Wu Huawang, Sun Hui, Xu Jinping, Wu Yan, Wang Chao, Xiao Jing, She Shenglin, Huang Jianwei, Zou Wenjin, Peng Hongjun, Lu Xiaobing, Huang Guimao, Jiang Tianzi, Ning Yuping, Wang Jiaojian
Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengdu, China; Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Guangzhou Huiai Hospital)Guangzhou, China.
Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Education, Capital Normal University Beijing, China.
Front Neuroanat. 2016 Dec 16;10:120. doi: 10.3389/fnana.2016.00120. eCollection 2016.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most prevalent mental disorders. In the brain, the hubs of the brain network play a key role in integrating and transferring information between different functional modules. However, whether the changed pattern in functional network hubs contributes to the onset of MDD remains unclear. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and graph theory methods, we investigated whether alterations of hubs can be detected in MDD. First, we constructed the whole-brain voxel-wise functional networks and calculated a functional connectivity strength (FCS) map in each subject in 34 MDD patients and 34 gender-, age- and education level-matched healthy controls (HCs). Next, the two-sample -test was applied to compare the FCS maps between HC and MDD patients and identified significant decrease of FCS in subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) in MDD patients. Subsequent functional connectivity analyses of sgACC showed disruptions in functional connectivity with posterior insula, middle and inferior temporal gyrus, lingual gyrus and cerebellum in MDD patients. Furthermore, the changed FCS of sgACC and functional connections to sgACC were significantly correlated with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) scores in MDD patients. The results of the present study revealed the abnormal hub of sgACC and its corresponding disrupted frontal-limbic-visual cognitive-cerebellum functional networks in MDD. These findings may provide a new insight for the diagnosis and treatment of MDD.
重度抑郁症（MDD）是最常见的精神障碍之一。在大脑中，脑网络的枢纽在不同功能模块之间整合和传递信息方面起着关键作用。然而，功能网络枢纽的变化模式是否导致MDD的发病仍不清楚。我们使用静息态功能磁共振成像（rs-fMRI）和图论方法，研究了MDD患者是否能检测到枢纽的改变。首先，我们构建了全脑体素功能网络，并计算了34例MDD患者和34例性别、年龄和教育水平匹配的健康对照（HCs）中每个受试者的功能连接强度（FCS）图。接下来，应用双样本t检验比较HC和MDD患者之间的FCS图，发现MDD患者膝下前扣带回皮质（sgACC）的FCS显著降低。随后对sgACC的功能连接分析显示，MDD患者与后岛叶、颞中回和颞下回、舌回和小脑的功能连接中断。此外，MDD患者sgACC的FCS变化和与sgACC的功能连接与汉密尔顿抑郁量表（HDRS）评分显著相关。本研究结果揭示了MDD患者sgACC的异常枢纽及其相应的额叶-边缘叶-视觉认知-小脑功能网络中断。这些发现可能为MDD的诊断和治疗提供新的见解。
