Zhiyun Jia1, Tijiang Zhang1,
Qizhu Wu1, Junran Zhang1, Su Lu1, Xiaoqi
Huang1, Weihong Kuang2, Qiyong Gong1
1Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC),
Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu,
Sichuan provice, China; 2Department of Psychiatry, West China
Hospital of Sichuan University
High
resolution 3-dimensional T1-weighted (T1W) images were acquired using a 3.0T
MR scanner in fifty two patients experiencing major depression (MDD) and
fifty two normal controls. Using voxel based morphometry (VBM), we
demonstrated that MDD patients have higher volume and density of grey matter
in multiple brain areas than controls, especially in bilateral thalamus. This
is consistent with a previous postmortem study which demonstrated increased
neuronal number in the thalamus of patients with depression relative to the
nonpsychiatric comparison subjects. Further study should reveal this change
in thalamus using multiple methods.
Keywords