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BMC Psychiatry
Published in: BMC Psychiatry 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research article

Smaller gray matter volume of hippocampus/parahippocampus in elderly people with subthreshold depression: a cross-sectional study

Authors: Huixia Zhou, Rui Li, Zhenling Ma, Sonja Rossi, Xinyi Zhu, Juan Li

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

Hippocampal/parahippocampal structural changes accompany major depressive disorders in the elderly, but whether subthreshold depression (StD) at an advanced age is also accompanied by similar changes in hippocampal/parahippocampal volumes is still unknown. By using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis of the gray matter, we explored whether there are structural alterations of the hippocampus/parahippocampus and the correlations between its volume and participants’ self-reported depressive symptoms.

Methods

Participants were 19 community-dwelling older adults with StD assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) scores. We collected magnetic resonance images of their brain compared to images of 17 healthy aged-matched adults. We used VBM to analyze differences in gray matter volume (GMV) of the hippocampus/parahippocampus between the two groups. Moreover, we examined the correlation between the GMV of the hippocampus/parahippocampus and participants’ self-reported depressive symptoms.

Results

VBM revealed that elderly individuals with StD had substantially reduced volumes of the right parahippocampus compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, the volumes of the hippocampus/parahippocampus were significantly associated with participants’ self-reported depressive symptoms in StD.

Conclusions

Gray matter volume alterations in the hippocampus/parahippocampus are correlated with subthreshold depression suggesting that early structural changes in the hippocampus/parahippocampus can constitute a risk indicator of depression.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Smaller gray matter volume of hippocampus/parahippocampus in elderly people with subthreshold depression: a cross-sectional study
Authors
Huixia Zhou
Rui Li
Zhenling Ma
Sonja Rossi
Xinyi Zhu
Juan Li
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-0928-0

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