Effects of the abnormalities in functional connectivity of the affective network on the relapse of major depressive disorder / 实用放射学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore abnormalities in functional connectivity of the affective network (AN) in relapse of major depressive disorder (MDD) after antidepressant treatment combined with resting state functional connectivity analysis.Methods Eleven recurrent MDD subjects after treatment,seventeen non recurrent MDD subjects after treatment and seventy-two healthy controls underwent fMRI scan.The amygdala,the pallidum,the insular cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex of the AN were selected as the template.Group independent component analysis (ICA) was performed to decompose the fMRI images into spatially independent components and the independent component which fit this template best was selected as AN.Two-sample t-tests were performed to investigate the changes in functional connectivity of the AN.Finally,the right amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex were defined as seed regions.Results Compared with healthy control subjects and non-recurrent MDD group,recurrent MDD group showed significantly increased functional connectivity in the right amygdala in AN(P＜0.001).Meanwhile,the functional connectivity between the right amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex was significantly decreased in recurrent MDD group(P ＜0.05).Conclusion Abnormal resting-state functional connectivity of the right amygdala after antidepressant treatment in MDD was found,suggesting that altered amygdala functional connectivity may serve as a predicator of relapse of the MDD.