title: Environmental factors linked to depression vulnerability are associated with altered cerebellar resting-state synchronization.
abstract: Hosting nearly eighty percent of all human neurons, the cerebellum is functionally connected to large regions of the brain. Accumulating data suggest that some cerebellar resting-state alterations may constitute a key candidate mechanism for depressive psychopathology. While there is some evidence linking cerebellar function and depression, two topics remain largely unexplored. First, the genetic or environmental roots of this putative association have not been elicited. Secondly, while different mathematical representations of resting-state fMRI patterns can embed diverse information of relevance for health and disease, many of them have not been studied in detail regarding the cerebellum and depression. Here, high-resolution fMRI scans were examined to estimate functional connectivity patterns across twenty-six cerebellar regions in a sample of 48 identical twins (24 pairs) informative for depression liability. A network-based statistic approach was employed to analyze cerebellar functional networks built using three methods: the conventional approach of filtered BOLD fMRI time-series, and two analytic components of this oscillatory activity (amplitude envelope and instantaneous phase). The findings indicate that some environmental factors may lead to depression vulnerability through alterations of the neural oscillatory activity of the cerebellum during resting-state. These effects may be observed particularly when exploring the amplitude envelope of fMRI oscillations.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Antropología, Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Biología and Instituto de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona; Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.|Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM); C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain.|NORMENT, KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital &Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo; Ullevål Hospital, Building 49, Kirkeveien 166, 0424, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Córdova-Palomera
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra; C/Roc Boronat, 138, 08018, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tornador
authors.affiliation: BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Center, Pasqual Maragall Foundation; C/Dr Aiguader, 88, 08003, Barcelona, Spain.|Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomedicina y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN); C/Poeta Mariano Esquillor, s/n., 50018, Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: Carles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Falcón
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM); C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain.|Medical Image core facility, the Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS); C/Rosselló, 149-153, 08036, Barcelona, Spain.|Centro de Diagnóstico por Imagen, Hospital Clínico; C/Villarroel, 170, 08036 - Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bargalló
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Psychiatric Clinic, Fondazione IRCCS Ca'Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, University of Milan; Via Francesco Sforza 35, 20122 Milano, Italy.|Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston; 7000 Fannin St #1200, Houston, TX 77030, United States.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brambilla
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM); C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain.|University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, IDIVAL, Department of Medicine and Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria; Av. Valdecilla, s/n, 39008, Santander, Cantabria, Spain.
authors.forename: Benedicto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Crespo-Facorro
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra; C/Roc Boronat, 138, 08018, Barcelona, Spain.|Institució Catalana de la Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Universitat Pompeu Fabra; Passeig Lluís Companys, 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Deco
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Antropología, Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Biología and Instituto de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona; Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.|Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM); C/Doctor Esquerdo, 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fañanás
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D063132:Connectome / Q000379:methods; D003863:Depression / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic