Scene unseen: Disrupted neuronal adaptation in melancholia during emotional film viewing

Impairments in attention and concentration are distinctive features of melancholic depression, and may diminish the ability to shift focus away from internal dysphoric states. Disrupted brain networks may underlie the inability to effectively disengage from interoceptive signals in this disorder. This study investigates changes in effective connectivity between cortical systems supporting attention, interoception, and perception in those with melancholic depression when shifting attention from rest to viewing dynamic film stimuli. We hypothesised that those with melancholia would show impaired attentional shifting from rest to emotional film viewing, captured in neuronal states that differed little across conditions. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were acquired from 48 participants (16 melancholic depressed, 16 non-melancholic depressed, and 16 healthy controls) at rest and whilst viewing emotionally salient movies. Using independent component analysis, we identified 8 cortical modes (default mode, executive control, left/right frontoparietal attention, left/right insula, visual and auditory) and studied their dynamics using dynamic causal modelling. Engagement with dynamic emotional material diminished in melancholia and was associated with network-wide increases in effective connectivity. Melancholia was also characterised by an increase in effective connectivity amongst cortical regions involved in attention and interoception when shifting from rest to negative film viewing, with the converse pattern in control participants. The observed involvement of attention- and insula-based cortical systems highlights a potential neurobiological mechanism for disrupted attentional resource allocation, particularly in switching between interoceptive and exteroceptive signals, in melancholia.