Jayaweera H K, Hickie I B, Duffy S L, Mowszowski L, Norrie L, Lagopoulos J, Naismith S L
Healthy Brain Ageing Program,University of Sydney,NSW,Australia.
Brain and Mind Centre,University of Sydney,NSW,Australia.
Psychol Med. 2016 Jul;46(10):2189-99. doi: 10.1017/S0033291716000787. Epub 2016 May 6.
Learning and memory impairments in older adults with depression are linked to hippocampal atrophy. However, other subcortical regions may also be contributing to these deficits. We aimed to examine whether anterior caudate nucleus volume is significantly reduced in older adults with depression compared to controls; whether anterior caudate volume is associated with performance on tasks of episodic learning and memory, and if so, whether this association is independent of the effects of the hippocampus.
Eighty-four health-seeking participants meeting criteria for lifetime major depressive disorder (mean age = 64.2, s.d. = 9.1 years) and 27 never-depressed control participants (mean age = 63.9, s.d. = 8.0 years) underwent neuropsychological assessment including verbal episodic memory tests [Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and Logical Memory (WMS-III)]. Magnetic resonance imaging was conducted, from which subregions of the caudate nucleus were manually demarcated bilaterally and hippocampal volume was calculated using semi-automated methods.
Depressed subjects had smaller right anterior caudate (RAC) (t = 2.3, p = 0.026) and poorer memory compared to controls (t = 2.5, p < 0.001). For depressed subjects only, smaller RAC was associated with poorer verbal memory (r = 0.3, p = 0.003) and older age (r = -0.46, p < 0.001). Multivariable regression showed that the RAC and hippocampus volume uniquely accounted for 5% and 3% of the variance in memory, respectively (β = 0.25, t = 2.16, p = 0.033; β = 0.19, t = 1.71, p = 0.091).
In older people with depression, the anterior caudate nucleus and the hippocampus play independent roles in mediating memory. While future studies examining this structure should include larger sample sizes and adjust for multiple comparisons, these findings support the critical role of the striatum in depression.
老年抑郁症患者的学习和记忆障碍与海马萎缩有关。然而，其他皮质下区域也可能导致这些缺陷。我们旨在研究与对照组相比，老年抑郁症患者的尾状核前部体积是否显著减小；尾状核前部体积是否与情景学习和记忆任务的表现相关，如果是，这种关联是否独立于海马体的影响。
84名符合终生重度抑郁症标准的寻求健康的参与者（平均年龄=64.2岁，标准差=9.1岁）和27名从未患过抑郁症的对照参与者（平均年龄=63.9岁，标准差=8.0岁）接受了神经心理学评估，包括言语情景记忆测试[雷伊听觉词语学习测试和逻辑记忆（韦氏记忆量表第三版）]。进行了磁共振成像，从成像中双侧手动划分尾状核的子区域，并使用半自动方法计算海马体体积。
与对照组相比，抑郁症患者的右侧尾状核前部（RAC）较小（t=2.3，p=0.026），记忆力较差（t=2.5，p<0.001）。仅对于抑郁症患者，较小的RAC与较差的言语记忆（r=0.3，p=0.003）和较高的年龄（r=-0.46，p<0.001）相关。多变量回归显示，RAC和海马体体积分别独立解释了记忆变异的5%和3%（β=0.25，t=2.16，p=0.033；β=0.19，t=1.71，p=0.091）。
在老年抑郁症患者中，尾状核前部和海马体在介导记忆方面发挥独立作用。虽然未来研究该结构时应纳入更大样本量并对多重比较进行校正，但这些发现支持纹状体在抑郁症中的关键作用。
