Density of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes in the ventral prefrontal white matter of human brain. There were significant decreases in the density of both types of astrocytes, fibrous (A) (ANCOVA, F(1, 10)=1701.375, *p<0.0001) and smooth (B) (ANCOVA, F(1, 10)=5.159, *p=0.046), in subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) as compared to control subjects. The horizontal lines represent the mean value of density for each diagnostic group.