Functional And Anatomical Brain Abnormalities In Depression In Old Age:Application Of BOLD And VBM In The Resting State

Objective:This study was to explore the functional and morphological abnormalities of the resting-state brain of depression in old age, by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and high-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) techniques.To investigate the association between brain structural and functional abnormalities of Major Depressive Disorder(MDD), before and after treatment.Methods:Twenty participants diagnosed with major depressive disorder according to CCMD-3 and DSM-4 and twenty gender and age matched healthy controls, all assessed with 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale(HAMD), HAMD scores were requested?24 in patients, after 8 weeks antidepressant treatment with reduction rate of HAMD 17>75% in treated group and<7 in controls. Then, MRI scan were obtained ordering to resting state BOLD-fMRI and high-resolution sMRI. The voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was applied to analyze the high-resolution sMRI datasets. regional homogeneity(ReHo), amplitude of frequency fluctuation (ALFF), fractional amplitude of frequency fluctuation (fALFF) approach was used to preprocess the BOLD-fMRI datasets. To explore the functional and anatomical brain abnormalities between the depression and controls, the t-test was performed with SPM8 and REST 1.8 software on the individual GMV, ALFF, fALFF and ReHo values. Resulted statistical map was set at the threshold of p<0.05 and the minimum cluster size of 10 voxels (ReHo),85 voxels (VBM).Results:1 Study on the micro structure of the gray matter of the brain1.1 Compared with healthy controls:MDD patients with reduced gray matter volume (GMV) in the left inferior temporal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, left precuneus, right medial cingulate gyrus, the right fusiform gyrus, right inferior temporal gyrus, right cuneus;1.2 Compared with healthy controls:After effectively treatment, MDD petients with increased GMV in the right superior temporal gyrus, right posterior cingulate gyrus and reduced GMV in left cuneus, left inferior frontal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, left parahippocampal gyrus, the right fusiform gyrus;1.3 Compared with pre-treatment MDDs:Post-treatment MDDs with reduced GMV in the left gyri rectus and increased GMV in the left putamen, the left medial frontal gyrus, left superior parietal gyrus, left precentral gyrus, the right lingual gyrus;2 Study of resting state functional magnetic resonance2.1 Compared with healthy controls:MDD patients with decreased ReHo in the left fusiform gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, left precuneus, left inferior parietal lobe, left postcentral gyrus, left paracentral lobule, right middle occipital gyrus, right inferior parietal lobule, right superior frontal gyrus; reduced ALFF and fALFF in the left fusiform gyrus, left angular gyrus, left posterior cingulate low-frequency amplitude;2.2 Compared with healthy controls:After effectively treatment, MDD petients with reduced ReHo in the left lingual gyrus, right posterior cingulate gyrus, right thalamus, right cuneus; increased ALFF in the bilateral middle frontal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus and decreased ALFF in the right calcarine gyri, right precuneus; increased fALFF in the left middle frontal gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, left anterior cingulate gyrus and decreased fALFF in left calcarine gyri, left middle occipital gyrus, left side the precuneus, the right lingual gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus;2.3 Compared with pre-treatment MDDs:Post-treatment MDDs with increased ReHo in the left middle frontal gyrus, right anterior cingulate gyrus, right superior frontal gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, the left fusiform gyrus, right thalamus, right insular; increased ALFF in the left fusiform (?)s;Conclusion:1 There are abnormalities in brain gray matter micro structure in elderly depression patients, which contributed to the occurrence and development of depression;2 There is abnormal in resting state brain function of depression patients, abnormal brain area mainly exists in the default mode network,these play an important role in the pathophysiology of depression;3 After effective treatment, part of abnormal gray matter of brain structure and function in patients with depression can be reversed;4 There was no overlap between the brain regions where anatomical and functional alterated, they may contribute independently to the neurobiology of MDD;...