Anticipatory cues in emotional processing shift the activation of a combined salience sensorimotor functional network in drug-naïve depressed patients

Abstract

Background Major depressive disorder is characterized by a large-scale brain network dysfunction, contributing to impairments in cognitive and affective functioning. Core regions of default mode, limbic and salience networks are also impaired in emotional processing and anticipation. This study aimed to explore default mode, salience, and limbic networks modulation during the processing of emotional stimuli with and without anticipatory cues in depression, and further investigate how these networks were functionally coupled with the rest of the brain.

Methods Twenty-one drug-naïve depressed patients and 15 matched controls were included in the study. All participants completed a psychological assessment and the affective pictures paradigm during an fMRI acquisition. Group independent component analysis and psychophysiological interactions analyses were performed.

Results A significant interaction between Cue, Valence and Group was found for the salience/sensorimotor network. When processing uncued emotional stimuli, patients showed increased activation of this network for negative vs. neutral pictures, whereas when anticipatory cues were displayed previously to the picture presentation, they invert this pattern of activation (hyperactivating the salience/sensorimotor network for positive vs. neutral pictures). Patients showed increased functional connectivity between the salience/sensorimotor network and the left amygdala as well as the right inferior parietal lobule compared to controls when processing uncued negative pictures.

Limitations The sample size was modest, and the salience/sensorimotor network included regions not typically identified as part of salience network. Thus, this study should be replicated to further interpret the results.

Conclusions Anticipatory cues shift the pattern of activation of the salience/sensorimotor network in drug-naïve depressed patients.