Investigating the impact of rumination and adverse childhood experiences on resting-state neural activity and connectivity in depression

Rebecca Gruzman; Moritz Hempel; Ann-Kathrin Domke; Corinna Hartling; Anna Stippl; Luisa Carstens; Malek Bajbouj; Matti Gärtner; Simone Grimm

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2024.02.068

Investigating the impact of rumination and adverse childhood experiences on resting-state neural activity and connectivity in depression

J Affect Disord. 2024 Feb 20:358:283-291. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.02.068. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Rebecca Gruzman¹, Moritz Hempel², Ann-Kathrin Domke³, Corinna Hartling⁴, Anna Stippl³, Luisa Carstens², Malek Bajbouj³, Matti Gärtner⁴, Simone Grimm⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, MSB Medical School Berlin, Rüdesheimer Straße 50, 14197 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: rebecca.gruzman@medicalschool-berlin.de.
² Department of Psychology, MSB Medical School Berlin, Rüdesheimer Straße 50, 14197 Berlin, Germany.
³ Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt - Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Hindenburgdamm 30, 12203 Berlin, Germany.
⁴ Department of Psychology, MSB Medical School Berlin, Rüdesheimer Straße 50, 14197 Berlin, Germany; Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt - Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Hindenburgdamm 30, 12203 Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Department of Psychology, MSB Medical School Berlin, Rüdesheimer Straße 50, 14197 Berlin, Germany; Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt - Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Hindenburgdamm 30, 12203 Berlin, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Lenggstrasse 31, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.

PMID: 38387672
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.02.068

Abstract

Background: Both ruminative thought processes and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are well-established risk factors for the emergence and maintenance of depression. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these associations remain poorly understood.

Methods: We examined resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data (3 T Tim Trio MR scanner; Siemens, Erlangen) of 44 individuals diagnosed with an acute depressive episode. Specifically, we focused on investigating functional brain activity and connectivity within and between three large-scale neural networks associated with processes affected in depression: the default mode network (DMN), the salience network (SN), and the central executive network (CEN). Correlational and regression-based analyses were performed.

Results: Our regions of interest analyses revealed that region-specific spontaneous neural activity in the anterior DMN was associated with self-reported trait rumination, specifically, the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC). Furthermore, using a liberal statistical threshold, we found that spontaneous neural activity of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the pgACC were associated with depression symptom severity. Neither spontaneous neural activity in the SN and CEN nor functional connectivity within and across the investigated networks was associated with depression severity or rumination. Furthermore, there was no association between ACEs and brain activity and connectivity.

Limitations: Lack of a formal control group or low-risk group for comparison.

Conclusions: Overall, our results indicate network-specific changes in spontaneous brain activity, that are linked to both depression severity and rumination. Findings underscore the crucial role of the pgACC in depression and contribute to a dimensional and symptom-based understanding of depression-related network imbalances.

Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences; Functional connectivity; Resting state; Rumination; fALFF.