Background

Depression is associated with altered functional connectivity and altered cortisol sensitivity, but the effects of cortisol on functional connectivity in depression are unknown. Previous research shows that brief cortisol augmentation (CORT) has beneficial neurocognitive effects in depression.

Methods

We investigated the effects of CORT (20mg oral cortisol) on functional connectivity during emotion processing in women with depression. Participants included 75 women with no depression or a depressive disorder. In a double-blind, crossover study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure effects of CORT vs. placebo on task-based functional connectivity during presentation of emotionally-laden images. We performed psychophysiological interaction (PPI) to test interactions among depression severity, cortisol administration, and task-dependent functional connectivity using the hippocampus and amygdala as seeds.

Results

During the presentation of negative images, CORT (vs. placebo) increased functional connectivity between the hippocampus and putamen in association with depression severity. During the presentation of positive pictures CORT increased functional connectivity between the hippocampus and middle frontal gyrus as well as superior temporal gyrus in association with depression.

Limitations

Because cortisol was pharmacologically manipulated, results cannot be extrapolated to endogenous increases in cortisol levels. The sample did not permit investigation of differences due to race, ethnicity, or sex. Co-morbidities such as anxiety or PTSD were not accounted for.

Conclusions

The results suggest that CORT has normalizing effects on task-dependent functional connectivity in women with depression during emotion processing. Increasing cortisol availability or signaling may have therapeutic benefits within affective disorders.

中文翻译：

---

皮质醇对抑郁症女性情绪处理过程中大脑功能连接的影响

背景

抑郁症与功能连接性改变和皮质醇敏感性改变有关，但皮质醇对抑郁症功能连接性的影响尚不清楚。先前的研究表明，短暂的皮质醇增强 (CORT) 对抑郁症具有有益的神经认知作用。

方法

我们研究了 CORT（20mg 口服皮质醇）对抑郁症女性情绪处理过程中功能连接的影响。参与者包括 75 名没有抑郁症或抑郁症的女性。在一项双盲交叉研究中，我们使用功能性磁共振成像来测量 CORT 与安慰剂在呈现充满情绪的图像期间对基于任务的功能连接的影响。我们使用海马体和杏仁核作为种子，进行了心理生理学相互作用 (PPI)，以测试抑郁症严重程度、皮质醇给药和任务依赖性功能连接之间的相互作用。

结果

在呈现负面图像期间，CORT（与安慰剂相比）增加了与抑郁严重程度相关的海马和壳核之间的功能连接。在呈现阳性图片期间，CORT 增加了海马和额中回以及与抑郁症相关的颞上回之间的功能连接。

限制

因为皮质醇是经过药理学操作的，所以结果不能外推到皮质醇水平的内源性增加。该样本不允许调查由于种族、民族或性别引起的差异。没有考虑到诸如焦虑或创伤后应激障碍等合并症。

结论

结果表明，在情绪处理过程中，CORT 对抑郁症女性的任务依赖性功能连接具有正常化作用。增加皮质醇的可用性或信号可能在情感障碍中具有治疗益处。