Major depressive disorder (MDD) is increasingly characterized as a disorder of brain dynamics, but the temporal scale on which resting-state activity differs from healthy controls remains unclear. We analyzed resting-state fMRI data from 71 participants (51 MDD, 20 controls; OpenNeuro ds002748) using bilateral grid-extracted left–right difference signals projected into a control-defined latent space. Across 30 analysis configurations spanning five denoising pipelines, three latent dimensionalities, and two left–right correction settings, MDD showed reduced mean lag-1 autocorrelation in 24 of 30 configurations (integrated β = −0.0321, p = 0.036) and reduced AR(1) gain φ in 24 of 30 (β = −0.0316, p = 0.037), both robust to adjustment for pipeline, age, sex, and head motion. The broader autocorrelation area under lags 1–10 was not significantly reduced (β = −0.0099, p = 0.22), and lag-by-lag analysis localized the group difference specifically to lag 1. A model-comparison analysis identified AR-gain reduction as one of three competing candidate generative transformations rather than the unique winner. MDD is thus associated with a focal short-lag autoregressive carry-over reduction, a candidate latent-dynamical phenotype rather than a fully identified mechanism.
Objective Sex differences may help explain the heterogeneity of internet gaming disorder (IGD), but their neural basis remains unclear. This study examined sex-related alterations in functional connectivity (FC) in IGD. Methods 373 participants (85 males with IGD, 62 females with IGD, 141 male recreational game users [RGUs], and 85 female RGUs) underwent resting-state fMRI. The study used a 2 (group: IGD/RGU) × 2 (sex: male/female) between-subjects design. ReHo and FC were analyzed under this design with age as a covariate. ReHo interaction clusters served as seed ROIs for whole-brain FC analyses, followed by simple effect analyses for significant FC interactions. Results ReHo showed significant sex-by-group interactions in the bilateral postcentral gyrus, right middle cingulate cortex, and right fusiform gyrus. Seed-based FC showed significant interactions involving these regions. Simple effects indicated that, relative to same-sex RGUs, males with IGD predominantly showed lower FC, whereas females with IGD more often showed higher FC in connections involving perceptual processing, sensorimotor integration, behavioral regulation, self-related processing, and executive control. Conclusions IGD-related brain functional abnormalities may exhibit sex differences across multiple inter-regional FC patterns, providing new evidence for the sex-related heterogeneity in IGD. Given the cross-sectional design, these findings reflect associations rather than causal effects.
Aim This study compared AS, psychological vulnerability, and brain volumes in BPD and healthy controls and examined clinical–volumetric associations within BPD. Method Twenty-seven patients with BPD and 28 healthy controls completed the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 and the Psychological Vulnerability Scale. Three-dimensional T1-weighted images were acquired using a 1.5-Tesla MRI scanner, and regional volumes were calculated. Results In raw analyses, the BPD group had higher psychological vulnerability and total, cognitive, and social AS scores. After covariate adjustment, only social AS remained significant (p = 0.035). Bilateral putamen, anterior insula, caudate, nucleus accumbens, and total gray matter volumes were larger in the BPD group, persisting after adjustment (all p ≤ 0.018). Differences in left amygdala, posterior and total insula, posterior cingulate gyrus, and white matter volumes lost significance after adjustment. In the BPD group, posterior insula volumes were negatively correlated with total and social AS scores, remaining significant after controlling for confounders (r=−0.471 to −0.611; p = 0.004–0.036). Psychological vulnerability and cognitive AS were not associated with regional volumes. Conclusion Social AS may represent a specific dimension of BPD. Group-level differences in anterior insula and striatal volumes, together with dimensional associations between posterior insula volumes and AS, suggest distinct roles for insular subregions in BPD-related clinical and structural processes.
Severe, treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) remains disabling despite optimized pharmacotherapy and exposure and response prevention (ERP). Radiosurgical capsulotomy is an irreversible ablative intervention reserved for highly selected patients. This narrative review examines evidence from structural MRI, diffusion imaging, functional connectivity, electrophysiology, and radiobiology. The search was supplemented by a reproducible PubMed search across eight prespecified modules (856 records before and 739 after deduplication), with an audited 102-record core SRS/OCD set. Structural lesion mapping and a small longitudinal diffusion study support investigating pathway involvement alongside lesion volume, but do not establish a validated network mechanism or individualized targeting biomarker. Functional MRI and EEG findings in OCD and connectivity studies of other interventions provide complementary evidence but require cautious cross-modality extrapolation. Single-session irradiation must be distinguished from thermal capsulotomy; dose, prescription isodose, irradiated volume, and delayed toxicity require joint interpretation. We use “functional disconnection” as a hypothesis concerning downstream effects of tissue injury, not evidence of a nonablative or reversible treatment. Priorities include harmonized longitudinal imaging, dose-volume-connectivity analyses, cognitive and behavioral surveillance, and controlled evaluation of ERP timing. Current evidence supports a network-informed research framework without establishing a post-radiosurgery plasticity window or superiority of connectivity over conventional planning variables.
