Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK.
J Affect Disord. 2011 Sep;133(1-2):328-32. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2011.03.042. Epub 2011 Apr 17.
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a key region for the pathophysiology and treatment of depression. However, it remains unclear whether and how the morphology of the ACC is altered in subjects with mood disorders.
A post mortem morphometric study of the supragenual ACC (Brodmann area 24b) in seven subjects with mood disorder and nine comparison subjects. We measured glial and neuronal density, and neuronal size and shape. We also quantified the astrocytic marker, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), using immunoautoradiography.
Cortical and layer thickness did not differ between groups. Subjects with mood disorder had a decreased density of glial cells across all layers, and a reduction in GFAP in white matter. The density of pyramidal neurons was decreased selectively in layer Vb, and their size was increased in layers V and VI. The shape of pyramidal neurons also differed in mood disorder, in layers Va and VI.
These data provide further evidence for morphometric alterations in glia and pyramidal neurons in mood disorder. They represent a possible cellular basis for the aberrant functioning and connectivity of the ACC apparent from neuroimaging and other studies.
前扣带皮层（ACC）是抑郁症病理生理学和治疗的关键区域。然而，目前尚不清楚情绪障碍患者的 ACC 形态是否以及如何发生改变。
对 7 名情绪障碍患者和 9 名对照者的前扣带回（Brodmann 区 24b）进行死后形态计量学研究。我们测量了神经胶质和神经元密度，以及神经元的大小和形状。我们还使用免疫放射自显影技术对星形胶质细胞标志物胶质纤维酸性蛋白（GFAP）进行了定量。
两组之间皮质和层厚没有差异。情绪障碍患者所有层的神经胶质细胞密度降低，白质中 GFAP 减少。Vb 层的锥体神经元密度选择性降低，V 和 VI 层的神经元体积增大。情绪障碍患者的锥体神经元形状在 Va 和 VI 层也不同。
这些数据进一步提供了情绪障碍中神经胶质和锥体神经元形态改变的证据。它们代表了神经影像学和其他研究中显示的 ACC 异常功能和连接的可能细胞基础。
