Relationship Between White Matter Integrity and Childhood Trauma in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder in...

ObjectiveChildhood trauma can lead to major depressive disorder (MDD) in adulthood. Based on the hypothesis that childhood trauma disrupts white matter integrity and predisposes individuals to MDD, this study investigated the relationship between childhood trauma, white matter integrity disruption, and the presence of MDD.MethodsThis study included 30 patients with MDD in a depressive episode and 30 control subjects aged 18-65. All subjects underwent magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (MR-DTI) and completed the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ).ResultsControlling for age and education, no difference was found between the patient and control groups for the mean fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the forceps major, forceps minor, and the right and left corticospinal tracts. However, the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value of the forceps minor (a white matter fiber tract in the brain, located in the anterior part of the corpus callosum that connects the two frontal lobes) was significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group. There was also a positive correlation between the ADC value of the left corticospinal tract and physical neglect in the patient group.ConclusionThe significantly higher ADC values observed in the forceps minor group compared to the control group suggests impaired white matter integrity in depressed patients. The positive correlation between the ADC value of the left corticospinal tract and physical neglect in the patient group supports the possibility that childhood trauma affects the integrity of brain white matter, thereby predisposing individuals to psychopathology. Prospective studies involving larger samples are needed to replicate the initial findings from this case-control study.