RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CORTICAL THICKNESS AND SERUM CORTISOL LEVELS IN DRUG-NAÏVE, FIRST-EPISODE PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER: A SURFACE-BASED MORPHOMETRIC STUDY

Abstract

In the early stage of MDD, the thickness of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex was significantly reduced, and also showed a significant inverse correlation with the serum cortisol levels. Since the lateral orbitofrontal cortex contains a high concentration of glucocorticoid receptor, glucocorticoid receptor-mediated signaling transductions could contribute to neurotoxicity, which might occur when there are high cortisol levels in patients with MDD.