Absence of striatal volume differences between depressed subjects with no comorbid medical illness and matched comparison subjects

Objective: The striatum (caudate and putamen) appears to be important in th e pathogenesis of depression. Some studies show smaller than normal striata l structure volumes in depressed subjects. This study compared striatal vol umes in depressed and nondepressed women, screened to exclude major cerebro vascular disease risk factors and comorbid medical illness. Method: Caudate and putamen volumes were measured from magnetic resonance imaging scans of 24 depressed women and 24 matched nondepressed comparison subjects. Result s: Caudate and putamen volumes were not significantly different between dep ressed and nondepressed groups. Conclusions: These findings differ from tho se of previous studies, possibly because of the exclusion of subjects with cerebrovascular risk factors in this study.