LATE LIFE DEPRESSION AND STRUCTURAL BRAIN CHANGES - A REVIEW OF RECENT MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING RESEARCH

Recent findings using magnetic resonance imaging to investigate late life depression have reported an unexpectedly high prevalence of white matter and other structural brain changes, suggesting a possible organic aetiology to the disorder in a proportion of cases. These findings are examined critically and it is concluded that their significance is not yet clear, although they may reflect underlying cerebrovascular change. A lack of postmortem data constitutes a major deficiency in this area of enquiry. An approach combining structural and dynamic imaging with postmortem examination would be the best strategy for future research.