Body\u2013mind relaxation meditation modulates the thalamocortical functional connectivity in major depressive disorder: a preliminary resting-state fMRI study

Fangfang Chen,Jian Wang,Weidong Wang,Chao Wang,Yang Hong,Lan Hong,Tao Li,Xiaoling Wang,Xueyu Lv,Jinping Xu,Jiliang Fang

doi:10.1038/s41398-021-01637-8

Abstract

Mindfulness-based interventions such as meditation have increasingly been utilized for the treatment of psychological disorders and have been shown to be effective in the treatment of depression and relapse prevention. However, it remains largely unclear the neural mechanism of the therapeutic effects of meditation among depressed individuals. In this study, we investigated how body–mind relaxation meditation (BMRM) can modulate the thalamocortical functional connectivity (FC) in major depressive disorder patients and healthy controls. In the present study, we recruited 21 medication-naive adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDDs) and 24 matched healthy controls (HCs). We designed an audio recording to induce body–mind relaxation meditation. Resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) scans were collected before and after the BMRM intervention in both groups. The thalamus subregions were defined according to the Human Brainnetome Atlas, and functional connectivity (FC) was measured and compared to find brain regions that were affected by the BMRM intervention. Before the BMRM intervention, MDDs showed reduced FC of the bilateral precuneus/post cingulate cortex with the left posterior parietal thalamus and left caudal temporal thalamus, as well as an increased FC of the left occipital thalamus with the left medial frontal cortex. Moreover, aberrant FCs in MDDs at baseline were normalized following the BMRM intervention. After the BMRM intervention, both MDDs and HCs showed decreased FC between the left rostral temporal thalamus and the left inferior occipital. Given the small sample used in this study, future studies are warranted to evaluate the generalizability of these findings. Our findings suggest that BMRM is associated with changes in thalamocortical functional connectivity in MDDs. BMRM may act by strengthening connections between the thalamus and the default mode network, which are involved in a variety of high-level functioning, such as attention and self-related processes.

Highlights

A major characteristic of major depressive disorder (MDD) is the persistence of sad mood and loss of interest or pleasure in doing normal activities for a prolonged period of time
The low mood observed in depression post cingulate cortex in MDD was marginally significant (r = 0.43, may contribute to attentional impairments and attentional p = 0.066), and it was markedly different from the corresponding impairments may in turn prolong low mood [39]
The above aberrant functional connectivity (FC) in MDDs at baseline were the thalamus in MDD patients, suggesting a role of dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

A major characteristic of major depressive disorder (MDD) is the persistence of sad mood and loss of interest or pleasure in doing normal activities for a prolonged period of time. 1234567890();,: induction session to examine the underlying mechanism of that the thalamus serves a complex and multifarious brain region mindfulness training in MDD patients. Depressed patients show reduced gray matter volumes in the Participants were 45 adults (21 MDD patients and 24 Healthy Controls) of Han Chinese ancestry. For both groups, participants were right-handed, between the ages of 18 and 50, and reported no contradiction to undergo an MRI scan according to a screening questionnaire. The network dynamics of thalamocortical circuits have been proposed to be a promising pathway for brain stimulation treatment for MDD patients [22, 29] These findings demonstrate the critical role that the thalamus plays in MDD.

Chen et al 3

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

Limitations