Structural and functional improvement of amygdala sub-regions in postpartum depression after acupuncture

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Human Neuroscience

Hanqing Lv¹  Yuanyuan Zhuo²  Xiaoming Ma²  Haibo Yu²  Bin Yan²  Zhuoxin Yang²  Yumei Zhou²  Jinping Xu³  Hong Zhao⁴  Xinru Wang⁵  Xingxian Huang⁶ 

[1] Acupuncture Department, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China;Acupuncture Department, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China;Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Modern Applied Research on Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen, China;CAS Key Laboratory of Human-Machine Intelligence-Synergy Systems, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China;Luohu District of Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, China;The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, China;The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, China;Acupuncture Department, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China;Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Modern Applied Research on Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Shenzhen, China;

关键词: postpartum depression;    acupuncture;    functional magnetic resonance imaging;    amygdala sub-regions;    functional connectivity;    voxel-based morphometry;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnhum.2023.1163746

 received in 2023-02-20, accepted in 2023-04-11,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

ObjectiveThis study aimed to analyze the changes in structure and function in amygdala sub-regions in patients with postpartum depression (PPD) before and after acupuncture.MethodsA total of 52 patients with PPD (All-PPD group) were included in this trial, 22 of which completed 8 weeks of acupuncture treatment (Acu-PPD group). An age-matched control group of 24 healthy postpartum women (HPW) from the hospital and community were also included. Results from the 17-Hamilton Depression Scale (17-HAMD) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were evaluated, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans were performed at baseline and after the acupuncture treatment. Sub-regions of the amygdala were used as seed regions to measure gray matter volume (GMV) and analyzed for resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) values separately. Finally, correlation analyses were performed on all patients with PPD to evaluate association values between the clinical scale scores, GMV, and RSFC values, while controlling for age and education. Pearson's correlation analyses were conducted to investigate the relevance between GMV and RSFC values of brain regions that differed before and after acupuncture treatment and clinical scale scores in Acu-PPD patients.ResultsThe HAMD scores for Acu-PPD were reduced after acupuncture treatment (P < 0.05), suggesting the positive effects of acupuncture on depression symptoms. Structurally, the All-PPD group showed significantly decreased GMV in the left lateral part of the amygdala (lAMG.L) and the right lateral part of the amygdala (lAMG.R) compared to the HPW group (P < 0.05). In addition, the GMV of lAMG.R was marginally increased in the Acu-PPD group after acupuncture (P < 0.05). Functionally, the Acu-PPD group showed a significantly enhanced RSFC between the left medial part of the amygdala (mAMG.L) and the left vermis_6, an increased RSFC between the right medial part of the amygdala (mAMG.R) and left vermis_6, and an increased RSFC between the lAMG.R and left cerebelum_crus1 (P < 0.05). Moreover, correlation studies revealed that the GMV in the lAMG.R was significantly related to the EPDS scores in the All-PPD group (P < 0.05).ConclusionOur findings demonstrated that the structure of amygdala sub-regions is impaired in patients with PPD. Acupuncture may improve depressive symptoms in patients with PPD, and the mechanism may be attributed to changes in the amygdala sub-region structure and the functional connections of brain areas linked to the processing of negative emotions. The fMRI-based technique can provide comprehensive neuroimaging evidence to visualize the central mechanism of action of acupuncture in PPD.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Huang, Zhuo, Wang, Xu, Yang, Zhou, Lv, Ma, Yan, Zhao and Yu.