Copyright
©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Aberrant resting-state functional connectivity in amygdala subregions among adolescents with depression and suicide attempts
Shao-Chen Cheng, Yong-Ming Wang, Yu-Tong Li, Qian-Nan Yao, Xin-Lin Huang, Jian Ji, Xiao-Bin Zhang, Hong-Yan Sun
Shao-Chen Cheng, Yu-Tong Li, Jian Ji, Department of Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi 154007, Heilongjiang Province, China
Shao-Chen Cheng, Xin-Lin Huang, Hong-Yan Sun, Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215137, Jiangsu Province, China
Yong-Ming Wang, School of Biology and Basic Medical Sciences, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou 215137, Jiangsu Province, China
Qian-Nan Yao, School of Medicine, Liao Cheng University, Liaocheng 252000, Shandong Province, China
Xiao-Bin Zhang, Department of Psychiatry, Suzhou Psychiatric Hospital, Institute of Mental Health, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215137, Jiangsu Province, China
Co-first authors: Shao-Chen Cheng and Yong-Ming Wang.
Co-corresponding authors: Xiao-Bin Zhang and Hong-Yan Sun.
Author contributions: Cheng SC and Wang YM analyzed data, wrote the paper, and revised the paper as the co-first authors of the paper; Li YT and Ji J organized data; Yao QN and Huang XL collected data; Zhang XB and Sun HY designed the study and reviewed the paper as the co-corresponding authors; all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Supported by Suzhou Clinical Medical Center for Mood Disorders, No. Szlcyxzx202109; Suzhou Key Laboratory, No. SZS2024016; and Multicenter Clinical Research on Major Diseases in Suzhou, No. DZXYJ202413.
Institutional review board statement: This research was supported by the Ethics Committee of The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow University, No. 2019-054.
Informed consent statement: All individual participants in this study provided informed consent forms.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest in this study.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement – checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement – checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The data analyzed in this study can be obtained from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See:
https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Corresponding author: Hong-Yan Sun, MD, PhD, Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow University, No. 11 Guangqian Road, Suzhou 215137, Jiangsu Province, China.
hoya12@126.com
Received: August 20, 2025
Revised: September 19, 2025
Accepted: November 3, 2025
Published online: January 19, 2026
Processing time: 133 Days and 23.6 Hours
BACKGROUND
Suicide constitutes the second leading cause of death among adolescents globally and represents a critical public health concern. The neural mechanisms underlying suicidal behavior in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) remain poorly understood. Aberrant resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the amygdala, a key region implicated in emotional regulation and threat detection, is strongly implicated in depression and suicidal behavior.
AIM
To investigate rsFC alterations between amygdala subregions and whole-brain networks in adolescent patients with depression and suicide attempts.
METHODS
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired from 32 adolescents with MDD and suicide attempts (sMDD) group, 33 adolescents with MDD but without suicide attempts (nsMDD) group, and 34 demographically matched healthy control (HC) group, with the lateral and medial amygdala (MeA) defined as regions of interest. The rsFC patterns of amygdala subregions were compared across the three groups, and associations between aberrant rsFC values and clinical symptom severity scores were examined.
RESULTS
Compared with the nsMDD group, the sMDD group exhibited reduced rsFC between the right lateral amygdala (LA) and the right inferior occipital gyrus as well as the left middle occipital gyrus. Compared with the HC group, the abnormal brain regions of rsFC in the sMDD group and nsMDD group involve the parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) and fusiform gyrus. In the sMDD group, right MeA and right temporal pole: Superior temporal gyrus rsFC value negatively correlated with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale scores (r = -0.409, P = 0.025), while left LA and right PHG rsFC value positively correlated with the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist interpersonal relationship scores (r = 0.372, P = 0.043).
CONCLUSION
Aberrant rsFC changes between amygdala subregions and these brain regions provide novel insights into the underlying neural mechanisms of suicide attempts in adolescents with MDD.
Core Tip: This study investigates the alterations in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) between amygdala subregions and the whole brain in adolescents with depression who have attempted suicide. Utilizing resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we identified diminished rsFC between the right lateral amygdala and the right inferior occipital gyrus, as well as the left middle occipital gyrus, in depressed adolescents with suicide attempts. This abnormality may indicate the neurobiological mechanisms underlying suicidal behavior in adolescents with major depressive disorder.
