Voxel-based Morphometric Analysis Of Gray Matter Volume In Patients With Depression

Purpose: The voxel-based morphometry(VBM)method was used to explore the brain regions of characteristic gray matter volume changes in patients with depression,senile depression and refractory depression,and to provide new clues and methods for the diagnosis of depression and its special types.Methods: Thirty-five patients with depression(meeting the criteria for enrollment)and 20 normal persons were selected.The subjects in the study group were scanned by 3D-MRI.The obtained images were processed by voxel-based morphological measurement and analyzed by t-test between groups.T-test was performed between depression group and normal control group,senile depression group and senile normal group,refractory depression group and non-refractory depression group,and the difference in brain area was observed.Results: After collecting and analyzing the basic data of 35 patients with depression and 20 normal controls,the following results were obtained: 1.There was no significant difference in sex composition and age between the two groups.But the HAMD score of depression group was(27.11 +2.74)and that of normal control group was(2.70 +1.38),there was significant difference between the two groups.2.Comparing the MRI images of depression group with that of normal control group,the volume of gray matter decreased in the upper frontal gyrus,the right middle frontal gyrus and the superior temporal gyrus of depression group.3.Comparing the MR images of the elderly depression group with that of the elderly normal control group,it was found that the volume of gray matter decreased in the right middle frontal gyrus,superior temporal gyrus,right inferior temporal gyrus and right anterior central gyrus in the elderly depression group.4.Comparing the refractory depression group with the non-refractory depression group,the volume of gray matter decreased in the right superior temporal gyrus,the anterior central gyrus and the left posterior central gyrus in the refractory depression group.Conclusion: The change of gray matter volume in depression patients is not only a change in a single part,but also a simultaneous change in multiple brain regions.This common change between multiple brain regions may represent a change in the connectivity and function of brain regions,which may be the key to the onset of depression and provide a possible direction for the diagnosis of depression.