Reconfiguration of Cortical Networks in MDD Uncovered by Multiscale Community Detection with fMRI

Cereb Cortex. 2018 Apr 1;28(4):1383-1395. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhx335.

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is known to be associated with altered interactions between distributed brain regions. How these regional changes relate to the reorganization of cortical functional systems, and their modulation by antidepressant medication, is relatively unexplored. To identify changes in the community structure of cortical functional networks in MDD, we performed a multiscale community detection algorithm on resting-state functional connectivity networks of unmedicated MDD (uMDD) patients (n = 46), medicated MDD (mMDD) patients (n = 38), and healthy controls (n = 50), which yielded a spectrum of multiscale community partitions. we selected an optimal resolution level by identifying the most stable community partition for each group. uMDD and mMDD groups exhibited a similar reconfiguration of the community structure of the visual association and the default mode systems but showed different reconfiguration profiles in the frontoparietal control (FPC) subsystems. Furthermore, the central system (somatomotor/salience) and 3 frontoparietal subsystems showed strengthened connectivity with other communities in uMDD but, with the exception of 1 frontoparietal subsystem, returned to control levels in mMDD. These findings provide evidence for reconfiguration of specific cortical functional systems associated with MDD, as well as potential effects of medication in restoring disease-related network alterations, especially those of the FPC system.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Antidepressive Agents / pharmacology
  • Antidepressive Agents / therapeutic use
  • Brain Mapping*
  • Cerebral Cortex / diagnostic imaging*
  • Cerebral Cortex / drug effects
  • Depressive Disorder, Major / diagnostic imaging*
  • Depressive Disorder, Major / drug therapy
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neural Pathways / diagnostic imaging*
  • Neural Pathways / drug effects
  • Oxygen / blood
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Antidepressive Agents
  • Oxygen