Triple network connectivity changes in patients with major depressive disorder versus healthy controls via structural...

To investigate the effect of electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) on dynamic structural network connectivity in major depressive disorder (MDD), based on the triple-network model.

Twenty-one first-episode, drug-naïve patients with MDD and 21 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects were recruited. Bilateral electrical stimulation was performed thrice a week for a total of 4-5 weeks in the MDD group. MRI data were obtained, and triple-network structural connectivity was evaluated using source-based morphometry (SBM) analysis. A paired t-test was used to analyze structural connectivity differences between pre- and post-ECT MDD groups, one-way analysis was used to calculate three intrinsic network differences between HCs, pre- and post-ECT groups, and partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to investigate dynamic structural network connectivity (dSNC) across groups.

Pre-ECT patients with MDD exhibited significantly lower salience network (SN) structural connectivity (p = 0.010) than the healthy control (HC) group and after ECT therapy SN structural connectivity was significantly elevated (p = 0.002) in post-ECT group compared with pre-ECT. PLS-SEM analysis conducted on inter-network connectivity in the triple-network model indicated a significant difference between SN and central executive network (CEN) in all three groups. The HC and post-ECT MDD groups showed notable direct connectivity between the SN and default mode network (DMN), while the pre-ECT MDD group showed consequential pathological connectivity between the CEN and DMN. A mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect effect of the SN on the DMN through the CEN (β = 0.363, p = 0.008) only in the pre-ECT MDD group.

ECT may be an effective and minimally invasive treatment for addressing structural changes in the SN and direct communication abnormalities between the three core brain networks in patients with MDD, with possible beneficial correction of indirect connections.