Psychiatry Investig.  2022 Jul;19(7):562-569. 10.30773/pi.2021.0386.

Abnormal Dynamic Functional Connectivity of the Left Rostral Hippocampus in Predicting Antidepressant Efficacy in Major Depressive Disorder

• Xue SW
• Kuai C
• Xiao Y
• Zhao L
• Lan Z

• KMID: 2532055
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2021.0386

Abstract

Objective
Some pharmacological treatments are ineffective in parts of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), hence this needs prediction of effective treatment responses. The study aims to examine the relationship between dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) of the hippocampal subregion and antidepressant improvement of MDD patients and to estimate the capability of dFC to predict antidepressant efficacy.
Methods
The data were from 70 MDD patients and 43 healthy controls (HC); the dFC of hippocampal subregions was estimated by sliding-window approach based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI). After 3 months treatment, 36 patients underwent second R-fMRI scan and were then divided into the response group and non-response group according to clinical responses.
Results
The result manifested that MDD patients exhibited lower mean dFC of the left rostral hippocampus (rHipp.l) compared with HC. After 3 months therapy, the response group showed lower dFC of rHipp.l compared with the non-response group. The dFC of rHipp.l was also negatively correlated with the reduction rate of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale.
Conclusion
These findings highlighted the importance of rHipp in MDD from the dFC perspective. Detection and estimation of these changes might demonstrate helpful for comprehending the pathophysiological mechanism and for assessment of treatment reaction of MDD.

Keyword

Major depressive disorder; Dynamic functional connectivity; R-fMRI; Hippocampus; Antidepressant efficacy