Multimodal gray matter morphological alterations in cognitive subtypes of adolescent major depressive disorder

Multimodal gray matter morphological alterations in cognitive subtypes of adolescent major depressive disorder | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Multimodal gray matter morphological alterations in cognitive subtypes of adolescent major depressive disorder Xuewei Tang, Yafei Zheng, Fenyang Chen, Biyin Lin, Yaoyang Fu, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8778572/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Objective This study compares brain structure between two cognitive subtypes of adolescent Major depressive disorder (MDD). It uses voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and surface-based morphometry (SBM)to examine group differences. It also tests how these structural changes relate to cognitive performance and clinical indicators. The goal is to understand why adolescents with MDD show different cognitive patterns. Methods The study recruited 85 adolescents with MDD and 30 healthy controls. All participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and neuropsychological testing. K-means clustering divided the MDD group into cognitive impairment (MDD-I) and cognitive preservation (MDD-II). VBM and SBM analyses assessed structural differences across groups. Correlation analyses tested associations between brain features and clinical indicators. Results MDD-I showed widespread gray matter reduction and cortical thinning, particularly in the prefrontal, insular, temporal, and postcentral regions. The MDD-II showed milder and more localized structural changes. The cortical thickness of the bilateral postcentral gyrus in MDD-I was negatively correlated with inhibitory control function; the gray matter volume of the left middle frontal gyrus in MDD-II was positively correlated with short-term memory function. Conclusion Our results show clear structural differences between cognitive subtypes of adolescent MDD. These data support a neuroanatomical basis for cognitive heterogeneity. Multimodal imaging adds complementary evidence and may provide a potential direction for future stratified diagnosis and treatment. Depression Cognition Voxel-based morphometry Surface-based morphometry Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files File1.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8778572","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":592405367,"identity":"5922d09c-d0c3-4ad7-8fed-5b37c3feba2b","order_by":0,"name":"Xuewei Tang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Zhejiang Chinese Medical University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xuewei","middleName":"","lastName":"Tang","suffix":""},{"id":592405368,"identity":"da3f5460-cc7d-4a70-b605-85cb55f86e7b","order_by":1,"name":"Yafei Zheng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Zhejiang Chinese Medical 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morphometry","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8778572/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8778572/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eObjective\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study compares brain structure between two cognitive subtypes of adolescent Major depressive disorder (MDD). It uses voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and surface-based morphometry (SBM)to examine group differences. It also tests how these structural changes relate to cognitive performance and clinical indicators. The goal is to understand why adolescents with MDD show different cognitive patterns.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study recruited 85 adolescents with MDD and 30 healthy controls. All participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and neuropsychological testing. K-means clustering divided the MDD group into cognitive impairment (MDD-I) and cognitive preservation (MDD-II). VBM and SBM analyses assessed structural differences across groups. Correlation analyses tested associations between brain features and clinical indicators.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eMDD-I showed widespread gray matter reduction and cortical thinning, particularly in the prefrontal, insular, temporal, and postcentral regions. The MDD-II showed milder and more localized structural changes. The cortical thickness of the bilateral postcentral gyrus in MDD-I was negatively correlated with inhibitory control function; the gray matter volume of the left middle frontal gyrus in MDD-II was positively correlated with short-term memory function.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur results show clear structural differences between cognitive subtypes of adolescent MDD. These data support a neuroanatomical basis for cognitive heterogeneity. Multimodal imaging adds complementary evidence and may provide a potential direction for future stratified diagnosis and treatment.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Multimodal gray matter morphological alterations in cognitive subtypes of adolescent major depressive disorder","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-18 17:08:02","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8778572/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"3e662f42-aced-4e7e-9b32-0236172c7152","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 18th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-11T14:11:50+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-18 17:08:02","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8778572","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8778572","identity":"rs-8778572","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}