A study on the association between prefrontal functional connectivity and non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents with depression

Yan Guo; Ruoxi Lu; Yiwen Ou; Yuxin Huang; Jianyu Li; Ying Cui; Danian Li; Yanting Zheng; Xinyu Liang; Shijun Qiu; Yujie Liu

doi:10.3389/fneur.2024.1382136

A study on the association between prefrontal functional connectivity and non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents with depression

Front Neurol. 2024 Apr 22:15:1382136. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1382136. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Yan Guo^{1

2

3}, Ruoxi Lu^{1

2}, Yiwen Ou¹, Yuxin Huang¹, Jianyu Li^{1

2

4}, Ying Cui⁵, Danian Li⁶, Yanting Zheng^{1

4}, Xinyu Liang^{1

2}, Shijun Qiu^{1

2

4}, Yujie Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ First Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Guangzhou, China.
³ Army Medical Center (Daping Hospital), Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁴ Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
⁵ Cerebropathy Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
⁶ Cerebropathy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Objective: Among adolescents with depression, the occurrence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior is prevalent, constituting a high-risk factor for suicide. However, there has been limited research on the neuroimaging mechanisms underlying adolescent depression and NSSI behavior, and the potential association between the two remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the alterations in functional connectivity (FC) of the regions in the prefrontal cortex with the whole brain, and elucidates the relationship between these alterations and NSSI behavior in adolescents with depression.

Methods: A total of 68 participants were included in this study, including 35 adolescents with depression and 33 healthy controls. All participants underwent assessments using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (17-HAMD) and the Ottawa Self-Harm Inventory. In addition, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data of the participants' brains were collected. Subsequently, the FCs of the regions in the prefrontal cortex with the whole brain was calculated. The FCs showing significant differences were then subjected to correlation analyses with 17-HAMD scores and NSSI behavior scores.

Result: Compared to the healthy control group, the adolescent depression group exhibited decreased FCs in several regions, including the right frontal eye field, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, right orbitofrontal cortex, left insula and right anterior cingulate coetex. The 17-HAMD score was positively correlated with the frequency of NSSI behavior within 1 year (r_s = 0.461, p = 0.005). The FC between the right anterior cingulate cortex and the right precuneus showed a negative correlation with the 17-HAMD scores (r_s = -0.401, p = 0.023). Additionally, the FC between the right orbitofrontal cortex and the right insula, demonstrated a negative correlation with the frequency of NSSI behavior within 1 year (r_s = -0.438, p = 0.012, respectively).

Conclusion: Adolescents with depression showed decreased FCs of the prefrontal cortex with multiple brain regions, and some of these FCs were associated with the NSSI frequency within 1 year. This study provided neuroimaging evidence for the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying adolescent depression and its comorbidity with NSSI behavior.

Keywords: adolescent depression; functional connectivity; functional magnetic resonance imaging; non-suicidal self-injurious behavior; prefrontal cortex.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82204927, 81920108019, 82330058, and T2341014), Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Project (202201011407 and 2023A04J1860), China Scholarship Council (202108440345), and Innovation and Strong School Project of Education Department of Guangdong Province.