Transdiagnostic and diagnosis-specific dynamic functional connectivity anchored in the right anterior insula in major depressive disorder and bipolar depression

Yajing Pang; Heng Chen; Yifeng Wang; Zhiliang Long; Zongling He; Huangbin Zhang; Wei Liao; Qian Cui; Huafu Chen

doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.03.020

Transdiagnostic and diagnosis-specific dynamic functional connectivity anchored in the right anterior insula in major depressive disorder and bipolar depression

Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2018 Jul 13:85:7-15. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.03.020. Epub 2018 Mar 30.

Authors

Yajing Pang¹, Heng Chen¹, Yifeng Wang¹, Zhiliang Long², Zongling He³, Huangbin Zhang¹, Wei Liao¹, Qian Cui⁴, Huafu Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
² The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; Sleep and NeuroImaging Center, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
³ The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
⁴ School of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: qiancui26@gmail.com.
⁵ The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: chenhf@uestc.edu.cn.

PMID: 29608925
DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.03.020

Abstract

Dysfunctional and abnormal functional connectivity in the right anterior insula (rAI) may underlie the pathophysiology of depression episode in bipolar disorder (BD) and of major depressive disorder (MDD). In this study, we examined the dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) of the rAI of 30 patients with BD, 30 patients with MDD, and 30 healthy controls. In the functional separation of rAI, the right dorsal AI (rdAI) and ventral AI (rvAI) were defined as seed regions. Sliding-window correlation of rAI subregions was implemented to measure the variance of dFC. BD and MDD shared abnormality in dFC, such as the decreased dFC between the rvAI and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Others were disorder-specific and included MDD-related increases in dFC between the rvAI and right precuneus, temporal pole, and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This observation is in stark contrast to BD-related increases in the dFC between the rdAI and left inferior parietal lobule and right middle occipital gyrus. The abnormal dFC of rAI shared by BD and MDD supports the importance of rAI in the common pathophysiology of these disorders. Meanwhile, disorder-specific abnormalities that attribute to the dorsal and ventral divisions of rAI can be used as biomarkers to differentiate BD from MDD.

Keywords: BD; Dynamic functional connectivity; MDD; Right anterior insula; Variance.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Bipolar Disorder / diagnostic imaging*
Bipolar Disorder / drug therapy
Bipolar Disorder / physiopathology
Cerebral Cortex / diagnostic imaging*
Cerebral Cortex / physiopathology
Depressive Disorder, Major / diagnostic imaging*
Depressive Disorder, Major / drug therapy
Depressive Disorder, Major / physiopathology
Female
Functional Laterality
Humans
Male
Neural Pathways / diagnostic imaging
Neural Pathways / physiopathology
Rest