Frontiers in Psychiatry (Jan 2022)

Antidepressant Treatment-Induced State-Dependent Reconfiguration of Emotion Regulation Networks in Major Depressive Disorder

  • Lei Zhao,
  • Lei Zhao,
  • Lei Zhao,
  • Donglin Wang,
  • Donglin Wang,
  • Donglin Wang,
  • Shao-Wei Xue,
  • Shao-Wei Xue,
  • Shao-Wei Xue,
  • Zhonglin Tan,
  • Hong Luo,
  • Hong Luo,
  • Hong Luo,
  • Yan Wang,
  • Yan Wang,
  • Yan Wang,
  • Hanxiaoran Li,
  • Hanxiaoran Li,
  • Hanxiaoran Li,
  • Chenyuan Pan,
  • Chenyuan Pan,
  • Chenyuan Pan,
  • Sufen Fu,
  • Sufen Fu,
  • Sufen Fu,
  • Xiwen Hu,
  • Zhihui Lan,
  • Zhihui Lan,
  • Zhihui Lan,
  • Yang Xiao,
  • Yang Xiao,
  • Yang Xiao,
  • Changxiao Kuai,
  • Changxiao Kuai,
  • Changxiao Kuai

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.771147
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12

Abstract

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Deficits in emotion regulation are the main clinical features, common risk factors, and treatment-related targets for major depressive disorder (MDD). The neural bases of emotion regulation are moving beyond specific functions and emphasizing instead the integrative functions of spatially distributed brain areas that work together as large-scale brain networks, but it is still unclear whether the dynamic interactions among these emotion networks would be the target of clinical intervention for MDD. Data were collected from 70 MDD patients and 43 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. The dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) between emotion regions was estimated via a sliding-window method based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI). A k-means clustering method was applied to classify all time windows across all participants into several dFC states reflecting recurring functional interaction patterns among emotion regions over time. The results showed that four dFC states were identified in the emotion networks. Their alterations of state-related occurrence proportion were found in MDD and subsequently normalized following 12-week antidepressant treatment. Baseline strong dFC could predict the reduction rate of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) scores. These findings highlighted the state-dependent reconfiguration of emotion regulation networks in MDD patients owing to antidepressant treatment.

Keywords