Brain age reveals heterogeneous lifespan development of functional networks in depression

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre 

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a heterogeneous disorder with onset spanning early adolescence to older adulthood (Malhi & Mann, 2018), closely linked to abnormal brain lifespan development (Schmaal et al., 2017). Previous studies have established brain age prediction models, showing that MDD patients generally have an older brain age than HCs (Dunlop et al., 2021; Han et al., 2021). However, heterogeneity in brain age deviations among MDD patients and its links to divergent developmental trajectories of functional networks, clinical profiles, and gene expression patterns remain unclear. Addressing these issues could provide deeper insights into MDD neurodevelopmental heterogeneity.