Altered basal forebrain regulation of intrinsic brain networks in depressive and anxiety disorders

Abstract

Depressive and anxiety disorders are characterized by altered connectivity within and between the default mode network (DMN) and salience network. Basal forebrain subdivisions, critical for regulating network activity, remain understudied across these conditions. To address this gap, we analyzed 7-Tesla resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from a transdiagnostic sample (n = 70), primarily with depressive and anxiety disorders, and healthy controls (n = 77). We used spectral dynamic causal modeling to assess effective connectivity between the medial septum/diagonal band (Ch1–3), nucleus basalis of Meynert (Ch4), ventral pallidum, and DMN and salience network. Healthy parti..