Cited by 220Stress Responses and CortisolTreatment of Major DepressionNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Decreased hippocampal volume in healthy girls at risk of depression

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Chen, Michael C., Hamilton, J. Paul, Gotlib, Ian H.·2010·Archives of General Psychiatry

Abstract

CONTEXT: Researchers have documented that the hippocampus is smaller in individuals with depression than in those without. The temporal or causal association of this reduction in hippocampal volume in depression, however, is not known. OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that reduced hippocampal volume precedes and therefore may be implicated in the onset of depression. DESIGN: We used magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain structure volume in individuals at high and low familial risk of depression. Anatomic images from magnetic resonance imaging were analyzed using both whole-brain voxel-based morphometry and manual tracing of the bilateral hippocampus. SETTING: A research university. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-five girls aged between 9 and 15 years: 23 daughters of mothers with recurrent episodes of depression in the daughter's lifetime (high risk) and 32 age-matched daughters of mothers with no history of psychopathology (low risk). None of the girls had any past or current Axis I psychopathology. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Group differences in voxel-based morphometry brain matter density estimates and traced hippocampal volume. RESULTS: Voxel-based morphometry analyses indicated that individuals at high risk of depression had significantly less gray matter density in clusters in the bilateral hippocampus (P < .001) than low-risk participants. Tracing yielded a volumetric reduction in the left hippocampus in the high-risk participants (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with individuals at low familial risk of the development of depression, high-risk individuals have reduced hippocampal volume, indicating that neuroanatomic anomalies associated with depression may precede the onset of a depressive episode and influence the development and course of this disorder.

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  • Some studies indicate that these structural changes may represent a pre-existing vulnerability to a major depressive episode, especially in people with particular genetic profiles or early life stress histories.

    “several other studies have found that these structural changes may reflect a pre-existing vulnerability to a MDE, particularly for individuals with certain genetic profiles and/or early life stress (ELS) histories (39–45).”

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. [27]Goodman SH Tully E Abela JRZ Hankin BL 2008 Children of depressed mothers: Implications for the etiology, treatment, and prevention of depression in children and adolescents Handbook of depression in children and adolescents 415 440 New York, NY Guilford Press
  2. [28]Joormann J Eugène F Gotlib IH Nolen-Hoeksema S (in press) Parental depression: Impact on offspring and mechanisms underlying transmission of risk Handbook of Adolescent Depression New York Guilford Press
  3. [32]First MB Gibbon M Spitzer RL Williams JB Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders: Clinician Version Washington DC American Psychiatric Press 1997
  4. [54]Bremner JD Randall P Vermetten E Magnetic resonance imaging-based measurement of hippocampal volume in posttraumatic stress disorder related to childhood physical and sexual abuse--a preliminary report Biol Psychiatry 1997 41 1 23 32 8988792 PMC3229101
  5. [56]Vythilingam M Heim C Newport J Childhood trauma associated with smaller hippocampal volume in women with major depression Am J Psychiatry 2002 159 12 2072 2080 12450959 PMC3230324

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Authors
Chen, M. C., Hamilton, J. P., & Gotlib, I. H.
Affiliations
Stanford University (US)
Venue
Archives of General Psychiatry
Published
2010-03-01
Volume
67
Issue
3
Pages
270
ISSN
0003-990X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2155962001
Cited by
220
References
62
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 25 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 19
FWCI
9.41
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Archives of General Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH074849, MH074849)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
hippocampal volume, depression, adolescent girls, gray matter density, hippocampal atrophy, maternal depression, brain structure
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Atrophy, Brain, Child, Depressive Disorder, Major, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Health Status, Hippocampus, Humans, Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted, Functional Laterality, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Middle Aged, Mothers, Surveys and Questionnaires, Recurrence, Risk Factors, Child of Impaired Parents

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