Abnormal spontaneous activity of regions related to mood regulation mediates the effect of childhood emotional neglect on major depressive disorder

•Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) experienced much severer childhood emotional neglect (EN) and poorer social support.•MDD patients showed changed regional homogeneity (ReHo) in the frontal/ parietal, occipital cortex, and cerebellum where processing about cognition and emotion.•EN could affect MDD not only directly, but also indirectly through ReHo in the distinct regions related to mood regulation and social support.•Combining EN, objective support, and the four distinct regional ReHo can assist the diagnosis of MDD.