Altered Resting-State Connectivity in College Students with Nonclinical Depressive Symptoms

BACKGROUND: The underlying brain basis of nonclinical depressive symptoms (nCDSs) is largely unknown. Recently, the seed-based functional connectivity (FC) approach for analyzing resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) data has been increasingly used to explore the neural basis of depressive disorders. Other than common seed-based FC method using an a priori seed region, we conducted FC analysis based on regions with altered spontaneous activity revealed by the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) approach. The aim of the present study was to provide novel insight in the underlying mechanism of nCDSs in college students. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A total number of 1105 college students were recruited to participant in a survey for assessing depressive symptoms. Subsequently, 17 individuals with nCDSs and 20 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled to perform MR studies. Alternations of fALFF were identified in the right superior parietal lobule (SPL) and left lingual gyrus, both of which were used as ROIs for further FC analysis. With right SPL, compare with HCs, subjects with nCDSs showed reduced FCs in the bilateral dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), left inferior frontal gurus (IFG), left premotor cortex (PMC), DMN network [i.e., bilateral precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), right supramarginal gyrus (SMG), right parahippocampal gyrus (PHG), bilateral inferior temporal gurus (ITG)] and left cerebellum posterior lobe (CPL). In addition, increased FCs were observed between the left lingual gyrus and right fusiform gyrus as well as in the left precuneus. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results indicate the abnormalities of spontaneous activity in the right SPL and left lingual gyrus and their corresponding dysfunction of the brain circuits might be related to the pathophysiology of nCDSs.