Cortical thickness abnormalities associated with depressive symptoms in temporal lobe epilepsy.

Publication Type	Academic Article
Authors	Butler T, Blackmon K, McDonald C, Carlson C, Barr W, Devinsky O, Kuzniecky R, DuBois J, French J, Halgren E, Thesen T
Journal	Epilepsy Behav
Volume	23
Issue	1
Pagination	64-7
Date Published	11/17/2011
ISSN	1525-5069
Keywords	Cerebral Cortex, Depression, Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe
Abstract	Depression in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is highly prevalent and carries significant morbidity and mortality. Its neural basis is poorly understood. We used quantitative, surface-based MRI analysis to correlate brain morphometry with severity of depressive symptoms in 38 patients with TLE and 45 controls. Increasing severity of depressive symptoms was associated with orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) thinning in controls, but with OFC thickening in TLE patients. These results demonstrate distinct neuroanatomical substrates for depression with and without TLE, and suggest a unique role for OFC, a limbic region for emotional processing strongly interconnected with medial temporal structures, in TLE-related depressive symptoms.
DOI	10.1016/j.yebeh.2011.10.001
PubMed ID	22099527
PubMed Central ID	PMC3259282