Whole-brain structural covariance network abnormality in first-episode and drug-naïve major depressive disorder

There has been a growing interest in the abnormality of networks across the brain in major depressive disorder (MDD). We aimed to investigate the structural covariance networks in patients with first-episode and drug-naïve MDD using structural imaging. A total of 77 patients with first-episode and drug-naïve MDD and 79 healthy subjects (HS) were recruited, from whom high-resolution T1-weighted images were analysed. Incident component analysis was used to calculate the brain networks based on grey matter volume covariance. There were significant differences in salience network, medial temporal lobe network, default mode network and central executive network between MDD and HS (p < 0.05). Further, the disturbance of medial temporal lobe network was significantly correlated with the severity of depressive symptoms (p < 0.05). In conclusion, we found a novel abnormality in the brain network in the medial temporal lobe primarily involving the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus in patients with first-episode and treatment-naïve MDD.