Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 1 University Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63121, USA.
Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 1 University Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63121, USA.
Behav Brain Res. 2024 Apr 12;463:114923. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114923. Epub 2024 Feb 24.
Abnormalities within the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and autonomic nervous system have been implicated in depression. Studies have reported glucocorticoid insensitivity and reduced heart rate variability (HRV) in depressive disorders. However, little is known about the effects of cortisol on HRV and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the central autonomic network (CAN) in depression. We collected resting-state fMRI and cardiac data for women with different depression histories (n = 61) after administration of cortisol and placebo using a double-blind crossover design. We computed rsFC for R-amygdala and L-amygdala seeds and assessed the change in HRV after cortisol (cortisol-placebo). Analyses examined the effects of acute cortisol administration on HRV and rsFC of the R-amygdala and L-amygdala. There was a significant interaction between HRV and treatment for rsFC between the amygdala and CAN regions. We found lower rsFC between the L-amygdala and putamen for those with a greater decrease in HRV after cortisol. There was also reduced rsFC between the R-amygdala and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, putamen, middle cingulate cortex, insula, and cerebellum in those with lower HRV after cortisol. These results remained significant after adjusting for depression symptoms, age, and race. Our findings suggest that the effect of cortisol on CAN connectivity is related to its effects on HRV. Overall, these results could inform transdiagnostic interventions targeting HRV and the stress response systems across clinical and non-clinical populations.
下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺 (HPA) 轴和自主神经系统的异常与抑郁症有关。研究报告称，抑郁障碍存在糖皮质激素不敏感和心率变异性 (HRV) 降低。然而，对于皮质醇对抑郁症患者的 HRV 和中枢自主神经网络 (CAN) 的静息状态功能连接 (rsFC) 的影响知之甚少。我们使用双盲交叉设计，在给予皮质醇和安慰剂后，为具有不同抑郁史的女性 (n = 61) 采集静息态 fMRI 和心脏数据。我们计算了 R-杏仁核和 L-杏仁核种子的 rsFC，并评估了皮质醇 (皮质醇-安慰剂) 后 HRV 的变化。分析检查了急性皮质醇给药对 R-杏仁核和 L-杏仁核 rsFC 的 HRV 的影响。在 HRV 和治疗之间存在显著的交互作用，即皮质醇后 HRV 降低的患者的杏仁核和 CAN 区域之间的 rsFC 降低。对于皮质醇后 HRV 降低的患者，L-杏仁核和壳核之间的 rsFC 也较低。对于皮质醇后 HRV 降低的患者，R-杏仁核和背内侧前额叶皮质、壳核、中扣带回皮质、岛叶和小脑之间的 rsFC 也降低。这些结果在调整抑郁症状、年龄和种族后仍然显著。我们的研究结果表明，皮质醇对 CAN 连接的影响与其对 HRV 的影响有关。总体而言，这些结果可以为针对 HRV 和应激反应系统的跨诊断干预提供信息，这些干预措施针对临床和非临床人群。
