@article{ref1,
title="Amygdala enlargement in dysthymia--a volumetric study of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy",
journal="Biological psychiatry",
year="1999",
author="Tebartz van Elst, L. and Woermann, F. G. and Lemieux, L. and Trimble, M. R.",
volume="46",
number="12",
pages="1614-1623",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Previous studies indicated an important role of the amygdala for emotional information processing. We investigated a possible relationship between amygdala volumes, aggressive behavior, and dysthymia, in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). METHODS: Patients with TLE with and without aggression or dysthymia and healthy volunteers were assessed using quantitative MRI. Amygdala volumes were measured in a blinded fashion and corrected for total brain volumes. RESULTS: There was a highly significant enlargement of left and right amygdala volumes in patients with dysthymia (right side, p < .000; left side, p = .001). We found a significant positive correlation between left amygdala volumes (p = .02) and a trend towards positive correlation between right amygdala volumes and depression (p = .06), as measured with the Beck Depression Inventory. Amygdala volumes of females were significantly larger than those of males (left side: p = .005; right side: p = .06). CONCLUSIONS: This is the second report of a relationship between amygdala volumes and depressed mood, confirming an earlier finding in patients with bipolar disease, and the first study reporting a correlation between amygdala volumes and depression. Increased processing of emotional information might increase amygdala blood flow and subsequently, result in amygdala enlargement.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0006-3223",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}