A Comparative Study of Regional Homogeneity of Resting-State fMRI Between the Early-Onset and Late-Onset Recurrent Depression in Adults

Ji-Fei Sun; Li-Mei Chen; Jia-Kai He; Zhi Wang; Chun-Lei Guo; Yue Ma; Yi Luo; De-Qiang Gao; Yang Hong; Ji-Liang Fang; Feng-Quan Xu

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.849847

A Comparative Study of Regional Homogeneity of Resting-State fMRI Between the Early-Onset and Late-Onset Recurrent Depression in Adults

Front Psychol. 2022 Apr 7:13:849847. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.849847. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Ji-Fei Sun^{1

2}, Li-Mei Chen^{1

2}, Jia-Kai He^{2

3}, Zhi Wang^{1

2}, Chun-Lei Guo^{1

2}, Yue Ma^{1

2}, Yi Luo^{1

2}, De-Qiang Gao¹, Yang Hong¹, Ji-Liang Fang¹, Feng-Quan Xu¹

Affiliations

¹ Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
² Graduate School of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Background: Neurobiological mechanisms underlying the recurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD) at different ages are unclear, and this study used the regional homogeneity (ReHo) index to compare whether there are differences between early onset recurrent depression (EORD) and late onset recurrent depression (LORD).

Methods: Eighteen EORD patients, 18 LORD patients, 18 young healthy controls (HCs), and 18 older HCs were included in the rs-fMRI scans. ReHo observational metrics were used for image analysis and further correlation of differential brain regions with clinical symptoms was analyzed.

Results: ANOVA analysis revealed significant differences between the four groups in ReHo values in the prefrontal, parietal, temporal lobes, and insula. Compared with EORD, the LORD had higher ReHo in the right fusiform gyrus/right middle temporal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus/left angular gyrus, and right middle temporal gyrus/right angular gyrus, and lower ReHo in the right inferior frontal gyrus/right insula and left superior temporal gyrus/left insula. Compared with young HCs, the EORD had higher ReHo in the right inferior frontal gyrus/right insula, left superior temporal gyrus/left insula, and left rolandic operculum gyrus/left superior temporal gyrus, and lower ReHo in the left inferior parietal lobule, right inferior parietal lobule, and left middle temporal gyrus/left angular gyrus. Compared with old HCs, the LORD had higher ReHo in the right fusiform gyrus/right middle temporal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus/right angular gyrus, and left rolandic operculum gyrus/left superior temporal gyrus, and lower ReHo in the right inferior frontal gyrus/right insula. ReHo in the right inferior frontal gyrus/right insula of patients with LORD was negatively correlated with the severity of 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17) scores (r = -0.5778, p = 0.0120).

Conclusion: Adult EORD and LORD patients of different ages have abnormal neuronal functional activity in some brain regions, with differences closely related to the default mode network (DMN) and the salience network (SN), and patients of each age group exhibit ReHo abnormalities relative to matched HCs.

Clinical trial registration: [http://www.chictr.org.cn/], [ChiCTR1800014277].

Keywords: early-onset recurrent depression; late-onset recurrent depression; magnetic resonance imaging; major depressive disorder; regional homogeneity.