Affective network and default mode network in depressive adolescents with disruptive behaviors

Abstract

Aim: Disruptive behaviors are thought to affect the progress of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adolescents. In resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) studies of MDD, the affective network (limbic network) and the default mode network (DMN) have garnered a great deal of interest. We aimed to investigate RSFC in a sample of treatment-naive adolescents with MDD and disruptive behaviors. Methods: Twenty-two adolescents with MDD and disruptive behaviors ((disrup)-MDD) and 20 age-and sex-matched healthy control (HC) participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We used a seed-based correlation approach concerning two brain circuits including the affective network and the DMN, with two seed regions -including the bilateral amygdala for the limbic network and the bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) for the DMN. We also observed a correlation between RSFC and severity of depressive symptoms and disruptive behaviors. Results: The (disrup)-MDD participants showed lower RSFC from the amygdala to the orbito-frontal cortex and parahippocampal gyrus compared to HC participants. Depression scores in disrup-MDD participants were negatively correlated with RSFC from the amygdala to the right orbitofrontal cortex. The (disrup)-MDD participants had higher PCC RSFC compared to HC participants in a cluster that included the left precentral gyrus, left insula, and left parietal lobe. Disruptive behavior scores in (disrup)-MDD patients were positively correlated with RSFC from the PCC to the left insular cortex. Conclusion: Depressive mood might be correlated with the affective network, and disruptive behavior might be correlated with the DMN in adolescent depression.