Brainstem volume mediates seasonal variation in depressive symptoms: A cross sectional study in the UK Biobank cohort

Naif A. Majrashi; Trevor S Ahearn; Gordon D Waiter

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-60620-3

Brainstem volume mediates seasonal variation in depressive symptoms: A cross sectional study in the UK Biobank cohort

Naif A. Majrashi, Trevor S Ahearn, Gordon D Waiter^* (Corresponding Author)

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Seasonal differences in mood and depressive symptoms affect a large percentage of the general population, with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) representing the most common presentation. SAD affects up to 3% of the world’s population, and it tends to be more predominant in females than males. The brainstem has been shown to be affected by photoperiodic changes, and that longer photoperiods are associated with higher neuronal density and decreased depressive-like behaviours. We predict that longer photoperiod days are associated with larger brainstem volumes and lower depressive scores, and that brainstem volume mediates the seasonality of depressive symptoms. Participants (N = 9289, 51.8% females and 48.1% males) ranging in age from 44 to 79 years were scanned by MRI at a single location. Photoperiod was found to be negatively correlated with low mood and anhedonia in females while photoperiod was found to be positively correlated with brainstem volumes. In females, whole brainstem, pons and medulla volumes individually mediated the relationship between photoperiod and both anhedonia and low mood, while midbrain volume mediated the relationship between photoperiod and anhedonia. No mediation effects were seen in males. Our study extends the understanding of the neurobiological factors that contribute to the pathophysiology of seasonal mood variations.

Original language	English
Article number	3592
Number of pages	12
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60620-3
Publication status	Published - 27 Feb 2020

Bibliographical note

This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank resource. UK Biobank was established by the Wellcome Trust medical charity, Medical Research Council, Department of Health, Scottish Government and the Northwest Regional Development Agency. This work was supported by the Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre with financial support from the Roland Sutton Academic Trust (RSAT-0039/R/16) and the Saudi Cultural Bureau in contact with Jazan University (PhD scholarship for NAM).

Data Availability: The datasets processed and analysed during the current study are available from the online open access UK Biobank repository (https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/). This research was conducted under the UK Biobank Resource under Application Number 24089 (PI Waiter).

Keywords

mediation
season
brainstem
substructures
depression
MRI
VALIDATION
PREVALENCE
PHOTOPERIOD
RESPONSES
MOOD
SEGMENTATION
NEURONS
UNIPOLAR DEPRESSION
GENDER-DIFFERENCES
MODULATION

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Cite this

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title = "Brainstem volume mediates seasonal variation in depressive symptoms: A cross sectional study in the UK Biobank cohort",

abstract = "Seasonal differences in mood and depressive symptoms affect a large percentage of the general population, with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) representing the most common presentation. SAD affects up to 3% of the world{\textquoteright}s population, and it tends to be more predominant in females than males. The brainstem has been shown to be affected by photoperiodic changes, and that longer photoperiods are associated with higher neuronal density and decreased depressive-like behaviours. We predict that longer photoperiod days are associated with larger brainstem volumes and lower depressive scores, and that brainstem volume mediates the seasonality of depressive symptoms. Participants (N = 9289, 51.8% females and 48.1% males) ranging in age from 44 to 79 years were scanned by MRI at a single location. Photoperiod was found to be negatively correlated with low mood and anhedonia in females while photoperiod was found to be positively correlated with brainstem volumes. In females, whole brainstem, pons and medulla volumes individually mediated the relationship between photoperiod and both anhedonia and low mood, while midbrain volume mediated the relationship between photoperiod and anhedonia. No mediation effects were seen in males. Our study extends the understanding of the neurobiological factors that contribute to the pathophysiology of seasonal mood variations.",

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author = "Majrashi, {Naif A.} and Ahearn, {Trevor S} and Waiter, {Gordon D}",

note = "This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank resource. UK Biobank was established by the Wellcome Trust medical charity, Medical Research Council, Department of Health, Scottish Government and the Northwest Regional Development Agency. This work was supported by the Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre with financial support from the Roland Sutton Academic Trust (RSAT-0039/R/16) and the Saudi Cultural Bureau in contact with Jazan University (PhD scholarship for NAM). Data Availability: The datasets processed and analysed during the current study are available from the online open access UK Biobank repository (https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/). This research was conducted under the UK Biobank Resource under Application Number 24089 (PI Waiter). ",

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JO - Scientific Reports

JF - Scientific Reports

M1 - 3592

ER -

Brainstem volume mediates seasonal variation in depressive symptoms: A cross sectional study in the UK Biobank cohort

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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