Understanding structural-functional connectivity coupling in patients with major depressive disorder: A white matter
Tongpeng Chu1, Xiaopeng Si2, Xicheng Song3
1Academy of Medical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, PR China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, PR China; Department of Radiology, Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, Qingdao University, Yantai, Shandong 264000, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Advanced Medical Materials and Devices, Tianjin 300072, PR China; Haihe Laboratory of Brain-computer Interaction and Human-machine Integration, Tianjin 300392, PR China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Neural Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, PR China; Shandong Provincial Key Medical and Health Laboratory of Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment for Women's Diseases (Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital), Yantai, Shandong 264000, PR China; Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, Qingdao University, Yantai, Shandong 264000, PR China.
Purpose:
To elucidate the structural-functional connectivity (SC-FC) coupling in white matter (WM) tracts in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).
Methods:
A total of 178 individuals diagnosed with MDD and 173 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited for this study. The Euclidean distance was calculated to assess SC-FC coupling. The primary analyses focused on investigating alterations in SC-FC coupling in WM tracts of individuals with MDD. Additionally, we explored the association between coupling and clinical symptoms. Secondary analyses examined differences among three subgroups of MDD: those with suicidal ideation (SI), those with a history of suicidal attempts (SA), and those non-suicidal (NS).
Results:
The study revealed increased SC-FC coupling mainly in the middle cerebellar peduncle and bilateral corticospinal tract (PFDR < 0.05) in patients with MDD compared with HCs. Additionally, right cerebral peduncle coupling strength exhibited a significant positive correlation with Hamilton Anxiety Scale scores (r = 0.269, PFDR = 0.041), while right cingulum (hippocampus) coupling strength showed a significant negative correlation with Nurses' Global Assessment of Suicide Risk scores (r = -0.159, PFDR = 0.036). An increase in left anterior limb of internal capsule (PBonferroni < 0.01) and left corticospinal tract (PBonferroni < 0.05) coupling has been observed in MDD with SI. Additionally, a decrease in right posterior limb of internal capsule coupling has been found in MDD with SA (PBonferroni < 0.05).
Conclusions:
This study emphasizes the variations in SC-FC coupling in WM tracts in individuals with MDD and its subgroups, highlighting the crucial role of WM networks in the pathophysiology of MDD.
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