Neurochemical profile of major depressive disorder in adolescents: 7 T MRS study

Major depressive disorder in adolescents (MDD) is a substantial public health problem. Existing treatments are often ineffective and do not target relevant neurobiological markers. It has been hypothesized that neurobiological mechanism underlying depression involves a dysfunction of the excitatory/inhibitory neurotransmitters. Here, the neurochemical profile from the occipital lobe of twenty adolescents with MDD and twenty-four age-matched healthy volunteers (HV) were acquired at 7 T. Larger SDs were observed for some metabolites in MDD versus HV and suggest heterogeneity of depression severity in the MDD cohort. Positive correlation in MDD between aspartate and GABA could be indicative of a neurotransmitter imbalance.