Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States.
Institute for Policy Research and Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States.
Neuroimage Clin. 2020;25:102187. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102187. Epub 2020 Jan 17.
Subclinical or subthreshold depressive symptoms (StD) are frequent in adolescence and are related to suicidality and onset of depression in adulthood, however, their neurobiology is poorly understood. We examined the relationship between StD and subcortical grey matter structures in unmedicated adolescents with no history of axis I diagnosis.
277 youths from Chicago aged 14 years participated, undergoing a structural MRI scan and completing the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS). Blood samples provided a composite of five pro-inflammatory cytokines. Regions of interest (ROI) for vertex-based surface analysis were the left and right amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus, caudate, nucleus accumbens, pallidum and putamen. Covariates were age, pubertal status, socioeconomic disadvantage and intracranial volume. Males and females were analysed separately.
StD had positive associations (outward shape) with subcortical morphology in the right amygdala and left hippocampus in females, and the bilateral putamen and the left caudate, hippocampus and thalamus in males. However, we also found negative associations with StD (inward contractions) in the hippocampus in females and the caudate in males. Pro-inflammatory cytokines did not mediate the relationship between StD and outward morphology or volume.
This is one of the first studies to examine subcortical morphology of basal ganglia and thalamic regions related to StD in adolescents, and the first study to report mostly positive associations between StD, volume and outward morphology in youths. These findings could reflect intact neurogenesis or resilience to depression, however longitudinal research is needed to further understand the neurobiology of StD in adolescents.
亚临床或阈下抑郁症状（StD）在青少年中很常见，与成年后自杀和抑郁发作有关，但它们的神经生物学机制尚不清楚。我们研究了无轴 I 诊断史的未用药青少年的 StD 与皮质下灰质结构之间的关系。
来自芝加哥的 277 名 14 岁的年轻人参与了研究，他们接受了结构磁共振成像扫描并完成了修订后的儿童焦虑和抑郁量表（RCADS）。血样提供了五种促炎细胞因子的综合指标。基于顶点的表面分析的感兴趣区域（ROI）是左、右杏仁核、海马体、丘脑、尾状核、伏隔核、苍白球和壳核。协变量为年龄、青春期状态、社会经济劣势和颅内体积。对男性和女性分别进行分析。
StD 与女性右侧杏仁核和左侧海马体以及男性双侧壳核和左侧尾状核、海马体和丘脑的皮质下形态呈正相关（向外的形状）。然而，我们还发现了女性海马体和男性尾状核与 StD 呈负相关（向内收缩）。促炎细胞因子并不介导 StD 与向外形态或体积之间的关系。
这是首次研究青少年与 StD 相关的基底节和丘脑区域皮质下形态的研究之一，也是首次报告 StD、体积和年轻人向外形态之间主要呈正相关的研究。这些发现可能反映了完整的神经发生或对抑郁的抵抗力，但需要进行纵向研究来进一步了解青少年 StD 的神经生物学。
