Common and disease-specific patterns of functional connectivity and topology alterations across unipolar and bipolar disorder during depressive episodes: a transdiagnostic study

• DOI: 10.1038/s41398-025-03282-x
• Publication Date: 2025-02-19T01:41:43Z
• Authors: Hao Sun; Rui Yan; Zhilu Chen; Xiaoqin Wang; Yi Xia; Lingling Hua; Na Shen; Yinghong Huang; Qiudong Xia; Zhijian Yao; Qing Lu
• Keywords: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry; RC321-571

Bipolar disorder (BD) and unipolar depression (UD) are defined as distinct diagnostic categories. However, due to some common clinical pathophysiological features, it is a challenge distinguish them, especially in the early stages of BD. This study aimed explore disease-specific connectivity patterns BD UD. was constructed over 181 BD, 265 UD 204 healthy controls. In addition, an independent group 90 patients initially diagnosed with major depressive at baseline then transferred episodes mania/hypomania during follow-up, identified initial episode (IDE-BD). All participants completed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) recruitment. Both network-based analysis graph theory were applied. showed decreased (FC) whole brain network. The shared aberrant network across groups (BD, IDE-BD UD) mainly involves visual (VN), somatomotor networks (SMN) default mode (DMN). Analysis topological properties three that clustering coefficient found UD, however, shortest path length increased global efficiency only but not indicate VN, SMN, DMN, which involve stimuli reception abstraction, emotion processing, guiding external movements, abnormalities affective disorders. separation dysfunction these by integration specific functions might be valuable biomarkers.