BMRMI Reduces Depressive Rumination Possibly through Improving Abnormal FC of Dorsal ACC.

Rumination, a common symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD), may be regulated by a body-mind relaxation meditation induction (BMRMI) intervention through changes in brain connectivity. In 25 people with MDD and 24 healthy controls, resting-state fMRI showed that at baseline, those with MDD had stronger functional connectivity between the right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and right superior frontal gyrus than controls. After the intervention, the MDD group showed weaker connectivity between the left dACC and right middle frontal gyrus, while controls showed enhanced connectivity in the right dACC region. The strength of right dACC-right superior frontal gyrus connectivity correlated positively with rumination scores across all participants at baseline. These findings suggest BMRMI may alter self-referential and cognitive processing by modulating dACC connectivity in MDD with rumination.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Rumination is a common symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD) and has been characterized as a vulnerability factor for the onset or recurrence of MDD. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying rumination and appropriate treatment strategies remain unclear. In the current study, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the effects of body-mind relaxation meditation induction (BMRMI) intervention in MDD with rumination. To this aim, we have recruited 25 MDD and 24 healthy controls (HCs). Changes in functional connectivity (FC) of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) subregion and the scores of clinical measurements were examined using correlation analysis. At baseline, MDD showed stronger FC between the right dorsal ACC (dACC) and right superior frontal gyrus than did the HC group. Compared to baseline, the HC group showed a significantly enhanced FC between the right dACC and right superior frontal gyrus, and the MDD group demonstrated a significantly weaker FC between the left dACC and right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) after the intervention. Furthermore, the FC between the right dACC and right superior frontal gyrus was positively associated with rumination scores across all participants at baseline. The above results indicate that BMRMI may regulate self-referential processing and cognitive function through modulating FC of the dACC in MDD with rumination.