Neural biomarker of functional disability in major depressive disorder: A structural neuroimaging study.

Abstract Background Most patients with the major depressive disorder (MDD) have varying degrees of impaired social functioning, and functional improvement often lags behind symptomatic improvement. However, it is still unclear if certain neurobiological factors underlie the deficits of social function in MDD. The aim of this study was to investigate the biomarkers of social function in MDD using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods 3T anatomical MRI was obtained from 272 subjects including 46 high-functioning (high-SF, Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) rating Results Volume of right parahippocampal gyrus (rPHG) was significantly reduced in low-SF patients with MDD when compared to high-SF ones (FDR-corrected p  Limitations Limited functional assessment, high drop-out rate and median-based grouping method. Conclusions Greater GM volume (GMV) of the rPHG may mark better social function in patients with MDD.