Resting-state functional connectivity in women with Major Depressive Disorder

Objective: Limited research has focused on whole-brain functional connectivity in a well-characterized sample of subjects with current Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). We aimed to investigate resting-state functional connectivity and the extent to which this is correlated with depression severity in unmedicated depressed subjects without comorbidities. Methods: We utilized Independent Component Analysis (ICA) to investigate whole-brain functional connectivity in a sample of healthy controls (n=26) and unmedicated subjects diagnosed only with current MDD (n=20). Correlations were calculated between network connectivity strength and depression severity. Results: Depressed subjects demonstrated significantly decreased connectivity in the right frontoparietal (p=0.03), left frontoparietal (p=0.01), and language (p=0.02) networks compared to healthy control subjects. Conclusion: We found abnormal resting-state functional connectivity not previously reported in MDD. Decreased connectivity in the frontoparietal and language networks may represent depression-related difficulties in attention, cognitive control, goal-directed cognition, and language. Findings from this study may further elucidate functional connectivity as a diagnostic marker of depression severity.