Multi-voxel pattern analysis for characterizing functional connectivity and neurocognitive function in major depression: A CAN-BIND-1 report.

BACKGROUND

Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects not only mood but also neurocognitive function. In this study, we used whole-brain functional connectivity multi-voxel pattern analysis (fc-MVPA) to examine the relationship between resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and neurocognitive function in individuals with MDD compared to healthy controls (HC).

METHODS

Baseline functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans from the CAN-BIND-1 dataset were analyzed using a data-driven whole-brain fc-MVPA approach in 147 individuals with MDD and 98 HC. All participants completed the Computerized Neurocognitive Assessment Vital Signs (CNS-VS) battery outside the scanner, and correlations between rsFC differences and CNS-VS domain scores were explored.

RESULTS

The fc-MVPA reduced the dimensionality of fMRI data at both individual and group levels, identifying six clusters with altered rsFC in MDD relative to HC: left cerebellar crus I, right precuneus, left superior lateral occipital cortex, right ventral caudate, left superior parietal lobule, and left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Using these clusters as seeds, post-hoc analyses identified 24 patterns of altered rsFC in MDD involving the default mode, central executive, visual recognition, salience, and sensorimotor networks. Five of these patterns showed significant correlations with CNS-VS domain scores for composite memory, neurocognition index, processing speed, executive function, and simple attention in HC, but these associations were absent in individuals with MDD.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight that MDD is associated with disrupted rsFC across networks relevant to neurocognitive function. The data-driven nature of the fc-MVPA identified the left cerebellar crus I as the most significant region of aberrant rsFC.