scholarly journals Functional dysconnectivity within the emotion-regulating system is associated with affective symptoms in major depressive disorder: A resting-state fMRI study

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 528-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zongling He ◽  
Fengmei Lu ◽  
Wei Sheng ◽  
Shaoqiang Han ◽  
Zhiliang Long ◽  
...  

Objective: Major depressive disorder (MDD) can be characterized as a multidimensional and system-level disorder. The neuropathophysiological abnormalities have been reported to be distributed in emotion regulation system, involving the prefrontal cortex (PFC), limbic and striatum in convergent studies. Decrease of positive affect and increase of negative affect are recognized as a hallmark of MDD. However, the dysfunctions in affective processing in MDD within the emotion regulation system remains largely unclear. In this study, our goals are to characterize the dysconnectivity pattern within this system and explore the relationships between this kind of dysconnectivity pattern and affective symptoms, which might help us better look into the neuropathophysiological mechanisms underlying MDD. Methods: A total of 34 MDD and 34 healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI). The alterations in functional connectivity (FC) within the emotion regulation system and their relationships with affective symptoms were explored. Results: Compared with HCs, MDD patients showed aberrant FC within this system. Importantly, deceased FC was mainly involved in the prefrontal–limbic system, while elevated FC was observed in the prefrontal–striatum system. In the MDD group, decreased FC of right posterior hippocampus–left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) was negatively associated with the negative affect scores and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores and the FC of left ventral striatum–left dlPFC was significantly negatively related with the positive affect scores. Conclusions: These findings demonstrated that MDD showed characteristic pathological alterations of the emotion regulation system. Dysconnectivity within prefrontal–limbic system might be more related to the dysregulation of negative affect, whereas dysconnectivity within prefrontal–striatum system might influence more on positive affect processing. The decrease in positive affect and increase in negative affect in MDD might have different pathological basis. These results could help better understand the dysconnectivity pattern in the emotion-regulating system underlying depression.

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingling Cui ◽  
Xiaohong Gong ◽  
Yanqing Tang ◽  
Lingtao Kong ◽  
Miao Chang ◽  
...  

A single-nucleotide polymorphism at the LHPP gene (rs35936514) has been reported in genome-wide association studies to be associated with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the neural system effects of rs35936514 that mediate the association are unknown. The present work explores whether the LHPP rs35936514 polymorphism moderates brain regional activity in MDD. A total of 160 subjects were studied: a CC group homozygous for the C allele (23 individuals with MDD and 57 controls) and a T-carrier group carrying the high risk T allele (CT/TT genotypes; 22 MDD and 58 controls). All participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scanning. Brain activity was assessed using the amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF). MDD patients showed a significant increased ALFF in the left middle temporal gyrus and occipital cortex. The T-carrier group showed increased ALFF in the left superior temporal gyrus. Significant diagnosis × genotype interaction was noted in the bilateral lingual gyri, bilateral dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and left medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) (P<0.05, corrected). Results demonstrated that MDD patients with LHPP rs35936514 CT/TT genotype may influence the regional brain activity. These findings implicate the effects of the rs35936514 variation on the neural system in MDD.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kia Watkins-Martin ◽  
Despina Bolanis ◽  
Stephane R. Devantoy ◽  
Marie-Helene Pennestri ◽  
Catherine Malboeuf-Hurtubise ◽  
...  

Background: While walking in nature has been shown to improve affect in adults from the community to a greater extent than walking in urban settings, it is unknown whether such findings can be generalized to individuals suffering from depression. Using a parallel group design, this randomized controlled trial examined the effects of a single walk in nature versus urban settings on negative and positive affect in adult psychiatric outpatients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). Method: Participants recruited from a psychiatric outpatient clinic for adults with MDD were randomly assigned to a nature or urban walk condition. Thirty-seven adults (mean age=49 years) completed a single 60-minute walk. Negative and positive affect were assessed using The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule or PANAS at 6 time points: before the walk, halfway during the walk, immediately post-walk, at home before bedtime, 24 hours post-walk, and 48 hours post-walk. Results: Controlling for baseline levels of affect before the walk, individuals who walked in nature experienced overall lower levels of negative affect, F(1, 35.039)=4.239, p=.047, compared to those who walked in urban settings. Positive affect did not differ across walk conditions. Limitations: The generalizability of results are limited by the small sample size and the presence of more female than male participants. Conclusions: Walking in nature might be a useful strategy to improve the affect of adults with MDD. Future research should investigate different ways to integrate the beneficial effects of nature exposure into existing treatment plans for psychiatric outpatients with MDD. Keywords: major depressive disorder (MDD); depression; nature; greenspace; affect; randomized-control trial; physical activity


