Sub-regional anterior cingulate cortex functional connectivity revealed default network subsystem dysfunction in...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Major depressive disorder (MDD) significantly impacts affect, behavior, and cognition.
• The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is implicated in the pathophysiology of depression.
• Understanding ACC functional connectivity (FC) alterations is crucial for MDD research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically identify changes in ACC subdivisions' functional connectivity (FC) in MDD patients.
• To investigate the relationship between aberrant ACC FC and clinical depression symptoms.
• To compare findings with existing meta-analyses of MDD-related brain abnormalities.

Main Methods:

• Estimated sub-regional ACC FC in 41 first-episode, medication-naïve MDD patients and 43 healthy controls.
• Correlated depressive symptom severity with aberrant ACC subdivision FC.
• Conducted a meta-analysis of reported MDD-related abnormal regions.

Main Results:

• MDD patients showed decreased FC between subgenual/perigenual ACC and default network (DN) posterior regions.
• This decreased FC correlated with higher Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire scores.
• Reduced caudal ACC-precuneus FC correlated with anxiety scores; increased rostral ACC-dorsomedial prefrontal cortex FC was also observed.

Conclusions:

• Functional interactions within ACC sub-regions are specifically altered in MDD and linked to distinct symptoms.
• These findings enhance our understanding of ACC sub-regions and the default network's role in MDD pathophysiology.