AUTHOR=Fu Shishun , Liang Sipei , Lin Chulan , Wu Yunfan , Xie Shuangcong , Li Meng , Lei Qiang , Li Jianneng , Yu Kanghui , Yin Yi , Hua Kelei , Li Wuming , Wu Caojun , Ma Xiaofen , Jiang Guihua 

TITLE=Aberrant brain entropy in posttraumatic stress disorder comorbid with major depressive disorder during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1143780

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1143780

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Aim: Previously, neuroimaging studies on comorbid Posttraumatic-Major depression disorder (PTSD-MDD) comorbidity found abnormalities in multiple brain regions among patients. Recent neuroimaging studies have revealed the dynamic nature of human brain activity during resting state. Entropy as an indicator of dynamic regularity may provide a new perspective for studying brain function abnormalities among PTSD-MDD patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in the number of patients with PTSD-MDD. We have decided to conduct research on the resting-state brain functional activity of patients who developed PTSD-MDD during this period using entropy.
Methods: 33 patients with PTSD-MDD and 36 matched TCs were recruited. PTSD and depression symptoms were assessed using multiple clinical scales. All subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans. And the brain entropy (BEN) maps were calculated using the BEN mapping toolbox. A two-sample t-test was used to compare the differences in brain entropy between the PTSD-MDD comorbidity group and TC group. Furthermore, correlation analysis was conducted between the BEN changes in patients with PTSD-MDD and clinical scales.
Results: Compared to the TCs, PTSD-MDD patients had a reduced BEN in the right middle frontal orbital gyrus (R_MFOG), left putamen, and right inferior frontal gyrus, opercular part (R_IFOG). Furthermore, a higher BEN in the R_MFOG was related to higher CAPS and HAMD-24 scores in the patients with PTSD-MDD.
Conclusion: The results showed that the R_MFOG is a potential marker for showing the symptom severity of PTSD-MDD comorbidity. Consequently, PTSD-MDD may have reduced BEN in frontal and basal ganglia regions related to emotional dysregulation and cognitive deficits.