Depicting Coupling Between Cortical Morphology and Functional Networks in Major Depressive Disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Brain Imaging
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Understanding the relationship between brain structure and function is crucial for deciphering mental disorders.
• Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is characterized by complex alterations in brain networks.
• Cortical morphology-function coupling (MFC) represents a key aspect of brain organization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how cortical morphology-function coupling (MFC) differs in individuals with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) compared to healthy controls.
• To explore the relationship between altered MFC patterns and clinical symptoms of MDD.
• To elucidate the role of MFC in the neurobiology of MDD.

Main Methods:

• Utilized high-resolution T1-weighted structural MRI and resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data from 830 MDD patients and 853 healthy controls (HC).
• Constructed separate morphological and functional brain networks based on cortical gray matter (GM) morphology and rs-fMRI time series correlations.
• Quantified MFC by assessing the spatial congruence between the morphological and functional networks.

Main Results:

• MDD patients displayed a similar hierarchical pattern of MFC to HC, but with significant network-specific variations.
• Lower MFC was observed in the visual network (VIS) and sensorimotor network (SMN), while higher MFC was found in the default mode network (DMN) and frontoparietal network (FPN).
• MDD patients showed significantly increased MFC within the VIS, sensorimotor network (SMN), and dorsal attention network (DAN) compared to HC. Altered MFC in the VIS positively correlated with depressive symptom severity.

Conclusions:

• Cortical morphology-function coupling (MFC) is altered in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), particularly within specific functional brain networks.
• Increased MFC in the visual network (VIS) is associated with greater depressive symptom severity in MDD.
• These findings highlight the potential of MFC as a neuroimaging biomarker for understanding and potentially treating MDD.