Functional abnormalities in first-episode major depressive disorder with somatic pain

Abstract

Abstract Objective Depression has a high incidence of somatic pain, and the mechanism of pain in depressed patients remains unclear. Our study explored brain areas with abnormal activity in first-episode major depressive disorder with somatic pain using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rfMRI) and the relationship between depression and somatic pain. Methods Thirty-two depressed patients (sixteen with somatic pain and sixteen without somatic pain) diagnosed with major depressive disorder by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and thirty-three healthy controls were scanned by rfMRI. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) was used to analyze differences between depressed patients with somatic pain and those without somatic pain. Results ReHo values in the left postcentral gyrus (postcentral_l) and the left precentral gyrus (precentral_l) of the depressed patients with somatic pain were significantly higher than those in the patients without somatic pain (tpostcentral_l = 4.93, ppostcentral_l Conclusions Abnormalities in the left postcentral gyrus and precentral gyrus (sensorimotor area) may play important roles in depressed patients with somatic pain.