Nature sub-issue: Multimodal neuroimaging predicts brain circuits for nonsuicidal self-injury in patients with major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is considered the world's most prevalent mental illness, with devastating social and personal consequences, affecting more than 350 million people
worldwide each year.
Although significant progress has been made in understanding MDD, there are still many unknowns in the neuropathology of the disease and its pathophysiology, with varying
clinical features.

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a common comorbidity in patients with MDD, and it is important
to clarify the underlying neurobiology.
Here, scholars from Wuhan University in China investigated the relationship
between NSSI and brain function and structure in MDD patients.
A total of 260 MDD patients and 132 healthy controls (HCs) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging and three-dimensional T1-weighted structural scanning
at rest.
NSSI behavior
was assessed through interviews.
Voxel-based morphology analysis (VBM), regional homogeneity analysis (ReHo), functional connectome topology, and network-based statistics were used to detect differences
in neuroimaging features.
Finally, the random forest method was used to assess whether these factors could predict NSSI
for MDD.

The results showed that MDD patients with a history of NSSI showed significant differences
in right putamen gray matter volume (GMV), right upper orbitofrontal cortex ReHo, left globus pallidus, and putamen-center functional network differences compared with HCs.
Compared with MDD participants without NSSI, subjects with NSSI in the past showed significant right superior temporal gyrus (STG) GMV, right lingual gyrus ReHo, sigma, and global efficiency, as well as differences in cerebellum-center functional networks
.
The right STG GMV and cerebellum-central functional network are more important
than other factors in predicting NSSI behavior in patients with MDD.

In summary, MDD patients with a history of NSSI have spontaneous brain activity and structural disorders
in areas related to mood, pain regulation, and somatosensory systems.
Importantly, the right STG GMV and cerebellar ring may play an important role
in NSSI in MDD patients.

References:

Superior temporal gyrus and cerebellar loops predict nonsuicidal self-injury in major depressive disorder patients by multimodal neuroimaging.
Transl Psychiatry 12, 474 (2022).
https://doi.
org/10.
1038/s41398-022-02235-y