Vulnerable brain regions in adolescent major depressive disorder: A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis.

Background: Adolescent major depressive disorder (MDD) is a significant mental health concern that often leads to recurrent depression in adulthood. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) offers unique insights into the neural mechanisms underlying this condition. However, despite previous research, the specific vulnerable brain regions affected in adolescent MDD patients have not been fully elucidated.

Aim: To identify consistent vulnerable brain regions in adolescent MDD patients using rs-fMRI and activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis.

Methods: We performed a comprehensive literature search through July 12, 2023, for studies investigating brain functional changes in adolescent MDD patients. We utilized regional homogeneity (ReHo), amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and fractional ALFF (fALFF) analyses. We compared the regions of aberrant spontaneous neural activity in adolescents with MDD healthy controls (HCs) using ALE.

Results: Ten studies (369 adolescent MDD patients and 313 HCs) were included. Combining the ReHo and ALFF/fALFF data, the results revealed that the activity in the right cuneus and left precuneus was lower in the adolescent MDD patients than in the HCs (voxel size: 648 mm, < 0.05), and no brain region exhibited increased activity. Based on the ALFF data, we found decreased activity in the right cuneus and left precuneus in adolescent MDD patients (voxel size: 736 mm, < 0.05), with no regions exhibiting increased activity.

Conclusion: Through ALE meta-analysis, we consistently identified the right cuneus and left precuneus as vulnerable brain regions in adolescent MDD patients, increasing our understanding of the neuropathology of affected adolescents.