Alterations in white matter microarchitecture in adolescents and young adults with major depressive disorder: A voxel-based meta-analysis of diffusion tensor imaging

Longitudinal associations between adolescent catch-up sleep, white-matter maturation and internalizing problems

“…Our findings add to the literature showing an interaction between sleep and changed structural connectivity in fronto-parietal and cortico-subcortical regions previously associated with depressive symptoms in adolescents ( Aghajani et al, 2014 , Geng et al, 2016 , Huang et al, 2011 , Lewinn et al, 2014 , Zhou et al, 2022 ) and add to studies showing associations between internalizing / externalizing behaviours and white matter microstructure over time ( Andre et al, 2020 , Jarvers et al, 2022 , Roelofs et al, 2022 ). Surprisingly, longitudinal changes in FA were predominantly found in left-lateralized tracts.…”

“…Although most studies report evidence of decreased white matter integrity (reflected in decreased FA and/or increased MD/RD) in adolescent depression (e.g. Geng et al, 2016 , Lewinn et al, 2014 , Zhou et al, 2022 ), or at risk-populations ( Huang et al, 2011 ), some work also shows conflicting results as to increased or decreased FA in adolescent depression ( Aghajani et al, 2014 , Cullen et al, 2020 ), or no effects ( van Velzen et al, 2020 ), and mixed findings concerning internalizing symptoms in adolescents ( Andre et al, 2020 , Jarvers et al, 2022 , Roelofs et al, 2022 ). Given that our data showed a negative association of TIB-related FA changes and internalizing problems, these data point to the interpretation, that long term increases in weekend catch-up sleep associate favourably with white matter change, possibly driven by increased white matter integrity through myelination in adolescence.…”

A meta-analysis on the uncinate fasciculus in depression

“…Specifically, we provide more conclusive evidence of reduced UNC FA in individuals with depression across the lifespan. However, our meta-analysis contrasts prior whole-brain meta-analyses that found no alterations in UNC FA in individuals with MDD (Chen et al, 2016;Jiang et al, 2017;Liao et al, 2013;Murphy & Frodl, 2011;Zhou et al, 2022). Indeed, a recent report (Winter et al, 2022) shows a large overlap in the distribution of neurobiological markers including whole-brain FA between individuals with depression and HCs.…”

“…However, evidence regarding perturbed UNC microstructure in individuals with MDD is mixed. Numerous studies that use a tract-of-interest (TOI) approach report atypical UNC microstructure in MDD (Table 1), but whole-brain meta-analyses yield null findings (Chen et al, 2016; Jiang et al, 2017; Liao et al, 2013; Murphy & Frodl, 2011; Zhou et al, 2022). To answer the question of whether atypical UNC microstructure represents a neurobiological mechanism and potential treatment target for depression, the present meta-analysis extends the existing literature on UNC microstructure in MDD by consolidating evidence from 44 TOI studies.…”

Personalized Diagnosis and Treatment for Neuroimaging in Depressive Disorders

“…Previous DTI studies showed relatively consistent results, in that the MDD group had lower FA values than the healthy group in brain regions, including the uncinated fasciculus (UF) [49,50], superior longitudinal fasciculus [51,52], anterior limb of the internal capsule [53,54], corpus callosum (CC) [55][56][57], and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus [50,56]. In a recent meta-analysis, adolescents and young adults with MDD showed lower FA values in the CC and frontal-subcortical circuits, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of MDD [58]. Decreased FA values in patients with MDD were associated with the severity of depressive symptoms and duration of illness [53,54,59].…”