Effects of behavioral activation on default mode network connectivity in subthreshold depression: A preliminary resting-state fMRI study

Background: Subthreshold depression is a risk factor for major depressive disorder, and it is known to have a negative impact on quality of life (QOL). Although behavioral activation, which is one type of cognitive behavioral therapy, is an effective psychological intervention for subthreshold depression, neural mechanisms of behavioral activation are unclear. Enhanced functional connectivity between default mode network (DMN) and the other regions has been demonstrated in participants with subthreshold depression. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of behavioral activation on DMN abnormalities by using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI).

Methods: Participants with subthreshold depression (N =40) were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a non-intervention group. They were scanned using rs-fMRI before and after the intervention. Independent component analysis indicated three subnetworks of the DMN.

Results: Analyzing intervention effects on functional connectivity of each subnetwork indicated that connectivity of the anterior DMN subnetwork with the dorsal anterior cingulate was reduced after the intervention. Moreover, this reduction was correlated with an increase in health-related QOL.

Limitations: We did not compare the findings with healthy participants. Further research should be conducted by including healthy controls to verify the results of this study.

Conclusions: Mechanisms of behavioral activation might be related to enhanced ability to independently use the dACC and the DMN, which increases an attention control to positive external stimuli. This is the first study to investigate neural mechanisms of behavioral activation using rs-fMRI.