Neuroinflammation in the Amygdala Is Associated With Recent Depressive Symptoms
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Converging evidence suggests that elevated inflammation may contribute to depression. Yet, the link between peripheral inflammation and neuroinflammation in depression is unclear. Here, using data from the UK Biobank, we estimated associations among depression, C-reactive protein (CRP) as a measure of peripheral inflammation, and neuroinflammation as indexed by diffusion basis spectral imaging-based restricted fraction (DBSI-RF). METHODS: DBSI-RF was derived from diffusion-weighted imaging data (N = 11,512) for whole-brain gray matter (global-RF), and regions of interest in the bilateral amygdala (amygdala-RF) and hippocampus (hippocampus-RF), and CRP was estimated from blood (serum) samples. Self-reported recent depression symptoms were measured using a 4-item assessment. Linear regressions were used to estimate associations between CRP and DBSI-RFs with depression while adjusting for the following covariates: age, sex, body mass index, smoking, drinking, and medical conditions. RESULTS: Elevated CRP was associated with higher depression symptoms (β = 0.04, false discovery rate-corrected p < .005) and reduced global-RF (β = -0.03, false discovery rate-corrected p < .001). Higher amygdala-RF was associated with elevated depression-an effect resilient to added covariates and CRP (β = 0.02, false discovery rate-corrected p < .05). Interestingly, this association was stronger in individuals with a lifetime history of depression (β = 0.07, p < .005) than in those without (β = 0.03, p < .05). Associations between global-RF or hippocampus-RF with depression were not significant, and no DBSI-RF indices indirectly linked CRP with depression (i.e., mediation effect). CONCLUSIONS: Peripheral inflammation and DBSI-RF neuroinflammation in the amygdala are independently associated with depression, consistent with animal studies suggesting distinct pathways of peripheral inflammation and neuroinflammation in the pathophysiology of depression and with investigations highlighting the role of the amygdala in stress-induced inflammation and depression.
Institution: Washington University in St. Louis
Language: English
Subfield: Biological Psychiatry
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,480
Funders: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, Washington University in St. Louis, National Institutes of Health, McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience, Medical Research Council, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Awards: G1767875771, Understanding overlap in resting state fMRI networks at the single cell level: a cross-species approach, UK Biobank (core renewal), Intergenerational Transmission of Stress: Psychosocial and Biological Mechanisms, G6825382097, Modeling poly-genomic risk in the relationship between brain structure and alcohol involvement from adolescence through adulthood, G9000153645, Neurobehavioral pathways of polygenic and polyenvironmental effects on the onset and maintenance of substance involvement, Individualized brain biomarkers of late life depression: contributions to heterogeneity and resilience, 23/24 Healthy Brain and Child Development National Consortium, Diabetes Research Center
OpenAlex ID: W4375951805