Ventromedial prefrontal cortex thinning in preschool-onset depression

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) is crucial for emotional regulation, and its structural abnormalities are noted in adult depression.
• It remains unclear if similar VMPFC changes occur in children with early-onset depression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate cortical thickness differences in the VMPFC of children with a history of preschool-onset major depressive disorder (PO-MDD).

Main Methods:

• Structural brain imaging was performed on children aged 7-12 years within a longitudinal PO-MDD study.
• Cortical thickness of the VMPFC was compared between children with and without a history of PO-MDD using local cortical distance metrics.

Main Results:

• Children with a history of PO-MDD (n=34) exhibited significantly thinner right VMPFC compared to controls (n=95).
• This thinning was specific to PO-MDD, independent of other psychiatric conditions, and predicted by preschool depressive symptoms.

Conclusions:

• Preschool-onset depression is associated with reduced right VMPFC cortical thickness.
• This implicates the VMPFC in the pathophysiology of depression from early developmental stages.
• Longitudinal studies are needed to determine if this thinning is a vulnerability marker, consequence, or remission marker.