Voxel-based morphometry study of the insular cortex in female patients with current and remitted depression

Obesity and major depression: Body-mass index (BMI) is associated with a severe course of disease and specific neurostructural alterations

“…Striatocortical pathway dysfunctions are strongly suggested to be associated with dysfunctions in reward processing, impulsivity and the regulation of eating behaviors and might therefore represent an exceedingly decisive network besides prefrontal areas in obesity (Tomasi and Volkow, 2013). Unlike the BMI related subcortical effects, chronicity of MDD was found to be associated with gray matter loss in the insula which is well in line with reports from former imaging studies on affective disorders (Liu et al, 2014;Stratmann et al, 2014). Serra-Blasco et al report a negative association between longer illness duration and decreased gray matter volumes in the medial frontal cortex and the insula which highly matches results from our study (Serra-Blasco et al, 2013).…”

Anterior Insula Volume and Guilt

“…This is consistent with adult literature suggesting that AI volume reduction may represent a biological marker of depression (as well as other disorders). 3,64 Extending the adult literature, these study findings provide evidence for the first structural brain biomarker to date of risk for recurrent depression in childhood. Future studies that follow up children into later adolescence and early adulthood are needed to more fully inform this risk trajectory.…”

Grey matter volume increase following electroconvulsive therapy in patients with late life depression: a longitudinal MRI study

“…27,29 Insular volume is decreased in elderly, hospitalized men with lateonset depression. 32 In pa tients with major depressive disorder (MDD) in general, the left dorsal anterior insular grey matter volume is decreased, 33 and illness duration is inversely correlated with grey matter density in the bilateral insula in remitted patients. 34 Grey matter volume reductions in the superior temporal area have been associated with illness duration and cumulative illness severity 35 as well as with enduring changes in patients with MDD even after recovery.…”