Effects of childhood trauma on sustained attention in major depressive disorder: the mediating role of brain activity and functional connectivity

Abstract

Background

Sustained attention deficits were reported more significant in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) than in healthy controls (HCs), and are pivotal in both the development and aggravation of depression. Childhood trauma is also common in MDD and the exposure to childhood trauma may impede sustained attention and increase the treatment resistance in MDD. However, the underlying neuro-mechanisms link the childhood trauma to sustained attention deficits in MDD remain unclear.

Methods

We collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data, and measured childhood trauma severity using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and sustained attention using the Continuous Performance Test, Identical Pairs version. After excluding subjects with significant head movement, 45 MDDs and 54 HCs were included in the analysis. We compared fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) between the groups, conducted whole-brain correlation analysis between the fALFF and sustained attention in the MDD group, and defined significant regions as the regions of interest for the seed-to-whole brain functional connectivity (FC) analysis. We further performed mediation analyses to investigate the relationships among the childhood trauma, fALFF and FC values, and the level of sustained attention in the MDD group.

Results

Compared with HCs, MDDs exhibited higher fALFF in the right middle frontal gyrus and left inferior frontal gyrus, and lower fALFF in the bilateral insular cortex, left medial orbital superior frontal gyrus and left angular gyrus (ANG.L). Whole-brain correlation analysis showed that impaired sustained attention was associated with increased fALFF in the left postcentral gyrus (PoCG.L), and FC of PoCG.L-left precentral gyrus (PreCG.L) and ANG.L-right superior temporal gyrus (STG.R) in the MDD group. Furthermore, mediation analyses showed that the fALFF in PoCG.L, and FC of PoCG.L-PreCG.L and ANG.L-STG.R mediated the relationship between the childhood trauma and sustained attention in the MDD group.

Conclusion

The fALFF in PoCG.L, and FC of PoCG.L-PreCG.L and ANG.L-STG.R might be potential neural substrate in the association between the childhood trauma and poor sustained attention in the MDDs, and might serve as potential intervention targets for the treatment of sustained attention deficits in MDDs with childhood trauma history.