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Background <p>Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease frequently comorbid with depression, yet the underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated functional connectivity (FC) alterations of emotion-regulation circuits and their association with inflammatory markers in psoriasis patients with depression.</p> Methods <p>Seventeen psoriasis patients with depression and 17 matched controls underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) examination. Seed-based FC analysis was performed to examine connectivity abnormalities of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC), a key emotional regulation region, with the following statistical thresholds: voxel-level <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001 (uncorrected) with cluster-level false discovery rate (FDR) correction at <i>p</i> &lt; 0.05 for multiple comparisons. Correlation analyses were conducted to evaluate relationships between sgACC connectivity patterns and depression severity (Self-rating Depression Scale, SDS), pruritus intensity (Visual Analog Scale, VAS), and serum levels of IL-6 and IL-17 in a subgroup of participants (<i>n</i> = 7).</p> Results <p>Psoriasis patients with depression showed increased sgACC connectivity with DMN nodes (posterior cingulate cortex(PCC), angular gyrus(AG)) and executive network regions (superior frontal gyrus (SFG), middle frontal gyrus (MFG)) versus controls. FC between sgACC-AG correlated with SDS scores (<i>r</i> = 0.598, <i>p</i> = 0.011), while sgACC with right SFG (<i>r</i> = 0.893, <i>p</i> = 0.007) and left MFG (<i>r</i> = 0.929, <i>p</i> = 0.003) connectivity positively associated with IL-17 levels.</p> Conclusions <p>The findings reveal a “dual-circuit” dysfunction pattern in psoriatic depression: sgACC-DMN hyperconnectivity linked to depressive symptoms, and sgACC-dlPFC (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) alterations associated with IL-17 elevation. These results establish the sgACC as a neural hub bridging inflammation and mood dysregulation, supporting the “skin-brain axis” hypothesis. The identified FC patterns may serve as biomarkers for targeted interventions in inflammation-related depression.</p>

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Altered subgenual anterior cingulate cortex connectivity in psoriasis patients with depression: a resting-state fMRI case-control study

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月16日

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  • Ni Liu,
  • Xiaoxu Wang,
  • Yanan Zhang,
  • Xue Han,
  • Fan Yi,
  • Jianwei Huo,
  • Tai Chang

摘要

Background

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease frequently comorbid with depression, yet the underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated functional connectivity (FC) alterations of emotion-regulation circuits and their association with inflammatory markers in psoriasis patients with depression.

Methods

Seventeen psoriasis patients with depression and 17 matched controls underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) examination. Seed-based FC analysis was performed to examine connectivity abnormalities of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC), a key emotional regulation region, with the following statistical thresholds: voxel-level p < 0.001 (uncorrected) with cluster-level false discovery rate (FDR) correction at p < 0.05 for multiple comparisons. Correlation analyses were conducted to evaluate relationships between sgACC connectivity patterns and depression severity (Self-rating Depression Scale, SDS), pruritus intensity (Visual Analog Scale, VAS), and serum levels of IL-6 and IL-17 in a subgroup of participants (n = 7).

Results

Psoriasis patients with depression showed increased sgACC connectivity with DMN nodes (posterior cingulate cortex(PCC), angular gyrus(AG)) and executive network regions (superior frontal gyrus (SFG), middle frontal gyrus (MFG)) versus controls. FC between sgACC-AG correlated with SDS scores (r = 0.598, p = 0.011), while sgACC with right SFG (r = 0.893, p = 0.007) and left MFG (r = 0.929, p = 0.003) connectivity positively associated with IL-17 levels.

Conclusions

The findings reveal a “dual-circuit” dysfunction pattern in psoriatic depression: sgACC-DMN hyperconnectivity linked to depressive symptoms, and sgACC-dlPFC (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) alterations associated with IL-17 elevation. These results establish the sgACC as a neural hub bridging inflammation and mood dysregulation, supporting the “skin-brain axis” hypothesis. The identified FC patterns may serve as biomarkers for targeted interventions in inflammation-related depression.