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Loneliness and depression dissociated on parietal-centered networks in cognitive and resting states

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 October 2019

Robin Shao ,
Ho-Ling Liu ,
Chih-Mao Huang ,
Yao-Liang Chen ,
Mengxia Gao ,
Shwu-Hua Lee ,
Chemin Lin  and
Tatia M. C. Lee
Robin Shao
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
Ho-Ling Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Imaging Physics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
Chih-Mao Huang
Affiliation:
College of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Yao-Liang Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Imaging and Intervention, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan
Mengxia Gao
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
Shwu-Hua Lee*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan City, Taiwan College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
Chemin Lin*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung City, Taiwan
Tatia M. C. Lee
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Guangzhou, China
*
Author for correspondence: Tatia M. C. Lee, E-mail: tmclee@hku.hk; Chemin Lin, E-mail: chemin117@gmail.com
Author for correspondence: Tatia M. C. Lee, E-mail: tmclee@hku.hk; Chemin Lin, E-mail: chemin117@gmail.com
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Abstract

Background

Perceived loneliness, an increasingly prevalent social issue, is closely associated with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the neural mechanisms previously implicated in key cognitive and affective processes in loneliness and MDD still remain unclear. Such understanding is critical for delineating the psychobiological basis of the relationship between loneliness and MDD.

Methods

We isolated the unique and interactive cognitive and neural substrates of loneliness and MDD among 27 MDD patients (mean age = 51.85 years, 20 females), and 25 matched healthy controls (HCs; mean age = 48.72 years, 19 females). We assessed participants' behavioral performance and neural regional and network functions on a Stroop color-word task, and their resting-state neural connectivity.

Results

Behaviorally, we found greater incongruence-related accuracy cost in MDD patients, but reduced incongruence effect on reaction time in lonelier individuals. When performing the Stroop task, loneliness positively predicted prefrontal-anterior cingulate-parietal connectivity across all participants, whereas MDD patients showed a decrease in connectivity compared to controls. Furthermore, loneliness negatively predicted parietal and cerebellar activities in MDD patients, but positively predicted the same activities in HCs. During resting state, MDD patients showed reduced parietal-anterior cingulate connectivity, which again positively correlated with loneliness in this group.

Conclusions

We speculate the distinct neurocognitive profile of loneliness might indicate increase in both bottom-up attention and top-down executive control functions. However, the upregulated cognitive control processes in lonely individuals may eventually become exhausted, which may in turn predispose to MDD onset.

Keywords

Cognitive controllonelinessmajor depressive disorderparietal cortexresting state
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 50 , Issue 16 , December 2020 , pp. 2691 - 2701
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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Footnotes

The work was conducted in the Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan.

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