Neuroimaging studies of depressive disorders in China since 2000.

This paper reviews neuroimaging studies of depressive disorders conducted in Chinese populations since 2000. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies using structural and functional imaging techniques have compared different types of depressed individuals, with and without specific genotypes, and the characteristics of depressed individuals before and after treatment with antidepressants. Many of the findings are unstable - probably because most of the studies are underpowered - but there have been some important contributions to the international literature. Future studies in China need to use standardized methods, longitudinal designs, and joint application of both structural and functional MRI.