Table 1 Neural correlates of depressive symptoms in 15 studies with structural MRI.
Source | No. of SSDs | Diagnostic Tool | Male, No./Total No. (%) | Age, mean (SD), y | QA score† | Main depressive symptoms measure(s) | Main neuroimaging measure(s) | Main finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
sMRI | ||||||||
Buck et al., 2022a 35 | 100 FEP Non-affective 80 Affective 20 | DSM-IV | 75/100 (75.0) | Male 23.9 (3.9) Female 24.5 (4.2) | 5 | CDSS | Whole-brain cortical and hippocampal subfield volume and thickness | Female-specific FEP pattern of associations between fewer depressive symptoms coupled with reduced hippocampal subfields and both high and low thickness in specific cortical regions. The pattern of hippocampal and cortical anatomy included reduced volumes of the bilateral mammillary bodies, right fornix, and CA2/3 and left alveus, low thickness in the right superior temporal gyrus, entorhinal cortex, pars orbitalis, medial orbitofrontal gyrus and cingulate cortex, and high thickness in the left precentral gyrus, paracentral gyrus, cuneus, and lingual gyrus. |
Voineskos et al., 2021b 27 | 83 SCZ & SAD Active 41 Sham 40 | DSM-IV | Active 30/41 (73.2) Sham 28/40 (70.0) | Active 37.1 (10.3) Sham 38.0 (11.2) | 7 | CDSS | Regional thickness of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex | An increase in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex thickness was significantly associated with a reduction in CDSS total score in the active repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation group. |
Wei et al., 2021c 65 | 42 FES Dep– 31 Dep+ 11 | DSM-IV | Dep– 8/31 (25.8) Dep+ 11/11 (100.0) | Dep– 29.3 (10.3) Dep+ 26.6 (10.0) | 7 | HAMD | Whole-brain volume-based and surface-based morphometry | Drug naive FES patients with comorbid depressive symptoms had higher gray matter volume in the left isthmus cingulate and the left posterior cingulate cortex compared with drug naive FES patients without comorbid depressive symptoms. Drug naive FES patients with comorbid depressive symptoms showed the greater surface area in the left isthmus cingulate cortex, the left superior parietal gyrus, and the right cuneus than drug naive FES patients without comorbid depressive symptoms. Surface area and gray matter volume of the left isthmus cingulate were significantly correlated with the total score of HAMD in drug naive FES patients with comorbid depressive symptoms. |
Siddi et al., 201964 | 24 SCZ | DSM-IV | 14/24 (58.3) | 41.1 (9.7) | 6 | CDSS | Whole-brain gray matter and white matter volume | Depression score was inversely associated with the right medial superior frontal and right orbitofrontal gyrus volume, and, at a trend level, with the right middle frontal and superior frontal gyrus volume. |
Bossu et al., 2015 | 71 SCZ | DSM-IV | 45/71 (63.4) | 41.9 (11.6) | 6 | PANSS- depression factor score | Regional volume of the hippocampus | Patients with a lower depression factor score showed an increased volume of both the left and right hippocampus. |
Tomasino et al., 201162 | 69 SCZ | DSM-IV | 46/69 (66.7) | 40.5 (12.1) | 7 | BPRS-depression and anxiety subscale | Regional volume of the amygdala | BPRS scores for depression–anxiety were significantly positively correlated with both right and left amygdalar volumes in SCZ. |
Smith et al., 200336 | 33 FES | DSM-IV | 26/33 (78.8) | 22.8 (4.9) | 5 | PANSS- depression and anxiety subscale | Regional size of hippocampal fissure | Significant association between increased hippocampal fissure size and more anxiety–depression in FES patients. |
Ichimiya et al., 200137 | 20 SCZ & SCZ-F | DSM-IV | 20/20 (100.0) | 28.3 (6.9) | 4 | BPRS-depression and anxiety subscale | Regional volume of the cerebellum | Significant negative correlation was found between the volume of the vermis and depression subscale in male neuroleptic-naive SCZ/SCZ-F patients. |
Gur et al., 200061 | 70 SCZ | DSM-IV | 40/70 (57.1) | 28.7 (6.9) | 8 | HAMD | Regional volume within sectors of the prefrontal lobe | Lower orbitofrontal volume was associated with a more depressed mood in patients. |
Kohler et al.,1998d 60 | 79 SCZ Dep– 39 Dep+ 40 | DSM- III/IV | Dep– 26/39 (66.7) Dep+ 24/40 (60.0) | Dep– 30.0 (6.2) Dep+ 29.9 (7.4) | 6 | HAMD | Whole-brain volume | The SCZ high depression group had more temporal lobe volume on the left, and a trend for increased right temporal lobe volume compared to the SCZ low depression group. |
dMRI | ||||||||
Joo et al., 202159 | 47 SCZ | DSM-5 | 35/47 (74.5) | 36.0 (9.0) | 6 | BPRS-depression and anxiety subscale | Whole-brain tractography | In the SCZ group, there were associations of the fractional anisotropy and radial diffusivity of the left external capsule with the anxiety-depression score of the BPRS, which did not survive the correction for multiple tests. |
Amodio et al., 201838 | 30 SCZ | DSM-IV | 30/30 (100.0) | 37.0 (7.9) | 4 | PANSS- depression score | White matter connectivity patterns within the ventral tegmental area, striatum, orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, and insular cortex | No correlation was found between PANSS depression scores, and any of the connectivity values obtained (lateral and medial orbitofrontal cortex, dorsal-lateral prefrontal cortex, along with ventral-anterior, dorsal-anterior, and posterior insular cortex regions of interest) in patients with chronic SCZ. |
Long et al., 2018e 39 | 63 FES SI– 45 SI + 18 | DSM-IV | SI– 25/45 (55.6) SI + 9/18 (50.0) | SI– 24.6 (5.9) SI + 24.8 (6.9) | 5 | CDSS | Whole-brain white matter fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity | Compared with FES patients without suicidal ideation, the FES patients with suicidal ideation showed higher fractional anisotropy in the corpus callosum (genu, body, and splenium), left anterior corona radiata, left superior corona radiata and bilateral posterior corona radiata as well as lower mean diffusivity in the splenium of the corpus callosum, bilateral posterior corona radiata, left posterior thalamic radiation and left superior longitudinal fasciculus. |
Chiappelli et al., 201458 | 126 SCZ | DSM version not specified | 70/126 (55.5) | 37.9 (13.3) | 6 | MTSD | Whole-brain white matter fractional anisotropy | Greater trait depression was significantly and positively associated with the whole-brain average fractional anisotropy values and fractional anisotropy values for four white matter tracts— the corona radiata, thalamic radiation, superior longitudinal fasciculus, and superior frontal-occipital tract. |
sMRI & rs-fMRI | ||||||||
Liang et al., 2023f 49 | 312 SCZ & SAD SCZ 178 SAD 134 | DSM-IV | SCZ 124/178 (69.7) SAD 58 /134 (37.7) | SCZ 34.5 (12.0) SAD 36.3 (12.3) | 5 | MADRS | Whole-brain gray matter volume | In SCZ, MADRS scores were positively associated with positive gray matter volume in the insula and inferior frontal cortex. In SAD, MADRS scores were positively associated with positive gray matter volume in the lingual and frontal gyrus. |
