Cited by 124Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesTreatment of Major DepressionAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

Orbitofrontal volume reductions during emotion recognition in patients with major depression

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Scheuerecker, Johanna, Meisenzahl, Eva M., Koutsouleris, Nikolaos, Roesner, Martin, Schöpf, Veronika, Linn, Jennifer, Wiesmann, Martin, Brückmann, Hartmut +2 more·2010·Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder is associated with both structural and functional alterations in the emotion regulation network of the central nervous system. The relation between structural and functional changes is largely unknown. Therefore, we sought to determine the relation between structural differences and functional alterations during the recognition of emotional facial expressions. METHODS: We examined 13 medication-free patients with major depression and 15 healthy controls by use of structural T1-weighted high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional MRI during 1 session. We set the statistical threshold for the analysis of imaging data to p < 0.001 (uncorrected). RESULTS: As shown by voxel-based morphometry, depressed patients had reductions in orbitofrontal cortex volume and increases in cerebellar volume. Additionally, depressed patients showed increased activity during emotion recognition in the middle frontal cortex, caudate nucleus, precuneus and lingual gyrus. Within this cerebral network, the orbitofrontal volumes were negatively correlated in depressed patients but not in healthy controls with changes in blood oxygen level-dependent signal in the middle frontal gyrus, caudate nucleus, precuneus and supplementary motor area. LIMITATIONS: Our results are limited by the relatively small sample size. CONCLUSIONS: This combined functional and structural MRI study provides evidence that the orbitofrontal cortex is a key area in major depression and that structural changes result in functional alterations within the emotional circuit. Whether these alterations in the orbitofrontal cortex are also related to persistent emotional dysfunction in remitted mental states and, therefore, are related to the risk of depression needs further exploration.

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Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • A null finding of no neural activation differences in a heterogeneous depression sample may have resulted from including first-episode patients.

    “it is possible that this null finding stemmed from the inclusion of first-episode patients in the mood disorders group.”
  • Another study reported a negative correlation between orbitofrontal cortex volume and middle frontal gyrus, caudate nucleus, and precuneus activity during an fMRI emotional face paradigm in major depressive disorder relative to healthy control subjects.

    “Another study reported a negative correlation between orbitofrontal cortex volume and middle frontal gyrus, caudate nucleus, and precuneus activity during an fMRI emotional face paradigm in MDD relative to healthy control subjects (26).”

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Nestler EJ, Barrot M, DiLeone RJ, et al. Neurobiology of depres- sion. Neuron 2002;34:13-25.
  2. Sheline YI, Barch DM, Donnelly JM, et al. Increased amygdala re- sponse to masked emotional faces in depressed subjects resolves with antidepressant treatment: an fMRI study. Biol Psychiatry 2001; 50: 651-8.

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Authors
Scheuerecker, J., Meisenzahl, E. M., Koutsouleris, N., Roesner, M., Schöpf, V., Linn, J., Wiesmann, M., Brückmann, H., Möller, H.-J., & Frodl, T.
Affiliations
Trinity College Dublin (IE)
Venue
Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Published
2010-09
Volume
35
Issue
5
Pages
311-320
ISSN
1180-4882 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2146054124
Cited by
124
References
73
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 12
FWCI
5.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Eli Lilly and Company
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Keywords
major depressive disorder, orbitofrontal cortex, emotion recognition, facial expression processing, cerebellar volume, brain structural changes, caudate nucleus, precuneus, supplementary motor area, middle frontal gyrus, structural-functional correlation
MeSH terms
Adult, Brain Mapping, Cerebrovascular Circulation, Major Depressive Disorder, Emotions, Facial Expression, Female, Frontal Lobe, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Photic Stimulation, Reaction Time, Recognition, Psychology

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