segmentation methods have been developed, there has been no in vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) study on the hippocampal subfields volumes of Late Life Depression (LLD). The aim of this study was to investigate the hippocampal subfields volume differences between LLD subjects and healthy elderly controls using an automated hippocampal subfields segmentation technique. Thirty subjects with LLD and 30 group-matched healthy control subjects underwent 3T MRI scanning, and hippocampal subfields volumes were measured and compared between the groups. Subjects with LLD exhibited significant hippocampal volume reductions in the total hippocampus, subiculum, and Cornu Ammonis (CA) 2-3 areas compared with healthy subjects (uncorrected, p<0.001). This study is the first to elaborate the subfields volume differences of both hippocampi between controls and LLD patients. These structural changes in the hippocampal presubiculum, subiculum, and CA2-3 areas might be at the core of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of hippocampal dysfunction in LLD.

