Objective: To investigate the topological properties and abnormal connections of the networks in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with depression (DPD)

Background: Depression is one of the the most common non-motor symptoms in patients with PD.However, the pathogenesis is still unclear.

Method: Forty-five patients with PD and twenty-five healthy subjects(HCs) were enrolled. According to DSM-IV criteria, PD patients are divided into DPD group and non-depression group(NDPD). All participants were performed rs-fMRI scan. The differences in the topological properties were analyzed based on the theory of complex network, while the differences of connections in brain functional networks were by network based statistical analysis (NBS).

Results: (1) All of the groups had the “small world” attribute, but there was no significant statistical difference among the groups. (2) DPD group had multiple missing hub nodes in the temporal lobe, mainly in the key brain areas of auditory and visual pathways. (3)The brain areas with abnormal node efficiency in the DPD group were mainly concentrated in the prefrontal and temporo-occipital lobes. (4) Compared with the NDPD group, DPD group showed abnormal reduced connections among multiple brain regions in the prefrontal, temporal lobes and subcortical limbic system, but only increased connections between individual brain regions, mainly located between the occipital lobe and the prefrontal lobe, the occipital lobe and the posterior cingulate gyrus. The above brain regions with abnormal local attributes and functional connections were mostly located in the default mode network (DMN), central executive network (CEN) and salience network (SN), as well as the key nodes of auditory and visual pathways.

Conclusion: Information transmission of DPD brain network still maintained the optimal balance between local optimization and global integration, but information transmission among local brain regions were limited. Abnormal function of key brain regions in DMN, CEN and SN and damage of the integrity of the circuits might be the key pathophysiological basis for DPD. Meanwhile, the auditory and visual dysfunction might be prevalent in DPD, and abnormalities in the relevant brain regions might play a key role in the functional integration of DPD brain networks. However, the causal relationship between the auditory and visual dysfunction and DPD should be clarified in further studies.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-study-on-brain-function-network-of-parkinsons-disease-with-depression/