Purpose

Previous studies have indicated that the global topology of the brain functional network in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) differs from that of those with normal controls (NCs). However, the relationship between an altered global topology and the response to antidepressants remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether differences in global topology affect the efficacy of antidepressants in MDD patients.

Methods

108 MDD patients and 61 NCs were recruited. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan was performed at the baseline, and the Hamilton Depression Scale-24 (HAMD-24) was assessed at baseline and after 2 and 8 weeks of antidepressant treatment. Seven global topological parameters of the brain functional network were measured and compared between groups. A correlation analysis was performed to identify the relationships between global topological parameters and antidepressant efficacy.

Results

The brain networks of MDD patients and NCs were both small-world networks. The clustering coefficient (C_p) and local efficiency (E_loc) were significantly smaller in MDD patients compared with those in NCs. The characteristic path length (L_p) were negatively correlated with the 8-week reductive rate of HAMD-24 in the MDD group.

Conclusion

The present research found that the brain functional network of MDD patients still had a small-world organization but with a lower C_p and E_loc than the NCs. In addition, the brain network global topology might have an impact on the antidepressant response and thus had the potential to become a treatment predictor of MDD.

中文翻译：

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脑功能网络的全局拓扑改变影响重度抑郁症的 8 周抗抑郁反应

目的

先前的研究表明，重度抑郁症 (MDD) 患者脑功能网络的全局拓扑结构与正常对照 (NCs) 患者的脑功能网络拓扑结构不同。然而，改变的全局拓扑与抗抑郁药反应之间的关系仍不清楚。在这里，我们调查了全局拓扑的差异是否会影响抗抑郁药在 MDD 患者中的疗效。

方法

招募了 108 名 MDD 患者和 61 名 NC。在基线时进行磁共振成像 (MRI) 扫描，并在基线和抗抑郁药治疗 2 周和 8 周后评估汉密尔顿抑郁量表-24 (HAMD-24)。测量并比较了组间大脑功能网络的七个全局拓扑参数。进行相关性分析以确定全局拓扑参数与抗抑郁药功效之间的关系。

结果

MDD患者和NCs的大脑网络都是小世界网络。与 NC 患者相比，MDD 患者的聚类系数 (C _p ) 和局部效率 (E _loc ) 显着较小。特征路径长度（L _p）与 MDD 组中 HAMD-24 的 8 周还原率呈负相关。

结论

目前的研究发现，MDD 患者的脑功能网络仍然具有小世界组织，但 C _p和 E _loc低于 NC。此外，脑网络全局拓扑可能对抗抑郁反应产生影响，因此有可能成为 MDD 的治疗预测指标。