Suprachiasmatic nucleus functional connectivity related to insomnia symptoms in adolescents with major depressive disorder

Lingling Cao; Ruohan Feng; Yingxue Gao; Weijie Bao; Zilin Zhou; Kaili Liang; Xinyue Hu; Hailong Li; Lianqing Zhang; Yang Li; Lihua Zhuo; Guoping Huang; Xiaoqi Huang

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1154095

Suprachiasmatic nucleus functional connectivity related to insomnia symptoms in adolescents with major depressive disorder

Front Psychiatry. 2023 May 16:14:1154095. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1154095. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Lingling Cao^{1

2}, Ruohan Feng³, Yingxue Gao^{1

4}, Weijie Bao^{1

4}, Zilin Zhou^{1

4}, Kaili Liang^{1

4}, Xinyue Hu^{1

4}, Hailong Li^{1

4}, Lianqing Zhang^{1

4}, Yang Li⁵, Lihua Zhuo³, Guoping Huang⁵, Xiaoqi Huang^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
² Department of Radiology, Sichuan Mianyang 404 Hospital, Mianyang, China.
³ Department of Radiology, Sichuan Mental Health Center, The Third Hospital of Mianyang, Mianyang, China.
⁴ Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Sichuan Mental Health Center, The Third Hospital of Mianyang, Mianyang, China.

Abstract

Background: Insomnia is a commonly seen symptom in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD). The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which is the circadian rhythm regulation center, plays a crucial role in the regulation of sleep-wake circulation. Nevertheless, how SCN function contributes to the exact neural mechanisms underlying the associations between insomnia and depressive symptoms has not been explored in adolescents. In the current study, we aimed to explore the relationship between SCN functional connectivity (FC) and insomnia symptoms in adolescents with MDD using a seed-based FC method.

Methods: In the current study, we recruited sixty-eight first-episode drug-naïve adolescents with MDD and classified them into high insomnia (MDD-HI) and low insomnia (MDD-LI) groups according to the sleep disturbance subscale of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-S). Forty-three age/gender-matched healthy controls (HCs) were also recruited. SCN FC maps were generally for all subjects and compared among three groups using one-way ANOVA with age, gender and adjusted HAMD score as covariates. We used partial correlations to explore associations between altered FC and clinical symptoms, including sleep quality scores.

Results: Adolescents with MDD showed worse sleep quality, which positively correlated with the severity of depression. Compared to MDD-LI and HCs, MDD-HI adolescents demonstrated significantly decreased FC between the right SCN and bilateral precuneus, and there was no significant difference between the MDD-LI and HC groups. The HAMD-S scores were negatively correlated with bilateral SCN-precuneus connectivity, and the retardation factor score of HAMD was negatively correlated with right SCN-precuneus connectivity.

Conclusion: The altered FC between the SCN and precuneus may underline the neural mechanism of sleep-related symptoms in depressive adolescents and provide potential targets for personalized treatment strategies.

Keywords: adolescent; functional connectivity; insomnia; major depressive disorder; suprachiasmatic nucleus.