Structural brain differences between individuals with and without depressive symptoms following complicated mild to severe traumatic brain injury
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Individuals with a history of TBI are twice as likely to develop depressive symptoms compared to those without TBI (1). Post-TBI depression is associated with decreased participation (increased dependence on others for activities of daily living and lower return-to-work rates), higher re-hospitalisation rates, increased cognitive and physical impairments, and lower quality of life (2). Several known risk factors for post-TBI depression include a history of psychiatric disorders, female sex, social stressors (such as a lack of social support), and an avoidant coping style (3,4). Depressive symptoms following TBI are often underdiagnosed and have been proven challenging to treat, for instance, due to the cognitive impairments people can experience. Previous work has pointed out the need for a better mechanistic understanding of psychiatric sequelae following TBI, including the investigation of neural networks and neuroimaging biomarkers (5). There is increasing evidence suggesting neuropathological contributors to post-TBI depression. For example, several reviews have found TBI-related depression to be associated with reductions in grey matter volume in the prefrontal cortex, temporal and left inferior parietal cortices, right lingual gyrus, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens (6,7). However, the quality of the studies included in the reviews was generally poor, with relatively smaller sample sizes (up to 251 participants) and generalisation across studies was difficult due to the differences in methodologies utilised and diagnostic criteria. There is a need for large and rigorous studies examining neural correlates associated with depression following TBI. By leveraging data from the ENIGMA Adult Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (ENIGMA AMS-TBI; 8) working group, we will examine group-differences in subcortical brain volumes, cortical thickness and cortical surface area of brain regions between people with and without depressive symptoms following TBI. Furthermore, we will investigate the association between the morphological measures and the severity of depressive symptoms in people with TBI.
Authors: Rauwenhoff, Johanne, Smits, Martijn, Spitz, Gershon, Burnett, Jake, Caeyenberghs, Karen, Chiaravalloti, Nancy D, Deutscher, Evelyn, Dams-O'Connor, Kristen, Dobryakova, Ekaterina, Truid Follestad, Genova, Helen, Hellstrøm, Torgeir, Håberg, Asta, Irimia, Andrei, Li, Lucia, Mohamed, Abdalla Z, Adamson, Maheen, Menon, David, Merkley, Tricia L., Mondello, Stefania, Newcombe, Virginia, Pozzi, Elena, Tate, David F, Westlye, Lars T., Thompson, Paul, Hillary, Frank, Dennis, Emily L., Olsen, Alexander
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W7128737438
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