The habenula is a paired epithalamic structure involved in the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD). Evidence comes from its impact on the regulation of serotonergic and dopaminergic neurons, the role in emotional processing and studies on animal models of depression. The present study investigated habenula volumes in 20 unmedicated and 20 medicated MDD patients and 20 healthy controls for the first time by applying a triplanar segmentation algorithm on 7 Tesla magnetic resonance (MR) whole-brain T1 maps. The hypothesis of a right-side decrease of habenula volumes in the MDD patients was tested, and the relationship between volumetric abnormalities and disease severity was exploratively investigated. Absolute and relative total and hemispheric habenula volumes did not differ significantly between the three groups. In the patients with short duration of disease for which medication effects could be ruled out, significant correlations were found between bilateral habenula volumes and HAMD-17- and BDI-II-related severities. In the medicated patients, this positive relationship disappeared. Our findings suggest an involvement of habenula pathology in the beginning of MDD, while general effects independent of severity or stage of disease did not occur. Our findings warrant future combined tractographic and functional investigation using ultra-high-resolution in vivo MR imaging.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00406-016-0675-8 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
The role of sleep quality in mediating the relationship between habenula volume and resilience.
Psychiatry Res
February 2025
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan; Artificial Intelligence Ethics and Society Team, RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, Saitama, Japan; The General Research Division, Osaka University Research Center on Ethical, Legal and Social Issues, Kyoto, Japan. Electronic address:
Background: Our human volumetric MRI study (Dai et al., 2024) demonstrated that habenula (Hb) volume is associated with psychological resilience, a key protective factor against depression. However, the biological mechanisms underpinning this relationship remain unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe disappointment centre of the brain gets exciting: a systematic review of habenula dysfunction in depression.
Transl Psychiatry
December 2024
School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences and Molecular Horizons, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
Background: The habenula is an epithalamic brain structure that acts as a neuroanatomical hub connecting the limbic forebrain to the major monoamine centres. Abnormal habenula activity is increasingly implicated in depression, with a surge in publications on this topic in the last 5 years. Direct activation of the habenula is sufficient to induce a depressive phenotype in rodents, suggesting a causative role in depression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMonosynaptic Inputs to Ventral Tegmental Area Glutamate and GABA Co-transmitting Neurons.
J Neurosci
November 2024
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80301
Article Synopsis
- A population of neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) co-transmit two neurotransmitters, glutamate and GABA, but their inputs and functions are not fully understood.
- Using advanced tracing techniques in mice, researchers discovered that these neurons receive diverse inputs from various brain regions, with significant inputs from the superior colliculus and lateral hypothalamus.
- Optical activation of these inputs revealed that lateral hypothalamus involvement leads to active behavior, while superior colliculus stimulation results in brief activation and freezing behavior, indicating the complex integration of signals by VTA neurons related to motivation and behavior.
Psychological resilience is positively correlated with Habenula volume.
J Affect Disord
November 2024
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan; Artificial Intelligence Ethics and Society Team, RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, Saitama, Japan; The General Research Division, Osaka University Research Center on Ethical, Legal and Social Issues, Kyoto, Japan. Electronic address:
Article Synopsis
- The study examines the link between the volume of the Habenula (Hb), a brain region related to stress, and psychological resilience in healthy adults, exploring how these factors relate to depressive tendencies.
- Results indicate a positive correlation between Hb volume and resilience, particularly in women, suggesting that higher Hb volume may associate with better resilience.
- The findings propose that resilience mediates the relationship between Hb volume and depression, indicating that even those without clinical depression can experience these dynamics in relation to their brain structure.
The lateral habenula integrates age and experience to promote social transitions in developing rats.
Cell Rep
August 2024
Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Electronic address:
Early caregiving adversity (ECA) is associated with social behavior deficits and later development of psychopathology. However, the infant neural substrates of ECA are poorly understood. The lateral habenula (LHb), a highly conserved brain region with consistent links to adult psychopathology, is understudied in development, when the brain is most vulnerable to environmental impacts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!