Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) suffer impairment in the transmission and integration of internal and external information sources. Accumulating evidence suggests that the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) is important for multiple cognitive and social functions and may act as a key node for the integration of internal and external information. Therefore, the TPJ’s aberrant interaction mechanism may underpin MDD psychopathology. To answer this question, we conducted a comprehensive study using resting-state functional magnetic imaging data recorded from 74 patients with MDD and 69 normal controls. First, we examined whether TPJ was the most prominent region with altered functional/effective connectivity with multiple depression-related regions/networks, based on either zero-lag correlations or temporal mutual information (total interdependence and Granger causality) measurements. Accordingly, we derived a network model that depicts alterations of TPJ-connectivity in patients with MDD. Lastly, we performed a cross-approach comparison demonstrating more conducive indicators in delineating the network alteration model. Functional/effective connectivity between the TPJ and major functional networks that govern internal and external-driven information resources was attenuated in patients with MDD. TPJ acts like a key node for information-inflow and integration of multiple information streams. Therefore, dysfunctional connectivity indicators may serve as effective biomarkers for MDD. MDD is associated with the breakdown of the TPJ interaction model and its connections with the default mode network and the task-positive network.

患有重度抑郁症 (MDD) 的患者在内部和外部信息源的传输和整合方面受到损害。越来越多的证据表明，颞顶交界处（TPJ）对于多种认知和社会功能很重要，可能是整合内部和外部信息的关键节点。因此，TPJ 的异常相互作用机制可能是 MDD 精神病理学的基础。为了回答这个问题，我们使用从 74 名 MDD 患者和 69 名正常对照组记录的静息状态功能磁成像数据进行了一项综合研究。首先，我们检查了 TPJ 是否是与多个抑郁症相关区域/网络的功能/有效连接发生改变的最突出区域，基于零滞后相关性或时间互信息（完全相互依赖和格兰杰因果关系）测量。因此，我们推导出了一个网络模型，描述了 MDD 患者 TPJ 连接的变化。最后，我们进行了交叉方法比较，展示了在描述网络变更模型时更有利的指标。在 MDD 患者中，TPJ 与管理内部和外部驱动信息资源的主要功能网络之间的功能/有效连接减弱。TPJ充当信息流入和多信息流整合的关键节点。因此，功能失调的连通性指标可作为 MDD 的有效生物标志物。