Altered gray matter volume in major depressive disorder patients with psychomotor retardation.

BACKGROUND

Psychomotor retardation (PMR) is a clinically significant but under-investigated neuropsychiatric manifestation of major depressive disorder (MDD). Its neuroanatomical features remain poorly understood. This study aims to examine differences in gray matter volume (GMV) alterations between MDD patients with and without PMR.

METHODS

The study enrolled 107 first-episode, treatment-naïve MDD patients (diagnosed per DSM-IV criteria) and 112 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Participants were divided into two clinical subgroups based on the retardation factor score of the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale: an MDD with retardation (MDD-WR) group (score ≥ 8, n  = 51) and an MDD without retardation (MDD-WoR) group (score < 8, n  = 56). Structural MRI scans were obtained for all participants.

RESULTS

Compared with healthy controls, the MDD-WR group showed significantly smaller GMV in the bilateral posterior cerebellum and left calcarine gyrus. In contrast, the MDD-WoR group demonstrated larger GMV in the left postcentral gyrus (PoCG) and right angular gyrus. Among all of the MDD patients, patients of the MDD-WR group had smaller GMV in the right PoCG, right superior frontal gyrus, and left olfactory bulb compared with the MDD-WoR group.

CONCLUSION

Our findings identify distinct neuroanatomical patterns of GMV changes in MDD patients with PMR compared with those without PMR. This provides novel insights into the neural basis of PMR in MDD.