Abstract
Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a major risk factor for developing the major depressive disorder (MDD), however, the neurobiological mechanism linking CM and MDD remains unclear. We recruited 34 healthy controls (HCs) and 44 MDD patients to complete the childhood maltreatment experience assessment with Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and resting-state fMRI scan. Multivariate linear regression analysis was employed to identify the main effects of CM and depressive symptoms total and subfactors scores on bilateral anterior and posterior insula functional connectivity (IFC) networks, respectively. Mediation analysis was performed to investigate whether IFC strength mediates the association between CM and depressive symptoms. MDD patients showed significantly decreased connectivity in the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex and increased connectivity in the medial frontal gyrus in the bipartite IFC networks, compared to HCs. The main effects of CM and depressive symptoms showed a large discrepancy on the anterior and posterior IFC networks, which primarily located in the frontal-limbic system. Further, conjunction analysis identified the overlapping regions linking CM and depressive symptoms were mainly implicated in self-regulation and cognitive processing circuits. More important, these IFC strengths could mediate the association between different types of CM, especially for childhood abuse and childhood neglect, and depressive symptoms in those overlapping regions. We demonstrated that early exposure to CM may increase the vulnerability to depression by influencing brain’s self-regulating and cognitive processing circuitry. These findings provide new insight into the understanding of pathological mechanism underlying CM-induced depressive symptoms.
Highlights
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common psychiatric condition worldwide and rank the third leading cause of years lived with disability (YLDs) in the past decade [1]
Each insula functional connectivity (IFC) network was composed of both a positive network, which primarily located in medial PFC and subcortical regions, and a negative network, which mainly observed in the PFC-parietal system
To our knowledge, this study provides the first empirical evidence linking Childhood maltreatment (CM) subtypes and depressive symptoms on the insula network connectivity in the MDD patients, and strongly supports our hypothesis that insula network could mediate the prospective association between early life stress and future depression
Summary
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common psychiatric condition worldwide and rank the third leading cause of years lived with disability (YLDs) in the past decade [1]. As a heterogeneous internalizing disorders, MDD can be characterized by multiple symptoms: persistence of depressed mood, diminished of interest or pleasure, weight change, insomnia or hypersomnia, psychomotor retardation, fatigue or loss of energy, and disturbance in cognitive functions, such as attention and memory [4]. Childhood maltreatment (CM), as one of the essential aspects of environmental stress, occupies an important position in the risk factors of MDD. It has been suggested that CM could predict unfavorable outcomes in patients with MDD, including earlier onset, treatment-resistant, higher recurrent rate, and severer symptoms [5]. Whether CM could influence the types of clinical symptoms and associate with the heterogeneity of MDD is not clear yet. Brain areas implicated in the pathophysiology of MDD exhibit overall changes in the context of CM. Several studies found that MDD patients with and without childhood
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
