Cortical and subcortical morphological alterations in postpartum depression

Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common postpartum psychiatric disorder, which can negatively affect both mothers and their offspring. Although the functional changes of PPD have been extensively studied, little is known about its structural abnormalities. This study aimed to examine the cortical and subcortical morphological abnormalities in PPD. High resolution T1 structural MRI data of 29 PPD women and 23 matched healthy postpartum women (HPW) were included in this study. Using surface-based morphometry, we examined the differences between the PPD and HPW group in the cortical thickness, local gyrification index and shape changes of deep gray matter nuclei. Compared with the HPW group, women with PPD showed significantly increased cortical thickness in the left superior frontal gyrus, cuneus and right lingual gyrus and fusiform gyrus, which correlated marginally with the EPDS scores of these subjects. In addition, women with PPD showed significant regional inflation in the right pallidum compared with the HPW group. These findings provided further evidence for the structural brain abnormalities in PPD.