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Abnormal Dynamic Functional Connectivity of the Left Rostral Hippocampus in Predicting Antidepressant Efficacy in
Shao-Wei Xue1,2, Changxiao Kuai1,2,3, Yang Xiao1,2,3
1Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital and Institutes of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
Psychiatry Investigation
|July 29, 2022
Summary
Dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) in the left rostral hippocampus may predict antidepressant treatment response in major depressive disorder (MDD). Lower dFC in MDD patients indicates potential non-response to treatment.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) treatment response varies significantly among patients.
- Predicting treatment efficacy is crucial for personalized therapeutic strategies.
- Functional connectivity alterations in the brain are implicated in MDD pathophysiology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) of hippocampal subregions and antidepressant treatment response in MDD.
- To assess the predictive capability of hippocampal dFC for antidepressant efficacy.
Main Methods:
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) was used to assess dFC in 70 MDD patients and 43 healthy controls (HC).
- A sliding-window approach was employed to estimate dFC of hippocampal subregions.
- Patients were rescanned after 3 months of treatment and categorized into response and non-response groups based on clinical outcomes.
Main Results:
- MDD patients demonstrated lower mean dFC in the left rostral hippocampus (rHipp.l) compared to HC.
- The treatment response group exhibited significantly lower rHipp.l dFC than the non-response group.
- rHipp.l dFC showed a negative correlation with the reduction rate of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale.
Conclusions:
- The left rostral hippocampus plays a significant role in MDD, as indicated by dFC patterns.
- Changes in rHipp.l dFC may aid in understanding MDD's underlying mechanisms.
- Quantifying rHipp.l dFC could assist in evaluating patient response to antidepressant therapies.
