Heller Carina, Geisler Maria, Mayer Nicolas L, Thierfelder Annabelle, Walter Martin, Hummel Thomas, Croy Ilona
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Transl Psychiatry. 2025 Aug 21;15(1):303. doi: 10.1038/s41398-025-03500-6.
Depression is associated with reduced functional connectivity within the brain's salience network and its strengthened interactions with the default mode network (DMN). Modification of this clinical pattern is challenging. Leveraging the direct neural pathways from olfactory processing regions to the salience network, we explored the effects of electrical stimulation of the olfactory mucosa on brain connectivity. In a randomized, blinded within-subject design, 45 healthy individuals received olfactory or trigeminal nerve stimulation followed by resting-state fMRI. Olfactory stimulation resulted in a significant increase in functional connectivity between the salience network and the piriform cortex - a primary olfactory structure. Importantly, this stimulation increased functional connectivity within the salience network and weakened connectivity between the salience network and the DMN. These findings suggest that olfactory stimulation may modulate connectivity patterns implicated in depression, offering a novel potential minimal invasive therapeutic strategy. However, as these results were obtained from a healthy cohort, further studies are required to evaluate the efficacy in individuals with depression.
抑郁症与大脑显著网络内功能连接性降低以及与默认模式网络(DMN)的强化交互有关。改变这种临床模式具有挑战性。利用从嗅觉处理区域到显著网络的直接神经通路,我们探索了电刺激嗅黏膜对大脑连接性的影响。在一项随机、受试者内盲法设计中,45名健康个体接受了嗅觉或三叉神经刺激,随后进行静息态功能磁共振成像。嗅觉刺激导致显著网络与梨状皮质(一种主要嗅觉结构)之间的功能连接性显著增加。重要的是,这种刺激增加了显著网络内的功能连接性,并减弱了显著网络与DMN之间的连接性。这些发现表明,嗅觉刺激可能调节与抑郁症相关的连接模式,提供一种新的潜在微创治疗策略。然而,由于这些结果是从健康队列中获得的,需要进一步研究来评估对抑郁症患者的疗效。
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