ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the characteristics of the depression during emotional processing.Methods 24 participants with first episode of depression and healthy controls were assessed with HAMD scale,using DTI to dectect values of white matter FA,and using fMRI with pictures of emotional stimuli;thus results related with imagings were produced.The results were statistically analyzed.Results The brain areas indicating FA values deference with statistial significance in depression patients compared with the control ones included:left and right frontal lobe (left frontal lobe depression group 0.324 ± 0.090,control group 0.467 ± 0.072,P ＜ 0.01),corpus callosum knee (depression group 0.614 ±0.146,control group 0.734 ±0.063,P＜0.01),anterior cingulate gyrus (depression group 0.222 ±0.035,control group 0.343 ±0.021,P＜0.01) ;the fronal FA values in depression grop were negatively correlated with the duration of bilateral frontal white matter (r =-0.555,P ＜ 0.01).The activation of emotional brain regions stimulated by pictures includes frontal cortex-subcortical reticular system,and the hypothalamus and limbic system.There was a significant difference between two groups.Conclusion There may be abnormal emotional processing dystunction in patients with depression.It may be the pathological basis to have frontal white matter fiber tracts broken.