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. 2020 Feb 5:10:983.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00983. eCollection 2019.

Abnormal Functional and Structural Connectivity of Amygdala-Prefrontal Circuit in First-Episode Adolescent Depression: A Combined fMRI and DTI Study

Feng Wu  1 , Zhaoyuan Tu  1 , Jiaze Sun  1 , Haiyang Geng  2 , Yifang Zhou  3 , Xiaowei Jiang  2   4 , Huizi Li  1 , Lingtao Kong  1
Affiliations

Abnormal Functional and Structural Connectivity of Amygdala-Prefrontal Circuit in First-Episode Adolescent Depression: A Combined fMRI and DTI Study

Feng Wu et al. Front Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Abnormalities of functional and structural connectivity in the amygdala-prefrontal circuit which involved with emotion processing have been implicated in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD). Adolescent MDD may have severer dysfunction of emotion processing than adult MDD. In this study, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to examine the potential functional and structural connectivity abnormalities within amygdala-prefrontal circuit in first-episode medication-naïve adolescents with MDD.

Methods: Rs-fMRI and DTI data were acquired from 36 first-episode medication-naïve MDD adolescents and 37 healthy controls (HC). Functional connectivity between amygdala and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the uncinate fasciculus (UF) which connecting amygdala and PFC were compared between the MDD and HC groups. The correlation between the FA value of UF and the strength of the functional connectivity in the PFC showing significant differences between the two groups was identified.

Results: Compared with the HC group, decreased functional connectivity between left amygdala and left ventral PFC was detected in the adolescent MDD group. FA values were significant lower in the left UF within the adolescent MDD group compared to the HC group. There was no significant correlation between the UF and FA, and the strength of functional connectivity within the adolescent MDD group.

Conclusions: First-episode medication-naïve adolescent MDD showed decreased functional and structural connectivity in the amygdala-prefrontal circuit. These findings suggest that both functional and structural abnormalities of the amygdala-prefrontal circuit may present in the early onset of adolescent MDD and play an important role in the neuropathophysiology of adolescent MDD.

Keywords: adolescent major depressive disorder; amygdala; diffusion tensor imaging; functional connectivity; magnetic resonance imaging; ventral prefrontal cortex.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The images (MNI coordinate x = -35mm, y = 21mm, z = -11mm) display the regions in left ventral prefrontal cortex (VPFC) that show decreased functional connectivity from the left amygdala in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD), compared to healthy controls (HC) at rest. The color bar represents the range of T values. L, left brain; R, right brain.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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