Dynamic Functional Connectivity Changes in Parkinson's Disease With and Without Depression

Depression is a common non-motor symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD), considered a disorder involving dysfunction across multiple neural networks. Previous resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) studies of PD with depression (dPD) have overlooked crucial dynamic characteristics of brain networks. This study investigated dynamic functional connectivity (DFC) patterns in dPD. By collecting resting-state fMRI data from 50 dPD subjects, 82 ndPD subjects and 50 healthy controls (HC), we employed independent component analysis, sliding time windows and k-means clustering to identify DFC states. Intergroup comparisons and clinical correlation analyses revealed four recurrent states. Specifically, in State II, the fractional window and average dwell time progressively increased across the dPD, ndPD and HC groups, whereas in State III, the fractional window progressively decreased across the three groups. State II connectivity featured strong positive connections both within and between all networks. State III connectivity primarily exhibited strong negative connections between the ECN and SN/DMN networks, and between SN and DMN networks, whereas the ECN network internally, and between the SN and SMN/SMA networks, exhibited strong positive connections. The occurrence frequency and average dwell time of State II both showed a negative correlation with HAMD-17 scores. These findings suggest that a higher proportion of patients with dPD exhibit a state of relatively sparse connectivity, alongside abnormal network connectivity changes across the four states, providing new insights into the neuroimaging mechanisms of dPD.