Gray matter substrates of depressive and anxiety symptoms in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder

Introduction Idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is a prodromal stage of Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Depressive and anxiety symptoms are frequent features of PD, DLB and iRBD, and some studies suggest that depressive symptoms are a marker for neurodegeneration in iRBD. However, the pathophysiology of depressive and anxiety symptoms in iRBD is still unclear. This study aimed to investigate cortical and subcortical gray matter (GM) volume substrates of depressive and anxiety symptoms in iRBD patients. Methods Forty-six polysomnography-confirmed iRBD patients and 31 healthy controls (HC) without cognitive or mood impairment were recruited. All participants underwent 3-T magnetic resonance imaging and completed the Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) questionnaires. Voxel-based morphometry analysis was performed to assess GM volume in cortical and subcortical structures. Between-group comparisons and regressions were performed. Results iRBD patients with depressive symptoms (BDI-II score > 13 or the use of antidepressants to treat depression) showed reduced GM volume in the caudate nucleus compared to HC and iRBD patients without depressive symptoms. Moreover, iRBD patients with anxiety symptoms (BAI score > 9 or the use of anxiolytics to treat anxiety) showed reduced GM volume in the left amygdala extending to the hippocampus compared to HC and iRBD patients without anxiety symptoms. In iRBD patients, higher BDI-II and BAI total scores were associated with lower GM volumes in these regions respectively. Conclusion Depressive and anxiety symptoms in iRBD patients are related to patterns of cortical and subcortical GM volume loss.