Disrupted interhemispheric functional and structural connectivity in patients with major depressive disorder

IF 5.3 2区医学 Q1 CLINICAL NEUROLOGY

Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry Pub Date : 2025-04-20 DOI:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2025.111374

Qianqian Li , Li Qi , Gu Zhang , Jiajia Hao , Qiufang Ren , Jian Guan , Yuqian Zhan , Yue Yu , Jinying Yang , Kai Wang , Tongjian Bai

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with disrupted interhemispheric cooperation. However, the relationship between structural and functional alterations in interhemispheric cooperation in patients with MDD remains unclear. We investigated the associations between voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) and radial diffusivity (RD) within the corpus callosum (CC) and their links to depressive symptoms in patients with MDD.

Methods

Sixty patients with MDD and 38 healthy controls (HCs) were assessed using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) and diffusion MRI (dMRI) to evaluate interhemispheric functional connectivity (VMHC) and structural integrity (RD) in the CC subregions. Group comparisons, correlation analyses, and mediation analyses were conducted to identify the significant differences, relationships, and indirect effects.

Results

Patients with MDD showed significantly reduced VMHC in the bilateral postcentral gyrus and lingual gyrus and increased RD in the CC subregions CC3, CC4, and CC5, indicating impaired functional and structural connectivity. Lower VMHC in the lingual gyrus was negatively correlated with depressive severity, whereas increased RD in the CC4 and CC5 was positively correlated with depressive symptoms. Mediation analysis revealed that the VMHC in the lingual gyrus fully mediated the relationship between RD in CC5 and depressive symptoms, suggesting a pathway through which structural impairments may affect mood through abnormal functional connectivity.

Limitations

The cross-sectional design limits the assessment of changes over time, and focusing solely on interhemispheric connectivity may overlook other networks involved in MDD.

Conclusion

These findings provide preliminary evidence for disrupted interhemispheric coordination in MDD, with both functional and structural connectivity impairments linked to depressive symptoms. The mediating effect of the VMHC in the lingual gyrus highlights the potential role of interhemispheric connectivity in the pathophysiology of MDD. Our results provide an integrative perspective on the functional and microstructural organization of the brain in patients with MDD.

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重度抑郁症患者的半球间功能和结构连接中断

重度抑郁症（MDD）与大脑半球间合作中断有关。然而，重度抑郁症患者大脑半球间合作的结构和功能改变之间的关系尚不清楚。我们研究了胼胝体（CC）内体素镜像同位连通性（VMHC）和径向扩散性（RD）之间的关系及其与重度抑郁症患者抑郁症状的关系。方法采用静息状态功能MRI （rs-fMRI）和弥散MRI （dMRI）对60例MDD患者和38例健康对照（hc）进行评估，评估CC亚区半球间功能连通性（VMHC）和结构完整性（RD）。通过分组比较、相关分析和中介分析来确定显著差异、关系和间接影响。结果MDD患者双侧中央后回和舌回VMHC显著降低，CC亚区CC3、CC4和CC5 RD显著升高，表明功能和结构连通性受损。舌回VMHC降低与抑郁严重程度呈负相关，CC4和CC5 RD升高与抑郁症状呈正相关。中介分析显示，舌回的VMHC完全介导了CC5中RD与抑郁症状之间的关系，表明结构损伤可能通过异常的功能连接影响心境。局限性横断面设计限制了随时间变化的评估，并且只关注半球间连接可能会忽略MDD中涉及的其他网络。结论：这些发现为MDD患者的大脑半球协调紊乱提供了初步证据，功能和结构连接障碍与抑郁症状有关。舌回中VMHC的中介作用突出了大脑半球间连通性在MDD病理生理中的潜在作用。我们的研究结果为重度抑郁症患者的大脑功能和微观结构组织提供了一个综合的视角。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

12.00

自引率

1.80%

发文量

153

审稿时长

56 days

期刊介绍： Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry is an international and multidisciplinary journal which aims to ensure the rapid publication of authoritative reviews and research papers dealing with experimental and clinical aspects of neuro-psychopharmacology and biological psychiatry. Issues of the journal are regularly devoted wholly in or in part to a topical subject. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry does not publish work on the actions of biological extracts unless the pharmacological active molecular substrate and/or specific receptor binding properties of the extract compounds are elucidated.