Abnormal volumetric brain morphometry and cerebral blood flow in adolescents with depression

Background: Prior research has demonstrated that the brains of adolescents with depression exhibit distinct structural alterations. However, preliminary studies have documented the pathophysiological changes in certain brain regions, such as the cerebellum, highlighting a need for further research to support the current understanding of this disease.

Aim: To study brain changes in depressed adolescents.

Methods: This study enrolled 34 adolescents with depression and 34 age-, sex-, and education-level-matched healthy control (HC) individuals. Structural and functional alterations were identified when comparing the brains of these two participant groups through voxel-based morphometry and cerebral blood flow (CBF) analysis, respectively. Associations between identified brain alterations and the severity of depressive symptoms were explored through Pearson correlation analyses.

Results: The cerebellum, superior frontal gyrus, cingulate gyrus, pallidum, middle frontal gyrus, angular gyrus, thalamus, precentral gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, and supplementary motor areas of adolescents with depression showed an increase in brain volume compared to HC individuals. These patients with depression further presented with a pronounced drop in CBF in the left pallidum (group = 98, and peak t = - 4.4324), together with increased CBF in the right percental gyrus (PerCG) (group = 90, and peak t = 4.5382). In addition, 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores were significantly correlated with the increased volume in the opercular portion of the left inferior frontal gyrus (r = - 0.5231, P < 0.01).

Conclusion: The right PerCG showed structural and CBF changes, indicating that research on this part of the brain could offer insight into the pathophysiological causes of impaired cognition.