Cortical shape and curvedness analysis of structural deficits in remitting and non-remitting depression

PLoS One. 2013 Jul 16;8(7):e68625. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068625. Print 2013.

Abstract

In morphometric neuroimaging studies, the relationship between brain structural changes and the antidepressant treatment response in patients with major depressive disorder has been explored to search depression-trait biomarkers. Although patients were treated with serotonin-related drugs, whether the same treatment resulted in remission and non-remission in depressed patients is currently under investigation. We recruited 25 depressed patients and 25 healthy controls and acquired volumetric magnetic resonance imaging of each participant. We used the shape index and curvedness to classify cortical shapes and quantify shape complexities, respectively, in studying the pharmacological effect on brain morphology. The results showed that different regions of structural abnormalities emerged between remitting and non-remitting patients when contrasted with healthy controls. In addition to comparing structural metrics in each cortical parcellation, similar to the traditional voxel-based morphometric method, we highlighted the importance of structural integrity along the serotonin pathway in response to medication treatment. We discovered that disrupted serotonin-related cortical regions might cause non-remission to antidepressant treatment from a pharmacological perspective. The anomalous areas manifested in non-remitting patients were mainly in the frontolimbic areas, which can be used to differentiate remitting from non-remitting participants before medication treatment. Because non-remission is the failure to respond to treatment with serotonin-related drugs, our method may help clinicians choose appropriate medications for non-remitting patients.

Publication types

  • Controlled Clinical Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antidepressive Agents / therapeutic use
  • Brain / drug effects
  • Brain / pathology
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Depressive Disorder, Major / drug therapy
  • Depressive Disorder, Major / pathology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Serotonin / metabolism
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Antidepressive Agents
  • Serotonin

Grants and funding

This work is funded by the National Science Council (NSC95-2752-B-075-001-PAE, NSC96-2752-B-075-001-PAE, NSC97-2752-B-075-001-PAE, NSC98-2752-B-075-001-PAE, NSC101-2221-E-010-004-MY2), the National Science Council supported for the Center for Dynamical Biomarkers and Translational Medicine, National Central University, Jhongli City, Taoyuan County, Taiwan, Republic of China (NSC 101-2911-I-008-001), and Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University and a grant from Ministry of Education, Aim for the Top University Plan 101AC-B902, 102AC-B902). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.