ArticleScientific reports2020
Brain structural network alterations related to serum cortisol levels in drug-naïve, first-episode major depressive disorder patients: a source-based morphometric study.
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors citalopram and escitalopram on glucolipid metabolism: a systematic review.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- Depression and aging: insights from brain age prediction models.Psychological medicine · 2026Article
- Neurobiological mechanisms and brain network dysfunction in major depressive disorder: an integrative review.Frontiers in integrative neuroscience · 2026Review
- Abnormal structural covariance network in major depressive disorder: Evidence from the REST-meta-MDD project.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2025Article
- The interplay between polygenic score for tumor necrosis factor-α, brain structural connectivity, and processing speed in major depression.Molecular psychiatry · 2024Article
- Brain structural changes and molecular analyses in children with benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes.Pediatric research · 2024Article
- Adenosine signaling: a potential therapeutic target for psychogenic erectile dysfunction.American journal of translational research · 2024Review
- Effect of Tai Chi on Young Adults with Subthreshold Depression via a Stress-Reward Complex: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Sports medicine - open · 2023Article
- Volume of Amygdala Subregions and Plasma Levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Cortisol in Patients with s/s Genotype of Serotonin Transporter Gene Polymorphism of First-Episode and Drug-Naive Major Depressive Disorder: An Exploratory Study.Neurology international · 2022Article
- Combined serum IL-6, C-reactive protein, and cortisol may distinguish patients with anhedonia in major depressive disorder.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2022Article
- Identifying Subgroups of Major Depressive Disorder Using Brain Structural Covariance Networks and Mapping of Associated Clinical and Cognitive Variables.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2021Article
- Volume of Amygdala Subregions and Clinical Manifestations in Patients With First-Episode, Drug-Naïve Major Depression.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Higher cortisol levels due to a hyperactive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis have been reported in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Increased cortisol levels change both the brain morphology and function in MDD patients. The multivariate source-based morphometry (SBM) technique has been applied to investigate neuroanatomical changes in some neuropsychiatric diseases, but not MDD. We aimed to examine the alterations in gray matter (GM) networks and their relationship with serum cortisol levels in first-episode, drug-naïve MDD patients using SBM. Forty-two patients with MDD and 39 controls were recruited via interviews. Morning serum cortisol levels were measured, and high-resolution T1-weighted imaging followed by SBM analysis was performed in all participants. The patients had significantly higher serum cortisol levels than the controls. We found two GM sources, which were significantly different between patients with MDD and controls (prefrontal network, p < .01; insula-temporal network, p < .01). Serum cortisol levels showed a statistically significant negative correlation with the loading coefficients of the prefrontal network (r = - 0.354, p = 0.02). In conclusion, increased serum cortisol levels were associated with reductions in the prefrontal network in the early stage of MDD, and SBM may be a useful approach for analyzing structural MRI data.
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