Thinning Brain May Point to Depression

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03/27/2009

Mar. 27, 2009

Thinning Brain May Point to Depression

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Brain-imaging studies indicate that a thinning of the right hemisphere of the brain may be linked to an increased risk of depression. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report that people at high risk of developing depression had a 28 percent thinning of the right cortex, the brainâs outermost surface, compared to people with no known risk of depression. The thinning was not linked to actual depression -- just an increased risk of developing depression. Researchers said that the discovery that there was a structural link in the cortex to depression was surprising, and plan more imaging and genetic studies to expand on the finding. We'll find out more.

Produced by Annette Heist, Senior Producer

Guests

Brad Peterson
Director, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Director, MRI Research

Columbia University Medical Center

New York State Psychiatric Institute

New York, New York

Discussion

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