Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders and is associated
with considerable morbidity. In recent years structural-imaging technology has
provided an opportunity to examine the brain anatomy in patients with the
psychiatric illness. 10 patients of various ages and, as the control group,
16 healthy subjects were examined using the MRI method of neuroimaging.
The volumes of the following structures were evaluated in the right and left
hemispheres: the superior temporal gyrus, the basolateral temporal area (the
region including middle temporal gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus and fusiform
gyrus), the parahippocampal gyrus, the hippocampal head, the amygdaloid body
and the lateral ventricle. The significant difference between the control group
and the group with depression concerned the volume of the temporal horn of
the lateral ventricle of both hemispheres. In depressed patients the left temporal
horn was 49.8% and the right 38.4% larger in comparison with the control
group. In the control group there were significant differences between the left
and right hemispheres in the volume of all the structures studied, whereas in the
group with depression these difference in volume between the hemispheres
concerned only the amygdaloid body and the lateral ventricle
