Geng Haiyang, Wu Feng, Kong Lingtao, Tang Yanqing, Zhou Qian, Chang Miao, Zhou Yifang, Jiang Xiaowei, Li Songbai, Wang Fei
Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, Liaoning, PR China.
Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, Liaoning, PR China.
PLoS One. 2016 Feb 10;11(2):e0148345. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148345. eCollection 2016.
Evidence implicates abnormalities in prefrontal-hippocampus neural circuitry in major depressive disorder (MDD). This study investigates the potential disruptions in prefrontal-hippocampus structural and functional connectivity, as well as their relationship in first-episode medication-naïve adolescents with MDD in order to investigate the early stage of the illness without confounds of illness course and medication exposure.
Diffusion tensor imaging and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were acquired from 26 first-episode medication-naïve MDD adolescents and 31 healthy controls (HC). Fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the fornix and the prefrontal-hippocampus functional connectivity was compared between MDD and HC groups. The correlation between the FA value of fornix and the strength of the functional connectivity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) region showing significant differences between the two groups was identified.
Compared with the HC group, adolescent MDD group had significant lower FA values in the fornix, as well as decreased functional connectivity in four PFC regions. Significant negative correlations were observed between fornix FA values and functional connectivity from hippocampus to PFC within the HC group. There was no significant correlation between the fornix FA and the strength of functional connectivity within the adolescent MDD group.
First-episode medication-naïve adolescent MDD showed decreased structural and functional connectivity as well as deficits of the association between structural and functional connectivity shown in HC in the PFC-hippocampus neural circuitry. These findings suggest that abnormal PFC-hippocampus neural circuitry may present in the early onset of MDD and play an important role in the neuropathophysiology of MDD.
有证据表明，前额叶 - 海马神经回路异常与重度抑郁症（MDD）有关。本研究调查了首发未用药的MDD青少年前额叶 - 海马结构和功能连接的潜在破坏情况，以及它们之间的关系，以便在不考虑病程和药物暴露干扰的情况下研究疾病的早期阶段。
对26名首发未用药的MDD青少年和31名健康对照者（HC）进行了扩散张量成像和静息态功能磁共振成像（rs - fMRI）数据采集。比较了MDD组和HC组穹窿的分数各向异性（FA）值以及前额叶 - 海马功能连接情况。确定了穹窿FA值与两组之间存在显著差异的前额叶皮质（PFC）区域功能连接强度之间的相关性。
与HC组相比，青少年MDD组穹窿的FA值显著降低，四个PFC区域的功能连接也减少。在HC组中，观察到穹窿FA值与从海马到PFC的功能连接之间存在显著负相关。在青少年MDD组中，穹窿FA值与功能连接强度之间没有显著相关性。
首发未用药的青少年MDD在PFC - 海马神经回路中表现出结构和功能连接减少，以及HC中所示的结构和功能连接关联缺陷。这些发现表明，异常的PFC - 海马神经回路可能在MDD的早期发病中出现，并在MDD的神经病理生理学中起重要作用。
