Network localization of brain structural and functional abnormalities in association with rumination.
Min She1, Yunwei Sun1, Zhiqing Yan1
1Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China; Research Center of Clinical Medical Imaging, Anhui Province, Hefei 230032, China; Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory for Brain Bank Construction and Resource Utilization, Hefei 230032, China.
Neuroimage
|April 16, 2026
Summary
This study maps brain networks associated with rumination, a key feature of major depressive disorder (MDD). Findings reveal distinct structural and functional brain network alterations linked to rumination, offering insights into its neurobiology.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Rumination is a core symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD).
- Neurobiological underpinnings of rumination remain underexplored.
- Mapping psychiatric symptoms to brain networks is an active research area.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and map brain structural and functional alterations associated with rumination.
- To construct distinct rumination networks based on neuroimaging data.
- To provide a network-based framework for understanding rumination's neurobiology.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of 49 neuroimaging studies on rumination.
- Functional connectivity network mapping using large resting-state fMRI datasets (discovery and validation).
- Integration of structural and functional neuroimaging data.
Main Results:
- Rumination-associated gray matter volume abnormalities involve multiple networks (ventral attention, subcortical, frontoparietal, limbic, somatomotor, dorsal attention).
- Resting-state activity abnormalities primarily implicate the default network.
- Task-induced activation abnormalities are spatially smaller, mainly involving ventral attention and somatomotor networks.
Conclusions:
- Findings establish an integrative, network-based framework for rumination's neurobiology.
- This framework may facilitate the development of novel biomarkers for MDD.
- The study lays groundwork for targeted therapeutic interventions for rumination.
