Aberrant resting-state functional connectivity in limbic and salience networks in treatment--naïve clinically depressed adolescents.
BACKGROUND
Depression is prevalent and typically has its onset in adolescence. Resting-state fMRI could help create a better understanding of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms during this critical period. In this study, resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) is examined using seed regions-of-interest (ROIs) associated with three networks: the limbic network, the default mode network (DMN) and the salience network.


METHODS
Twenty-six treatment-naïve, clinically depressed adolescents of whom 18 had comorbid anxiety, and 26 pair-wise matched healthy controls underwent resting-state fMRI. The three networks were investigated using a seed-based ROI approach with seeds in the bilateral amygdala (limbic network), bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC; salience network) and bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (default mode network).


RESULTS
Compared to healthy controls, clinically depressed adolescents showed increased RSFC of the left amygdala with right parietal cortical areas, and decreased right amygdala RSFC with left frontal cortical areas including the ACC, as well as with right occipito-parietal areas. The bilateral dACC showed decreased RSFC with the right middle frontal gyrus, frontal pole, and inferior frontal gyrus in clinically depressed adolescents. No abnormalities in DMN RSFC were found, and differences in RSFC did not correlate with clinical measures.


CONCLUSIONS
The aberrant RSFC of the amygdala network and the dACC network may be related to altered emotion processing and regulation in depressed adolescents. Our results provide new insights into RSFC in clinically depressed adolescents and future models on adolescent depression may include abnormalities in the connectivity of salience network.
Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Justine Nienke
JN
Pannekoek
S J A
SJ
van der Werff
Paul H F
PH
Meens
Bianca G
BG
van den Bulk
Dietsje D
DD
Jolles
Ilya M
IM
Veer
Natasja D J
ND
van Lang
Serge A R B
SA
Rombouts
Nic J A
NJ
van der Wee
Robert R J M
RR
Vermeiren
D000293:Adolescent; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*
Resting-state; adolescents; anxiety; depression