Hippocampal atrophy in major depression: a function of childhood maltreatment rather than diagnosis?

ABSTRACT: Reduced hippocampal volumes are probably the most frequently reported structural neuroimaging finding associated with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, it remains unclear whether altered hippocampal structure represents a risk factor for or a consequence of MDD. Reduced hippocampal volumes were consistently reported in subjects affected by childhood maltreatment. As the prevalence of childhood maltreatment is highly elevated in MDD populations, previous morphometric findings regarding hippocampal atrophy in MDD therefore might have been confounded by maltreatment experiences. The aim of this study was to differentiate the impact of childhood maltreatment from the influence of MDD diagnosis on hippocampal morphometry. Depressed patients (85) as well as 85 age- and sex-matched health

SUBMITTER: Opel N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4200502 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature