• Xueling Zhu, Xiang Wang, Jin Xiao, Jian Liao, Mingtian Zhong, Wei Wang, and Shuqiao Yao.
• Medical Psychological Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
• Biol. Psychiatry. 2012 Apr 1;71(7):611-7.

BackgroundImaging studies have shown that major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with altered activity patterns of the default mode network (DMN). However, the neural correlates of the resting-state DMN and MDD-related pathopsychological characteristics, such as depressive rumination and overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) phenomena, still remain unclear.MethodsUsing independent component analysis, we analyzed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data obtained from 35 first-episode, treatment-naive young adults with MDD and from 35 matched healthy control subjects.ResultsPatients with MDD exhibited higher levels of rumination and OGM than did the control subjects. We observed increased functional connectivity in the anterior medial cortex regions (especially the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex) and decreased functional connectivity in the posterior medial cortex regions (especially the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus) in MDD patients compared with control subjects. In the depressed group, the increased functional connectivity in the anterior medial cortex correlated positively with rumination score, while the decreased functional connectivity in the posterior medial cortex correlated negatively with OGM score.ConclusionsWe report dissociation between anterior and posterior functional connectivity in resting-state DMNs of first-episode, treatment-naive young adults with MDD. Increased functional connectivity in anterior medial regions of the resting-state DMN was associated with rumination, whereas decreased functional connectivity in posterior medial regions was associated with OGM. These results provide new evidence for the importance of the DMN in the pathophysiology of MDD and suggest that abnormal DMN activity may be an MDD trait.Copyright © 2012 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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