.1. Graphics Creative Thinking Inhibition Mechanism Functional Magnetic Resonance Study. Starting Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Of Brain Structure In Patients With Untreated Depression

Background: As a complex mental process, creativity requires thecoordination of multiple brain regions. Previous pathological research onfigural creativity has indicated that there is a mechanism by which the leftside of the brain inhibits the activities of the right side of the brain duringfigural creative thinking, but this mechanism has not been directlydemonstrated.Method: In the present study, we used functional magnetic resonanceimaging (fMRI) to demonstrate the existence of this inhibitory mechanism inyoung adults (15women,11men, mean age:22years old) that were notartists.Results: By making comparisons between brain activity duringcreative and uncreative tasks, we found increased activity in the left middleand inferior frontal lobe and strong decreases in activity in the right middlefrontal lobe and the left inferior parietal lobe.Conclusion: These data suggest that the left frontal lobe may inhibit the right hemisphere during figural creative thinking in normal people.Moreover, removal of this inhibition by practicing artistry or throughspecific damage to the left frontal lobe may facilitate the emergence ofartistic creativity. Background: Major Depressive Disorders (MDD) is a seriousneuropsychiatric disease that threatens mankind. Its high prevalence andsuicide rate brings heavy burden to both the family and society. Thedilemma of diagnosis and treatment of MDD is largely due to its unknownmechanism. With the development of modern neuroimaging techniques andanalytical methods, the pathological brain changes underlying MDD havebeen gradually revealed. Until now, there are still disagreements amongstudies on brain morphometric changes.Purpose: We aim to study the brain gray matter volume changes infirst-episode treat-na ve MDD patients.Method: Thirty-three MDD patients (male11, female22,age:32.6±10.9) and fifty-nine healthy controls (male17,female42,age:29.0±6.9) were enrolled in the present study. Structural brain images wereacquired using a3Tesla MR machine. Voxel-based morphometry analysiswas performed to identify changes of gray matter volume. Results: Compared to healthy controls, MDD patients showeddecreased gray matter volume in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal lobe. Graymatter volumes in the right middle frontal lobe were negatively correlatedwith HAMD scores of the patients.Conclusion: Gray matter deficits in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontallobe may contribute to susceptibility to MDD.