Evidence of a Dissociation Pattern in Resting-State Default Mode Network Connectivity in First-Episode, Treatment-Naive Major Depression Patients

Zhu, Xueling; Wang, Xiang; Xiao, Jin; Liao, Jian; Zhong, Mingtian; Wang, Wei; Yao, Shuqiao

doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.10.035

« Previous Next »Biological Psychiatry
Volume 71, Issue 7 , Pages 611-617, 1 April 2012

Evidence of a Dissociation Pattern in Resting-State Default Mode Network Connectivity in First-Episode, Treatment-Naive Major Depression Patients

Xueling Zhu
- Medical Psychological Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, Hunan, China
Xiang Wang
- Medical Psychological Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
Jin Xiao
- Medical Psychological Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
Jian Liao
- Department of Radiology of the Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
Mingtian Zhong
- Medical Psychological Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
Wei Wang
- Department of Radiology of the Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
Shuqiao Yao
- Medical Psychological Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
- Address correspondence to Shuqiao Yao, M.D., Ph.D., Central South University, Medical Psychological Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, 139 Renmin (M) Road, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China

Received 8 January 2011; received in revised form 28 September 2011; accepted 30 October 2011. published online 19 December 2011.

Background

Imaging studies have shown that major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with altered activity patterns of the default mode network (DMN). However, the neural correlates of the resting-state DMN and MDD-related pathopsychological characteristics, such as depressive rumination and overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) phenomena, still remain unclear.

Methods

Using independent component analysis, we analyzed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data obtained from 35 first-episode, treatment-naive young adults with MDD and from 35 matched healthy control subjects.

Results

Patients with MDD exhibited higher levels of rumination and OGM than did the control subjects. We observed increased functional connectivity in the anterior medial cortex regions (especially the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex) and decreased functional connectivity in the posterior medial cortex regions (especially the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus) in MDD patients compared with control subjects. In the depressed group, the increased functional connectivity in the anterior medial cortex correlated positively with rumination score, while the decreased functional connectivity in the posterior medial cortex correlated negatively with OGM score.

Conclusions

We report dissociation between anterior and posterior functional connectivity in resting-state DMNs of first-episode, treatment-naive young adults with MDD. Increased functional connectivity in anterior medial regions of the resting-state DMN was associated with rumination, whereas decreased functional connectivity in posterior medial regions was associated with OGM. These results provide new evidence for the importance of the DMN in the pathophysiology of MDD and suggest that abnormal DMN activity may be an MDD trait.

Key Words: Autobiological memory , default mode network , independent component analysis , major depressive disorder , resting-state , rumination