Reciprocal Relationships Between Stress and Depressive Symptoms: The Essential Role of The Nucleus Accumbens

Authors

Yizhou Ma
Peter Kochunov
Mark D Kvarta
Tara LeGates
Bhim M Adhikari
Joshua Chiappelli
Andrew van der Vaart
Eric L Goldwaser
Heather Bruce
Kathryn S Hatch
Si Gao
Shuo Chen
Ann Summerfelt
Thomas E Nichols
L Elliot Hong

Publication Date

4-1-2024

Journal

Psychological Medicine

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Stress and depression have a reciprocal relationship, but the neural underpinnings of this reciprocity are unclear. We investigated neuroimaging phenotypes that facilitate the reciprocity between stress and depressive symptoms.

METHODS: In total, 22 195 participants (52.0% females) from the population-based UK Biobank study completed two visits (initial visit: 2006-2010, age = 55.0 ± 7.5 [40-70] years; second visit: 2014-2019; age = 62.7 ± 7.5 [44-80] years). Structural equation modeling was used to examine the longitudinal relationship between self-report stressful life events (SLEs) and depressive symptoms. Cross-sectional data were used to examine the overlap between neuroimaging correlates of SLEs and depressive symptoms on the second visit among 138 multimodal imaging phenotypes.

RESULTS: Longitudinal data were consistent with significant bidirectional causal relationship between SLEs and depressive symptoms. In cross-sectional analyses, SLEs were significantly associated with lower bilateral nucleus accumbal volume and lower fractional anisotropy of the forceps major. Depressive symptoms were significantly associated with extensive white matter hyperintensities, thinner cortex, lower subcortical volume, and white matter microstructural deficits, mainly in corticostriatal-limbic structures. Lower bilateral nucleus accumbal volume were the only imaging phenotypes with overlapping effects of depressive symptoms and SLEs (

CONCLUSIONS: The nucleus accumbens may play a key role in the reciprocity between stress and depressive symptoms.

Keywords

Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Aged, Male, Nucleus Accumbens, Depression, Cross-Sectional Studies, Cerebral Cortex, White Matter, Magnetic Resonance Imaging

DOI

10.1017/S0033291723002866

PMID

37750294

PMCID

PMC11078439

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

May 2024

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Author MSS

Published Open-Access

yes