Qigong Institute

Author: Manuel Blickle¹, Catherina Klüpfel¹, György A Homola², Matthias Gamer³, Martin J Herrmann¹, Stefan Störk⁴, Götz Gelbrich⁵, Peter U Heuschmann⁵, Jürgen Deckert¹, Mirko Pham², Andreas Menke⁶
Affiliation:
¹ Center of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Würzburg, Margarete-Höppel-Platz 1, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
² Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Str. 11, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Marcusstr. 9-11, 97070, Würzburg, Germany.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Würzburg, Oberdürrbacher Str. 6, 97080, Würzburg, Germany; Department of Clinical Research & Epidemiology, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center, University Hospital Würzburg, Am Schwarzenberg 15, 97078, Würzburg, Germany.
⁵ Department of Clinical Research & Epidemiology, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center, University Hospital Würzburg, Am Schwarzenberg 15, 97078, Würzburg, Germany; Clinical Trial Center, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
⁶ Center of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Würzburg, Margarete-Höppel-Platz 1, 97080, Würzburg, Germany; Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Park Chiemseeblick, Rasthausstr. 25, 83233, Bernau am Chiemsee, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany. Electronic address: a.menke@medicalpark.de.
Conference/Journal: J Psychiatr Res
Date published: 2023 Dec 12
Other: Volume ID: 170 , Pages: 122-129 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.11.044. , Word Count: 275

Background and objective:
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with increased cardiac morbidity. Reduced heart rate variability (HRV) as well as lower interoceptive accuracy (IAc) have been observed in MDD as possible sympathomimetic mechanisms related to insula activity. The salience network (SN) anchored by the insula has been posited as a crucial functional network for cardiac sensations and the default mode network (DMN) for MDD. This study aimed to investigate the relation between insula-centered and depression-related brain networks, IAc and HRV in patients with depression as a possible mechanism by which MDD increases cardiac morbidity.

Methods:
30 depressed inpatients and 30 healthy subjects (derived from the population-based "Characteristics and Course of Heart Failure Stages A-B and Determinants of Progression" cohort study, STAAB) all over 50 years were examined. HRV and IAc were assessed via electrocardiogram and a heartbeat perception task prior to a 3 T resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Seed-to-voxel resting-state functional connectivity (FC) analysis was conducted with six seeds in the insula and two seeds in the DMN.

Results:
Depressed patients on the one hand showed decreased FC between insula cortex and frontal as well occipital cortical brain regions compared to controls. Depressed patients on the other hand exhibited higher FC between the medial prefrontal cortex and the insula cortex compared to controls. However, depressed patients did not differ in HRV nor in IAc compared to controls.

Conclusion:
Thus, differences in insula-related brain networks in depression in our study were not mirrored by differences in HRV and IAc. Future research is needed to define the mechanism by which depression increases cardiac morbidity.

Keywords: Depression; Heart rate variability; Interoceptive accuracy; Resting-state fMRI; Salience network.

PMID: 38134721 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.11.044

Qigong and Energy Medicine Database™

Heart rate variability, interoceptive accuracy and functional connectivity in middle-aged and older patients with depression