Catalogna Merav, Somerville Ya'ira, Saporta Nira, Nathansohn-Levi Bar, Shelly Shahar, Edry Liat, Zagoory-Sharon Orna, Feldman Ruth, Amedi Amir
The Baruch Ivcher Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Technology, Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel.
Remepy Health Ltd, Ramat Gan, Israel.
Sci Rep. 2025 Feb 26;15(1):6863. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-91457-3.
Late-life depression represents a significant health concern, linked to disruptions in brain connectivity and immune functioning, mood regulation, and cognitive function. This pilot study explores a digital intervention targeting mental health, brain health, and immune functioning in individuals aged 55-60 with subjective cognitive decline, elevated stress and depressive symptoms. Seventeen participants engaged in a two-week intervention comprising spatial cognition, psychological techniques based on mindfulness, attention-training exercises, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Pre-and post-intervention changes in resting-state functional connectivity, inflammation, and psychological health were evaluated. Key findings include: (1) Reduced self-reported depression with a large effect size, (2) Decreased connectivity within the default mode network (DMN), (3) Enhanced anticorrelation between the DMN-Salience networks that was associated with improved depression scores (4) Reduced salivary IL-18 concentration with a medium effect size, correlated with decreased DMN-amygdala connectivity. There was a trend towards reduced anxiety, with no significant changes in quality of life. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the effect of digital intervention on immune markers, clinical behavioral outcomes, and brain function, demonstrating positive synergistic potential across all three levels. These preliminary findings, which need replication in larger, controlled studies, have important implications for basic science and scalable digital interventions.
晚年抑郁症是一个重大的健康问题，与大脑连接性、免疫功能、情绪调节和认知功能的紊乱有关。这项试点研究探索了一种针对55至60岁主观认知能力下降、压力和抑郁症状加剧的个体的心理健康、大脑健康和免疫功能的数字干预措施。17名参与者参与了一项为期两周的干预，包括空间认知、基于正念的心理技术、注意力训练练习和认知行为疗法。评估了干预前后静息态功能连接性、炎症和心理健康的变化。主要发现包括：（1）自我报告的抑郁显著降低，效应量较大；（2）默认模式网络（DMN）内的连接性降低；（3）DMN-突显网络之间的反相关性增强，这与抑郁评分改善相关；（4）唾液白细胞介素-18浓度降低，效应量中等，与DMN-杏仁核连接性降低相关。焦虑有减轻的趋势，生活质量无显著变化。据我们所知，这是第一项研究数字干预对免疫标志物、临床行为结果和脑功能影响的研究，证明了在所有三个层面都具有积极的协同潜力。这些初步发现需要在更大规模的对照研究中进行重复验证，对基础科学和可扩展的数字干预具有重要意义。
