Stability of cortical thinning in persons at increased familial risk for major depression across eight years

• Published in: Biological psychiatry : cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging 2017
• Main Authors: Hao, Xuejun, PhD, Talati, Ardesheer, PhD, Shankman, Stewart A., PhD, Liu, Jun, PhD, Kaiser, Jurgen, PhD, Tenke, Craig E., PhD, Warner, Virginia, DrPh, Semanek, David, BA, Wickramaratne, Priya J., PhD, Weissman, Myrna M., PhD, Posner, Jonathan, MD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Psychiatry
• ISSN: 2451-9022
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2017.04.009

Abstract Background A biological marker of vulnerability should precede onset of illness and be independent of disease course. We previously reported that cortical thinning may serve as a potential biomarker for risk for familial depression. We now test stability of the cortical thinning across 8 years, and whether thinning mediates associations between familial risk and depressive traits. Method Participants were from a 3-generation family study of depression, where 2nd and 3rd generation offspring were characterized as being at high- or low-risk for depression based on the presence/absence of major depression in the 1st generation. The analysis includes 82 offspring with anatomical MRI scans across two assessment waves, 7.8 (S.D.1.3, range: 5.2-10.9) years apart. Results High-risk offspring had thinner bilateral superior and middle frontal gyri, and left inferior parietal lobule, at both time-points. High intra-subject correlation (0.60