Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating disorder that interferes with daily functioning, and that occurs at higher rates in women than in men. Structural and functional alterations in hippocampus and frontal lobe have been reported in MDD, which likely contribute to the multifaceted nature of MDD. One area impacted by MDD is hippocampal-mediated memory, which can be probed using a spatial virtual Morris water task (MWT). Women (n=24) across a spectrum of depression severity underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during MWT. Depression severity, assessed via Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), was examined relative to brain activation during task performance. Significant brain activation was evident in areas traditionally implicated in spatial memory processing, including right hippocampus and frontal lobe regions, for retrieval > motor contrast. When BDI was included as a regressor, significantly less functional activation was evident in left hippocampus, and other non-frontal, task relevant regions for retrieval > rest contrast. Consistent with previous studies, depression severity was associated with functional alterations observed during spatial memory performance. These findings may contribute to understanding neurobiological underpinnings of depression severity and associated memory impairments, which may have implications for treatment approaches aimed at alleviating effects of depression in women.

中文翻译：

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记忆检索过程中的大脑激活与女性的抑郁严重程度有关

重度抑郁症 (MDD) 是一种使人衰弱的疾病，会干扰日常功能，并且女性的发病率高于男性。据报道，MDD 中海马和额叶的结构和功能改变，这可能有助于 MDD 的多方面性质。受 MDD 影响的一个领域是海马介导的记忆，可以使用空间虚拟莫里斯水任务 (MWT) 进行探测。在 MWT 期间，跨越一系列抑郁症严重程度的女性 (n=24) 接受了功能性磁共振成像 (fMRI)。通过贝克抑郁量表 (BDI) 评估的抑郁严重程度与任务执行期间的大脑激活有关。在传统上与空间记忆处理有关的区域，包括右海马和额叶区域，明显的大脑激活，检索 > 运动对比。当 BDI 作为回归变量时，左侧海马和其他非额叶、任务相关区域的功能激活明显减少，用于检索 > 休息对比。与之前的研究一致，抑郁症的严重程度与空间记忆表现期间观察到的功能改变有关。这些发现可能有助于了解抑郁症严重程度和相关记忆障碍的神经生物学基础，这可能对旨在减轻女性抑郁症影响的治疗方法产生影响。抑郁症的严重程度与空间记忆表现期间观察到的功能改变有关。这些发现可能有助于了解抑郁症严重程度和相关记忆障碍的神经生物学基础，这可能对旨在减轻女性抑郁症影响的治疗方法产生影响。抑郁症的严重程度与空间记忆表现期间观察到的功能改变有关。这些发现可能有助于了解抑郁症严重程度和相关记忆障碍的神经生物学基础，这可能对旨在减轻女性抑郁症影响的治疗方法产生影响。