AUTHOR=Schaub Nora , Ammann Nina , Conring Frauke , Müller Thomas , Federspiel Andrea , Wiest Roland , Hoepner Robert , Stegmayer Katharina , Walther Sebastian 

TITLE=Effect of Season of Birth on Hippocampus Volume in a Transdiagnostic Sample of Patients With Depression and Schizophrenia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

VOLUME=16

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2022.877461

DOI=10.3389/fnhum.2022.877461

ISSN=1662-5161

ABSTRACT=<p>Psychiatric disorders share an excess of seasonal birth in winter and spring, suggesting an increase of neurodevelopmental risks. Evidence suggests season of birth can serve as a proxy of harmful environmental factors. Given that prenatal exposure of these factors may trigger pathologic processes in the neurodevelopment, they may consequently lead to brain volume alterations. Here we tested the effects of season of birth on gray matter volume in a transdiagnostic sample of patients with schizophrenia and depression compared to healthy controls (<italic>n</italic> = 192). We found a significant effect of season of birth on gray matter volume with reduced right hippocampal volume in summer-born compared to winter-born patients with depression. In addition, the volume of the right hippocampus was reduced independent from season of birth in schizophrenia. Our results support the potential impact of season of birth on hippocampal volume in depression.</p>