The study, conducted at the University of Gottingen, Germany, involved 17 young patients with major depressive disorder and 17 healthy girls.

Dimensions of the amygdala and hippocampus were determined using a three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. Compared with the control group, in patients with depression, the amygdala was significantly increased (by 13%) and the hippocampus (12%) was reduced.

Previous studies also showed an increase in the amygdala in the early stages of major depression. "Our results are consistent with data from other studies on structural disorders of the amygdala and the hippocampus in a major depressive disorder.

It can be assumed that the size of the amygdala increases in the first years of the disease, and can decrease with a prolonged course of the disorder, "write the authors of the study C. Lange and E. Irle.

Medicus. En.