Springer Nature
Neuropsychopharmacology
,  volume 50 ,  issue 6 ,  pages 1000-1007

Longitudinal associations between white matter integrity, early life adversities, and treatment response following cognitive-behavioral therapy in depression

Kira Flinkenflügel 1
, 
Tiana Borgers 1
, 
Melissa Klug 1
, 
Marie M. Mummendey 1
, 
Elisabeth J. Leehr 1
, 
Susanne Meinert 1, 2
, 
Marius Gruber 1, 3
, 
Jonathan Repple 1, 3
, 
Tilo Kircher 4, 5
, 
Nils Opel 1, 6, 7
, 
Jochen Bauer 8
, 
Esther Zwiky 7, 9
, 
Philine König 9
, 
Antonia Küttner 9
, 
Konrad Schöniger 9
, 
Robin Kamrla 9
, 
Udo Dannlowski 1
, 
Verena Enneking 1
, 
Ronny Redlich 1, 7, 9, 10
1
 
2
 
3
 
4
 
5
 
6
 
7
 
German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Halle, Germany | 
8
 
9
 
10
 
Center for Intervention and Research on adaptive and maladaptive brain Circuits underlying mental health (C-I-R-C), Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Halle, Germany | 
Publication type: Journal Article
Publication date: 2025-02-26
Springer Nature
scimago Q1
wos Q1
SJR: 2.944
CiteScore: 13.7
Impact factor: 7.1
ISSN: 0893133X, 1470634X, 1740634X
Abstract

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a primary treatment for depression. Although previous research has underscored the significant roles of white matter (WM) alterations and maladaptive parenting in depression risk, their associations with CBT response remain largely unknown. This longitudinal study investigated the interplay of WM integrity changes over time, treatment response, and parenting style in patients with depression. Diffusion-tensor-imaging and clinical data were assessed in n = 65 (55% female) patients with depression before and after 20 CBT sessions and n = 65 (68% female) healthy controls (HC) in a naturalistic design. Linear-mixed-effect models compared changes in fractional anisotropy (FA) between groups and tested associations between FA changes and symptom changes. It was investigated whether parenting style predicts depressive symptoms at follow-up and whether FA changes mediate this association. Patients showed differential FA changes over time in the corpus callosum and corona radiata compared to HC (p tfce-FWE = 0.008). Increases in FA in the corpus callosum, corona radiata and superior longitudinal fasciculus were linked to symptom improvement after CBT in patients (p tfce-FWE = 0.023). High parental care (p FDR = 0.010) and low maternal overprotection (p FDR = 0.001) predicted fewer depressive symptoms at follow-up. The association between maternal overprotection and depressive symptoms at follow-up was mediated by FA changes (p FDR = 0.044). Robustness checks—controlling for outliers, non-linear age effects, clinical characteristics, and patient subgroups—supported these results. Overall, patients with depression show changes in WM integrity following CBT, which are linked to treatment response. The results highlight the significance of early life adversities and related microstructural changes in the effectiveness of CBT for treating depression.

Found 
Found 

Top-30

Journals

1
Der Nervenarzt
Der Nervenarzt, 1, 50%
Der Nervenarzt
1 publication, 50%
1

Publishers

1
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1, 50%
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
1 publication, 50%
Springer Nature
Springer Nature, 1, 50%
Springer Nature
1 publication, 50%
1
  • We do not take into account publications without a DOI.
  • Statistics recalculated weekly.

Are you a researcher?

Create a profile to get free access to personal recommendations for colleagues and new articles.
Metrics
2
Share
Cite this
GOST |
Cite this
GOST Copy
Flinkenflügel K. et al. Longitudinal associations between white matter integrity, early life adversities, and treatment response following cognitive-behavioral therapy in depression // Neuropsychopharmacology. 2025. Vol. 50. No. 6. pp. 1000-1007.
GOST all authors (up to 50) Copy
Flinkenflügel K., Borgers T., Klug M., Mummendey M. M., Leehr E. J., Meinert S., Gruber M., Repple J., Kircher T., Opel N., Bauer J., Zwiky E., König P., Küttner A., Schöniger K., Kamrla R., Dannlowski U., Enneking V., Redlich R. Longitudinal associations between white matter integrity, early life adversities, and treatment response following cognitive-behavioral therapy in depression // Neuropsychopharmacology. 2025. Vol. 50. No. 6. pp. 1000-1007.
RIS |
Cite this
RIS Copy
TY - JOUR
DO - 10.1038/s41386-025-02070-x
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-025-02070-x
TI - Longitudinal associations between white matter integrity, early life adversities, and treatment response following cognitive-behavioral therapy in depression
T2 - Neuropsychopharmacology
AU - Flinkenflügel, Kira
AU - Borgers, Tiana
AU - Klug, Melissa
AU - Mummendey, Marie M.
AU - Leehr, Elisabeth J.
AU - Meinert, Susanne
AU - Gruber, Marius
AU - Repple, Jonathan
AU - Kircher, Tilo
AU - Opel, Nils
AU - Bauer, Jochen
AU - Zwiky, Esther
AU - König, Philine
AU - Küttner, Antonia
AU - Schöniger, Konrad
AU - Kamrla, Robin
AU - Dannlowski, Udo
AU - Enneking, Verena
AU - Redlich, Ronny
PY - 2025
DA - 2025/02/26
PB - Springer Nature
SP - 1000-1007
IS - 6
VL - 50
SN - 0893-133X
SN - 1470-634X
SN - 1740-634X
ER -
BibTex |
Cite this
BibTex (up to 50 authors) Copy
@article{2025_Flinkenflügel,
author = {Kira Flinkenflügel and Tiana Borgers and Melissa Klug and Marie M. Mummendey and Elisabeth J. Leehr and Susanne Meinert and Marius Gruber and Jonathan Repple and Tilo Kircher and Nils Opel and Jochen Bauer and Esther Zwiky and Philine König and Antonia Küttner and Konrad Schöniger and Robin Kamrla and Udo Dannlowski and Verena Enneking and Ronny Redlich},
title = {Longitudinal associations between white matter integrity, early life adversities, and treatment response following cognitive-behavioral therapy in depression},
journal = {Neuropsychopharmacology},
year = {2025},
volume = {50},
publisher = {Springer Nature},
month = {feb},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-025-02070-x},
number = {6},
pages = {1000--1007},
doi = {10.1038/s41386-025-02070-x}
}
MLA
Cite this
MLA Copy
Flinkenflügel, Kira, et al. “Longitudinal associations between white matter integrity, early life adversities, and treatment response following cognitive-behavioral therapy in depression.” Neuropsychopharmacology, vol. 50, no. 6, Feb. 2025, pp. 1000-1007. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-025-02070-x.
Profiles