Increased functional connectivity between brainstem substructures and cortex in treatment resistant depression

IF 2.1 4区医学 Q3 CLINICAL NEUROLOGY Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging Pub Date : 2025-04-01 Epub Date: 2025-01-27 DOI:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2025.111957

Anastasia Gaspert , Rasmus Schülke , Zeinab Houjaije , Tabea Bätge , Christopher Sinke , Nima Mahmoudi , Thorsten Folsche , Alborz Bastami , Alexandra Neyazi , Mike P. Wattjes , Tillmann H.C. Krüger , Stefan Bleich , Helge Frieling , Hannah Benedictine Maier

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Abstract

Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies showed an abnormal brainstem-to-cortex functional connectivity (FC) in major depressive disorder. However, only few studies analyzed brainstem substructures in treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

In this study, we analyzed resting-state seed-based FC between midbrain, pons, medulla oblongata and cortical/subcortical brain regions in patients with TRD (n = 24) and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 24). FC was analyzed in each group and compared between groups. Correlation analyses assessed the relationship between FC strength and depressive symptom severity in regions showing significant group differences in seed-based connectivity.

Our findings reveal an increased FC in the midbrain and pons to the precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and temporal gyrus in patients with TRD compared to healthy controls. Interestingly, in TRD patients, FC between midbrain and cortex was negatively correlated with BDI-II scores, indicating a relationship between altered connectivity and self-reported depression severity.

It is essential to note that our naturalistic, cross-sectional approach precludes causal conclusions regarding the relationship between FC and pathophysiology of TRD. The small sample size necessitates confirmation in a larger cohort.

Midbrain/pons-to-cortex FC was increased in patients with TRD compared to healthy controls. Future studies should explore the relationship between abnormal brainstem-to-cortex FC and depressive symptomatology in more detail.

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难治性抑郁症患者脑干亚结构和大脑皮层功能连接增加

先前的功能磁共振成像（fMRI）研究显示，重度抑郁症患者的脑干-皮层功能连接（FC）异常。然而，只有少数研究分析了难治性抑郁症（TRD）的脑干亚结构。在这项研究中，我们分析了TRD患者（n = 24）和年龄和性别匹配的健康对照组（n = 24）在中脑、脑桥、延髓和皮层/皮层下脑区域之间的静息状态种子型FC。各组进行FC分析，并进行组间比较。相关分析评估了FC强度与抑郁症状严重程度之间的关系，这些区域在基于种子的连通性方面显示出显著的组间差异。我们的研究结果显示，与健康对照相比，TRD患者中脑和脑桥到中央前回、中央后回和颞回的FC增加。有趣的是，在TRD患者中，中脑和皮层之间的FC与BDI-II评分呈负相关，表明连接改变与自我报告的抑郁严重程度之间存在关系。值得注意的是，我们的自然的、横断面的方法排除了关于FC和TRD病理生理之间关系的因果结论。小样本量需要在更大的队列中进行确认。与健康对照相比，TRD患者中脑/脑桥-皮层FC增加。未来的研究应更详细地探讨脑干-皮层FC异常与抑郁症状之间的关系。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

3.80

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

22.5 weeks

期刊介绍： The Neuroimaging section of Psychiatry Research publishes manuscripts on positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, computerized electroencephalographic topography, regional cerebral blood flow, computed tomography, magnetoencephalography, autoradiography, post-mortem regional analyses, and other imaging techniques. Reports concerning results in psychiatric disorders, dementias, and the effects of behaviorial tasks and pharmacological treatments are featured. We also invite manuscripts on the methods of obtaining images and computer processing of the images themselves. Selected case reports are also published.