Altered ability to access a clinically relevant control network in patients remitted from major depressive disorder

Neurobiological models to explain vulnerability of major depressive disorder (MDD) are scarce and previous functional magnetic resonance imaging studies mostly examined "static" functional connectivity (FC). Knowing that FC constantly evolves over time, it becomes important to assess how FC dynamically differs in remitted-MDD patients vulnerable for new depressive episodes. Using a recently developed method to examine dynamic FC, we characterized re-emerging FC states during rest in 51 antidepressant-free MDD patients at high risk of recurrence (≥2 previous episodes), and 35 healthy controls. We examined differences in occurrence, duration, and switching profiles of FC states after neutral and sad mood induction. Remitted MDD patients showed a decreased probability of an FC state (p
NORTE‐01‐0145‐FEDER‐000023, by the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). Dr. G.D. is supported by the Spanish Research Project PSI2016‐75688‐P (AEI/FEDER) and by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under the Specific Grant Agreement No. 785907 (Human Brain Project SGA2). Dr. M.L.K. is supported by the ERC Consolidator Grant: CAREGIVING (no. 615539) and Center for Music in the Brain, funded by the Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF117). Dr. H.G.R. is supported by a NWO/ZonMW VENI‐Grant #016.126.059. Dr. PE acknowledges support from the EPSRC award EP/N014529/1 funding the EPSRC Centre for Mathematics of Precision Healthcare at Imperial