THE PLACE OF SITE OF LESION IN THE ETIOLOGY OF POSTSTROKE DEPRESSION

The association of post-stroke depression (PSD) rid site of cerebral l esion was investigated in 117 patients with first-ever stroke in the P erth Community Stroke Study, who were depressed 4 months post-stroke. The site of lesion was previously localised by studying the CT scan in conjunction with the atlas of neuroanatomy and cranial computed tomog raphy of Kretschmann and Wain-rich, rather than the topographical appr oach used in most previous studies. Patients who were depressed immedi ately prior to the stroke were excluded. No support was found for the assertion that lesion location is a prime factor in the aetiology of P SD. Future investigations of this topic should encompass a much broade r range of variables than lesion location, as the aetiology of PSD is likely to be multi-factorial.