Cortical and subcortical morphological alterations in postpartum depression

Wenqin Yang; Yihan Jiang; Lin Ma; Mengjia Xiao; Mingke Liu; Zhanbing Ren; Yuanchao Zhang; Liangbo Hu

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114414

Cortical and subcortical morphological alterations in postpartum depression

Behav Brain Res. 2023 Jun 5:447:114414. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114414. Epub 2023 Mar 29.

Authors

Wenqin Yang¹, Yihan Jiang², Lin Ma¹, Mengjia Xiao¹, Mingke Liu¹, Zhanbing Ren³, Yuanchao Zhang⁴, Liangbo Hu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 402160, China.
² School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China.
³ College of Physical Education, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
⁴ School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China. Electronic address: yuanchao.zhang8@gmail.com.
⁵ Department of Radiology, Yongchuan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 402160, China. Electronic address: 700056@hospital.cqmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37001820
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114414

Abstract

Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common postpartum psychiatric disorder, which can negatively affect both mothers and their offspring. Although the functional changes of PPD have been extensively studied, little is known about its structural abnormalities. This study aimed to examine the cortical and subcortical morphological abnormalities in PPD. High resolution T1 structural MRI data of 29 PPD women and 23 matched healthy postpartum women (HPW) were included in this study. Using surface-based morphometry, we examined the differences between the PPD and HPW group in the cortical thickness, local gyrification index and shape changes of deep gray matter nuclei. Compared with the HPW group, women with PPD showed significantly increased cortical thickness in the left superior frontal gyrus, cuneus and right lingual gyrus and fusiform gyrus, which correlated marginally with the EPDS scores of these subjects. In addition, women with PPD showed significant regional inflation in the right pallidum compared with the HPW group. These findings provided further evidence for the structural brain abnormalities in PPD.

Keywords: Cortical thickness; Local gyrification index; Magnetic resonance imaging; Postpartum depression; Subcortical.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Depression, Postpartum* / diagnostic imaging
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Occipital Lobe
Prefrontal Cortex
Temporal Lobe