Common and specific gray matter abnormalities and epicenter distribution across major psychiatric disorders

Motivation: Major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD), and schizophrenia (SZ) share overlapping symptomatic and biological features, but underlying mechanisms remained unknown. Goal(s): To identify commonalities and specificities in gray matter volume (GMV) alteration and epicenter distribution across three disorders. Approach: Comparative meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry studies and meta-analytic epicenter analysis were conducted. Results: Common GMV reduction was identified in the medial prefrontal and superior temporal cortex. Less and greater regional GMV loss were specifically observed for MDD and SZ patients, respectively. A shared epicenter across the three disorders is located in the subgenual insular cortex. Impact: Due to the highly overlapping symptoms of MDD,BD and SZ, there are often misdiagnoses. Therefore, this study explores the potential structural change patterns of the three diseases through structural similarities and differences, and provides reliable diagnostic basis for the clinic.