Study on the differences in node strength of white matter networks in patients with depressive disorder and bipolar disorder
10.3969/j.issn.1002-0152.2025.06.001
- VernacularTitle:抑郁障碍和双相障碍患者脑白质网络节点强度差异研究
- Author:
Haiyan LIU
1
;
Jiabo SHI
1
;
Lingling HUA
1
;
Rui YAN
1
;
Hao TANG
1
;
Zhijian YAO
1
Author Information
1. 南京医科大学附属脑科医院精神科(南京 210029)
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Major depressive disorder;
Bipolar disorder;
Diffusion tensor imaging;
Brain structure network;
Node strength;
ROC curve;
Follow-up study
- From:
Chinese Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases
2025;51(6):321-326
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To compare the node strength in white matter networks between depressive disorder and bipolar depression patients,analyze structural connectivity impairments across brain regions,and assess their diagnostic utility.Methods This longitudinal study initially enrolled 91 patients with a baseline diagnosis of depressive episode.All subjects underwent diffusion tensor imaging at recruitment and white matter structural weighted networks were constructed using deterministic fiber tracking.After≥9 years of naturalistic follow-up,23 patients who maintained a diagnosis of major depressive disorder(MDD group)and 18 patients who maintained a diagnosis of bipolar disorder(BD group),while 30 demographically matched healthy controls(HC group)were included for comparison.The differences in nodal connection strength within the brain white matter networks among the three groups were compared.Furthermore,the receiver operator characteristic(ROC)curve was utilized to evaluate the diagnostic value of the differential brain regions in distinguishing between MDD and BD.Results In the left anterior cingulate gyrus,the node strength was lower in the BD than in the MDD group(3.89±0.76 vs.4.74±0.60).However,the node strength in the right caudate nucleus(4.94±1.26 vs.3.46±0.99)and right globus pallidus(1.98±0.67 vs.1.25±0.29)was higher in the BD than in the MDD group(P<0.01,FWE-corrected).The combined connectivity strengths of three brain regions—the left anterior cingulate gyrus,right caudate nucleus and right globus pallidus—were used to differentiate between MDD and BD,and an ROC curve was plotted,with an area under the curve(AUC)of 0.95(95%CI:0.91～0.99;P<0.001).The sensitivity and the specificity were 0.89 and 0.87,respectively.Conclusion The differences in node strength between patient groups may serve as a potential neuroimaging biomarker.Integration of node connectivity strengths from these differential brain regions can achieve superior discrimination accuracy.
