Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback Training of Amygdala Alters Resting-State Default Mode Network Connectivity in Major Depressive Disorder

Han Yuan¹, Raquel Phillips¹, Kymberly D. Young¹, Vadim Zotev¹, Masaya Misaki¹, Jerzy Bodurka¹, ²

We investigated possibility of brain plasticity effects in depressed subjects subjected to the real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rtfMRI-nf) training of amygdala activity during happy autobiographic memory recall. We compared the resting-state default-mode network (DMN) functional connectivity before and after rtfMRI-nf. Significant difference of DMN connectivity was found in the subjects after neurofeedback: increased in the medial prefrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex, but decreased in the right medial temporal gyrus. The within-group, correlation analysis found positive correlation between the difference of DMN connectivity and the happiness/memory scores during the neurofeedback. Our results demonstrate sustainable changes within DMN induced by rtfMRI-nf.