Background
Increased activity of the habenula has been implicated in the etiology of major depressive
disorder (MDD), in which reductions in habenula volume are present after death. We
conducted the first magnetic resonance imaging analysis of habenula volume in MDD
and bipolar disorder (BD).
Methods
High-resolution images (resolution approximately .4 mm3) were acquired with a 3T scanner, and a pulse sequence was optimized for tissue contrast
resolution. The habenula was manually segmented by one rater blind to diagnosis. Seventy-four
healthy control subjects (HC) were compared with both medicated (lithium/divalproex,
n = 15) and unmedicated, depressed BD (n = 22) patients; unmedicated, depressed MDD patients (n = 28); and unmedicated MDD patients in remission (n = 32).
Results
The unmedicated BD patients displayed significantly smaller absolute (p < .01) and normalized (p < .05) habenula volumes than the HC subjects. In post hoc assessments analyzing men
and women separately, the currently-depressed women with MDD had smaller absolute
(p < .05) habenula volumes than the HC women. None of the other psychiatric groups differed
significantly from the HC group.
Conclusions
We provide further evidence for the involvement of the habenula in affective illness
but suggest that a reduction in volume might be more pronounced in unmedicated, depressed
BD subjects and female currently depressed MDD subjects. The habenula plays major
roles in the long-term modification of monoamine transmission and behavioral responses
to stress and in the suppression of dopamine cell activity after the absence of an
expected reward. A reduction in habenula volume might thus have functional consequences
that contribute to the risk for developing affective disease.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 22, 2010
Accepted:
September 12,
2010
Received in revised form:
September 9,
2010
Received:
March 22,
2010
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
