Bright light therapy increases myelin density in posterior thalamic radiation in young adults with subthreshold depression: An ihMT MRI study

Subthreshold depression (SD) is a significant risk indicator of major depressive episodes. This study used the inhomogeneous magnetization transfer (ihMT) technique to probe myelin abnormalities and its response to bright light therapy (BLT) in SD. The findings of this study suggest the macromolecular disruption of myelin in the posterior thalamic radiation, sagittal stratum, and uncinate fasciculus in the early stages of depression. Furthermore, the myelin impairments in the PTR could be reversed by BLT, thus suggesting they might be used as the potential neural target for BLT in SD.