Figure 4.

The relationship between neuronal density and age at the onset of depression. (A) Correlation between the neuronal density in layer IIIc and the age at onset of depression. (B) Correlation between the overall neuronal density and the age at onset of depression. Note that the highest values of neuronal densities belong to the youngest subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) (open squares), who naturally also had an early onset of depression and died at a young age (<50 years). In contrast, the lowest neuronal densities are found in the subgroup of elderly subjects with early-onset depression (aged <60 years, striped squares) and elderly subjects with late-onset depression (aged >60 years, black squares) who died after age 60 years. Neuronal densities represent added values from the elderly subjects analyzed in the present study and younger subjects studied previously (Rajkowska et al 1999).