Altered dynamics of brain connectivity in major depressive disorder at-rest and during task performance

•Several intrinsic networks are functionally altered in major depressive disorder.•Whether these functional alterations are present at rest and during task is unclear.•The DMN and executive network show altered pattern of neural connectivity during rest and task.•The salience network shows increased low frequency oscillations (LFO) amplitude during task only.•The motor and dorsal attention networks show reduced LFO amplitude during rest and task.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) has been associated with alterations in several functional brain networks. Previous studies investigating brain networks in MDD during the performance of a task have yielded inconsistent results with the function of the brain at rest. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging at rest and during a goal-directed task to investigate dynamics of functional connectivity in 19 unmedicated patients with MDD and 19 healthy controls across both experimental paradigms. Patients had spatial differences in the default mode network (DMN), in the executive network (EN), and in the dorsal attention network (DAN) compared to controls at rest and during task performance. In patients the amplitude of the low frequency (LFO) oscillations was reduced in the motor and in the DAN networks during both paradigms. There was a diagnosis by paradigm interaction on the LFOs amplitude of the salience network, with increased amplitude change between task and rest in patients relative to controls. Our findings suggest that the function of several networks could be intrinsically affected in MDD and this could be viable phenotype for the investigation on the neurobiological mechanisms of this disorder and its treatment.