Previous resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) research has identified several brain networks impacted by depression and cortisol, including default mode (DMN), frontoparietal (FPN), and salience networks (SN). In the present study, we examined the effects of cortisol administration on rsFC of these networks in individuals varying in depression history and severity. We collected resting-state fMRI scans and self-reported depression symptom severity for 74 women with and without a history of depression after cortisol and placebo administration using a double-blind, crossover design. We conducted seed-based rsFC analyses for DMN, FPN, and SN seeds to examine rsFC changes after cortisol vs. placebo administration in relation to depression history group and severity. Results revealed a main effect of depression group, with lower left amygdala (SN)-middle temporal gyrus connectivity in women with a history of depression. Cortisol administration increased insula (SN)-inferior frontal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus connectivity. We also found that greater depression severity was associated with increased PCC (DMN)-cerebellum connectivity after cortisol. These results did not survive Bonferroni correction for seed ROIs and should be interpreted with caution. Our findings indicate that acute cortisol elevation may normalize aberrant connectivity of DMN and SN regions, which could help inform clinical treatments for depression.

之前的静息态功能连接（rsFC）研究已经确定了几个受抑郁和皮质醇影响的大脑网络，包括默认模式（DMN）、额顶叶（FPN）和显着网络（SN）。在本研究中，我们研究了皮质醇给药对不同抑郁病史和严重程度的个体中这些网络的 rsFC 的影响。我们采用双盲交叉设计，收集了 74 名有或没有抑郁病史的女性在服用皮质醇和安慰剂后的静息态 fMRI 扫描和自我报告的抑郁症状严重程度。我们对 DMN、FPN 和 SN 种子进行了基于种子的 rsFC 分析，以检查皮质醇与安慰剂给药后 rsFC 的变化与抑郁症病史组和严重程度的关系。结果揭示了抑郁症组的主要影响，即有抑郁病史的女性左下杏仁核（SN）-颞中回连接性。皮质醇的施用增加了岛叶（SN）-额下回和颞上回的连通性。我们还发现，抑郁症的严重程度与皮质醇后 PCC (DMN)-小脑连接的增加有关。这些结果未通过种子 ROI 的 Bonferroni 校正，应谨慎解释。我们的研究结果表明，急性皮质醇升高可能会使 DMN 和 SN 区域的异常连接正常化，这可能有助于为抑郁症的临床治疗提供信息。