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoqian Xiao ◽  
Brandon S. Bentzley ◽  
Eleanor J. Cole ◽  
Claudia Tischler ◽  
Katy H. Stimpson ◽  
...  

AbstractMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is prevalent and debilitating, and development of improved treatments is limited by insufficient understanding of the neurological changes associated with disease remission. In turn, efforts to elucidate these changes have been challenging due to disease heterogeneity as well as limited effectiveness, delayed onset, and significant off-target effects of treatments. We developed a form of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) that in an open-label study was associated with remission from MDD in 90% of individuals in 1-5 days (Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy, SAINT). This provides a tool to begin exploring the functional connectivity (FC) changes associated with MDD remission. Resting-state fMRI scans were performed before and after SAINT in 18 participants with moderate-to-severe, treatment-resistant MDD. FC was determined between regions of interest defined a priori by well-described roles in emotion regulation. Following SAINT, FC was significantly decreased between subgenual cingulate cortex (sgACC) and 3 of 4 default mode network (DMN) nodes. Significant reductions in FC were also observed between the following: DLPFC-striatum, DLPFC-amygdala, DMN-amygdala, DMN-striatum, and amygdala-striatum. Greater clinical improvements were correlated with larger decreases in FC between DLPFC-amygdala and DLPFC-insula, as well as smaller decreases in FC between sgACC-DMN. Greater clinical improvements were correlated with lower baseline FC between DMN-DLPFC, DMN-striatum, and DMN-ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. The multiple, significant reductions in FC we observed following SAINT and remission from depression support the hypothesis that MDD is a state of hyper-connectivity within these networks, and rapid decoupling of network nodes may lead to rapid remission from depression.Significance statementMajor depressive disorder is common and debilitating. It has been difficult to study the brain changes associated with recovery from depression, because treatments take weeks-to-months to become effective, and symptoms fail to resolve in many people. We recently developed a type of magnetic brain stimulation called SAINT. SAINT leads to full remission from depression in 90% of people within 5 days. We used SAINT and functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine how the brain changes with rapid remission from depression. We found changes in areas of the brain associated with emotion regulation. This provides a significantly clearer picture of how the non-depressed brain differs from the depressed brain, which can be used to develop rapid and effective treatments for depression.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eisuke Sakakibara ◽  
Yoshihiro Satomura ◽  
Jun Matsuoka ◽  
Shinsuke Koike ◽  
Naohiro Okada ◽  
...  

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a functional neuroimaging modality that has advantages in clinical usage. Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have found that the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) of the default mode network (DMN) is increased, while the RSFC of the cognitive control network (CCN) is reduced in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) compared with healthy controls. This study tested whether the NIRS-based RSFC measurements can detect the abnormalities in RSFC that have been associated with MDD in previous fMRI studies. We measured 8 min of resting-state brain activity in 34 individuals with MDD and 78 age- and gender-matched healthy controls using a whole-head NIRS system. We applied a previously established partial correlation analysis for estimating RSFCs between the 17 cortical regions. We found that MDD patients had a lower RSFC between the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the parietal lobe that comprise the CCN, and a higher RSFC between the right orbitofrontal cortex and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, compared to those in healthy controls. The RSFC strength of the left CCN was negatively correlated with the severity of depressive symptoms and the dose of antipsychotic medication and positively correlated with the level of social functioning. The results of this study suggest that NIRS-based measurements of RSFCs have potential clinical applications.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document