A magnetic resonance imaging study of putamen nuclei in major depression

The basal ganglia are recognized as putative mediators of certain cognitive and behavioral symptoms of major depression. Moreover, patients with basal ganglia lesions have repeatedly exhibited significant affective symptomatology, including apathy, depressive mood, and psychosis. Using high resoluti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychiatry research 1991-10, Vol.40 (2), p.95-99
Main Authors: Husain, Mustafa M., McDonald, William M., Doraiswamy, P.Murali, Figiel, Gary S., Na, Chul, Escalona, P.Rodrigo, Boyko, Orest B., Nemeroff, Charles B., Krishnan, K.Ranga R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Aged
basal ganglia
Basal Ganglia Diseases - diagnosis
Basal Ganglia Diseases - pathology
Basal Ganglia Diseases - psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Brain Damage, Chronic - diagnosis
Brain Damage, Chronic - pathology
Brain Damage, Chronic - psychology
Depressive Disorder - diagnosis
Depressive Disorder - pathology
Depressive Disorder - psychology
Female
Humans
limbic system
Limbic System - pathology
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
major depression
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Mood disorders
Neurocognitive Disorders - diagnosis
Neurocognitive Disorders - pathology
Neurocognitive Disorders - psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Putamen - pathology
putamen nuclei
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Summary:The basal ganglia are recognized as putative mediators of certain cognitive and behavioral symptoms of major depression. Moreover, patients with basal ganglia lesions have repeatedly exhibited significant affective symptomatology, including apathy, depressive mood, and psychosis. Using high resolution, axial T 2 intermediate magnetic resonance images, and a systematic sampling stereologic method, we assessed putamen nuclei volumes in 41 patients with major depression ( DSM-III) and 44 healthy volunteer controls of similar age. Depressed patients had significantly smaller putamen nuclei compared with controls. Age was negatively correlated with putamen size in both groups. These results are the first demonstration of diminished putamen volumes in depression and further support a role for basal ganglia structures in the etiopathogenesis of depression.
ISSN:0165-1781
1872-7123
DOI:10.1016/0165-1781(91)90149-J