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Resting‐State Functional Connectivity and Brain Network Abnormalities in Depressive Patients with Suicidal Ideation

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Abstract

Our study aimed to investigate whether changes in brain function measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can be detected among individuals with depressive disorders and suicidal ideation. The association between depression severity and brain images is also discussed. Our study recruited 111 participants in three groups: 35 depressive patients with suicidal ideation (SI), 32 depressive patients without suicidal ideation (NS), and 44 healthy controls (HCs). All participants were scanned using 3T MRI to obtain resting-state functional images, and functional connectivity (FC), amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and graph theoretical analysis (GTA) were performed. We found functional activity differences, such as the hippocampus and thalamus, in the SI group compared with the NS group. We also concluded lower activity in the thalamus and cuneus regions were related to suicidal ideation. We also found several functional connectivity of the brain areas, such as hippocampus, cuneus, and frontal regions, in the SI group correlated with Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). A graph theoretical analysis (GTA) and network-based statistical (NBS) analysis revealed different topological organization and slightly better local segregation of the brain network in healthy participants compared with those in depressive patients with suicidal ideation. We suggest that brain functional connectivity may be affected in depressive patients with suicidal ideation.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the research programs MOST105-2314-B-182-028, MOST106-2314-B-182-040-MY3, and MOST109-2314-B-182-047-MY3, which were sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan. The funders had no role in the conduct of the study nor the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Vincent Chin-Hung Chen & Yuan-Hsiung Tsai

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan

    Vincent Chin-Hung Chen & Jun-Cheng Weng

  3. Department of Radiology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan

    Yu-Syuan Chou

  4. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan

    Yuan-Hsiung Tsai

  5. Department of Neurosurgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Yin-Cheng Huang

  6. Mood Disorder Psychopharmacology Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Roger S. McIntyre

  7. Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Roger S. McIntyre

  8. Department of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Roger S. McIntyre

  9. Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, and Bachelor Program in Artificial Intelligence, Chang Gung University, No. 259, Wenhua 1st Rd., Guishan Dist., Taoyuan, 33302, Taiwan

    Jun-Cheng Weng

  10. Medical Imaging Research Center, Institute for Radiological Research, Chang Gung University, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Jun-Cheng Weng

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  1. Vincent Chin-Hung Chen
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  2. Yu-Syuan Chou
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  3. Yuan-Hsiung Tsai
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Correspondence to Jun-Cheng Weng.

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Chen, V.CH., Chou, YS., Tsai, YH. et al. Resting‐State Functional Connectivity and Brain Network Abnormalities in Depressive Patients with Suicidal Ideation. Brain Topogr 34, 234–244 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-020-00817-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-020-00817-x

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