Shared brain changes link Crohn’s disease and major depression
Hanna A. Hartmann, Marja L. Berthold, Shukti Ramkiran, Lukas Bündgens, Julius W. Jaeger, Jana Hagen, Maria Backhaus, Maria Collée, Gereon J. Schnellbächer, Tanja Veselinović, N. Jon Shah, Kai M. Schneider, Ravichandran Rajkumar & Irene Neuner
17th September 2025
A new study using ultra-high-field 7-Tesla MRI reveals that Crohn’s disease (CD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) share strikingly similar alterations in brain activity and connectivity—offering fresh insight into the biological ties between gut inflammation and mental health.
Researchers from INM-4 and RWTH Aachen scanned individuals with CD, MDD, and healthy controls during rest and found that both patient groups showed abnormal activity in the precuneus, a key hub involved in self-awareness, internal monitoring, and emotional processing. Follow-up connectivity analyses showed a similar pattern in CD and MDD: stronger connections to the left supramarginal gyrus and weaker connections within the precuneus and to the anterior cingulate cortex—regions central to emotion regulation.
Psychological assessments mirrored the imaging results. People with CD reported more depressive symptoms than healthy controls, and their gut symptom severity correlated with depression scores.
Together, the findings suggest that Crohn’s disease and major depression share neurobiological pathways, supporting a growing view of CD as a condition shaped not only by immune dysfunction but by brain–gut interactions. This emerging overlap may open the door to more integrated treatment strategies that address both mental and physical components of these tightly connected disorders.
Original publication: Shared neurobiological changes in individuals with Crohn’s disease and major depressive disorder