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MRI-guided dmPFC-rTMS as a Treatment for Treatment-resistant Major Depressive Disorder
Published on: August 11, 2015
Decreased interhemispheric coordination in treatment-resistant depression: a resting-state fMRI study
Wenbin Guo1, Feng Liu, Zhimin Xue
1Mental Health Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Plos One
|August 13, 2013
Summary
Patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) exhibit reduced interhemispheric coordination, particularly in the calcarine cortex. This finding suggests VMHC in the calcarine cortex may serve as a biomarker to distinguish TRD from treatment-sensitive depression and healthy individuals.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Previous research indicates neural differences between treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and treatment-sensitive depression (TSD).
- Interhemispheric coordination differences between TRD and TSD remain largely unexplored.
- This study investigates functional connectivity in depression subtypes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore differences in interhemispheric coordination between TRD and TSD using voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC).
- To determine if VMHC can serve as a biomarker to differentiate TRD from TSD and healthy subjects (HS).
Main Methods:
- Utilized voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) and seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analyses.
- Included 23 patients with TRD, 22 with TSD, and 19 healthy subjects (HS).
Main Results:
- TRD patients showed significantly lower VMHC values in multiple brain regions, including the calcarine cortex, compared to TSD patients.
- TRD patients also exhibited lower VMHC in the calcarine cortex relative to HS.
- Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that calcarine cortex VMHC could distinguish TRD from TSD and HS.
Conclusions:
- Reduced VMHC in the calcarine cortex is a unique characteristic of TRD.
- Calcarine cortex VMHC may function as a reliable imaging biomarker for differentiating TRD from TSD and HS.

