Aberrant topographical organization of the default mode network underlying the cognitive impairment of remitted late-onset depression

• rLOD patients showed decreased FC of DMN.
• Patients’ DMN showed abnormal small-world properties.
• Abnormal small-world properties significantly correlated with the episodic memory.

To investigate the alteration of resting-state functional connectivity (FC) and topological organization of the default mode network (DMN), and their contribution to the cognitive impairment in remitted late-onset depression (rLOD) patients. Thirty-three rLOD patients and thirty-one healthy controls underwent clinical and cognitive evaluations as well as resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) scans. The FC networks were constructed by thresholding Pearson correlation metrics of the DMN regions, and their topological properties were analyzed using graph theory-based approaches. Nonparametric permutation tests were further used for group comparisons of topological metrics. Finally, multiple linear regression analyses were performed to examine the relationships between the network measures and cognitive performances. Patients displayed universally decreased FC of DMN and abnormal global topology of the DMN (i.e., increased characteristic path length Lp and reduced global efficiency Eglob) compared with healthy controls. According to the distance-dependent FC results, the long-distance connections were mainly involved in the connectivity between anterior and posterior hubs, and the short-distance connections were primarily located in the frontal lobe. There were significant correlations between the global topology and the episodic memory performance in rLOD patients. In conclusion, the present study indicated that the disrupted topological organization of the DMN might be considered as a potential biomarker of the episodic memory deficits in rLOD patients.