["International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, Volume 41, Issue 5, May 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\n\nIntroduction\nLate‐life depression (LLD) is a heterogeneous psychiatric condition characterized by a wide range of psychopathological symptoms and associated with functional and structural abnormalities in brain networks implicated in mood and cognitive regulation. This cross‐sectional study investigated the relationship between specific depressive symptom dimensions and cortical brain measures, as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging, in a sample of 87 community‐dwelling older adults with depression.\n\n\nResults\nSignificant associations were identified between the severity of sad mood and reduced cortical volume in the right medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) (p [FDR] = 0.047), as well as reduced cortical thickness in the left OFC (p [FDR] = 0.008), left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) (p [FDR] = 0.02), and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) (p [FDR] = 0.054). Apathy/lassitude was also significantly associated with reduced thickness in the left OFC (p [FDR] = 0.016) and left VLPFC (p [FDR] = 0.046). Moreover, overall depression severity correlated with reduced thickness in the right middle temporal cortex (MTC) (p [FDR] = 0.035).\n\n\nDiscussion\nOur results suggest that feelings of low mood and lassitude in LLD are linked to structural changes in brain regions involved in emotion regulation, motivational drive, self‐referential thinking, executive control, and decision‐making. The findings contribute to the understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of LLD and support the hypothesis that symptom‐specific disruptions within mood and cognitive processing circuits are integral to its pathophysiology.\n\n"]