THE ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLIA - FOCAL ABNORMALITIES OF CEREBRAL BLOOD-FLOW IN MAJOR DEPRESSION

TY - JOUR

T1 - THE ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLIA - FOCAL ABNORMALITIES OF CEREBRAL BLOOD-FLOW IN MAJOR DEPRESSION

AU - BENCH, C J

AU - FRISTON, K J

AU - BROWN, R G

AU - SCOTT, L C

AU - FRACKOWIAK, R S J

AU - DOLAN, R J

PY - 1992/8

Y1 - 1992/8

N2 - Using positron emission tomography( PET) and Oxygen-15, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in 33 patients with primary depression, 10 of whom had an associated severe cognitive impairment, and 23 age-matched controls. PET scans from these groups were analysed on a pixel-by-pixel basis and significant differences between the groups were identified on Statistical Parametric Maps (SPMs). In the depressed group as a whole rCBF was decreased in the left anterior cingulate and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (P < 0-05 Bonferroni-corrected for multiple comparisons). Comparing patients with and without depression-related cognitive impairment, in the impaired group there were significant decreases in rCBF in the left medial frontal gyrus and increased rCBF in the cerebellar vermis (P < 0.05 Bonferroni-corrected). Therefore an anatomical dissociation has been described between the rCBF profiles associated with depressed mood and depression-related cognitive impairment. The pre-frontal and limbic areas identified in this study constitute a distributed anatomical network that may be functionally abnormal in major depressive disorder.

AB - Using positron emission tomography( PET) and Oxygen-15, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in 33 patients with primary depression, 10 of whom had an associated severe cognitive impairment, and 23 age-matched controls. PET scans from these groups were analysed on a pixel-by-pixel basis and significant differences between the groups were identified on Statistical Parametric Maps (SPMs). In the depressed group as a whole rCBF was decreased in the left anterior cingulate and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (P < 0-05 Bonferroni-corrected for multiple comparisons). Comparing patients with and without depression-related cognitive impairment, in the impaired group there were significant decreases in rCBF in the left medial frontal gyrus and increased rCBF in the cerebellar vermis (P < 0.05 Bonferroni-corrected). Therefore an anatomical dissociation has been described between the rCBF profiles associated with depressed mood and depression-related cognitive impairment. The pre-frontal and limbic areas identified in this study constitute a distributed anatomical network that may be functionally abnormal in major depressive disorder.

U2 - 10.1017/S003329170003806X

DO - 10.1017/S003329170003806X

M3 - Article

SN - 0033-2917

VL - 22

SP - 607

EP - 615

JO - Psychological Medicine

JF - Psychological Medicine

IS - 3

ER -