Approved Research

Network Analysis to identify vulnerability to depression under perceived adverse environmental conditions

Lay summary

Scientific rationale: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a chronic and potentially life-threatening disorder that affects over 300 million people across the world. It is the first cause of suicide, and it has been ranked among the top leading causes of disability worldwide in 2019 projected to be the biggest contributor by 2030. Among the risk factors, stress represents the most relevant. However, such risk factor is not equal for everybody: some individuals are stress-sensitive and prone to depression while others are not. Therefore, setting up a reliable method to identify the individual levels of vulnerability to depression is a global priority and the first step toward the development of effective preventive strategies. Recently, the network approach to psychopathology, according to which psychiatric disorders are conceptualized as a dynamic and complex system characterized by a causal interplay between individual symptoms, has increased visibility in the literature. Indeed, several studies have proposed that network features may be informative on the trajectory of the disorders and the response to treatment. Within the network theory of psychopathology, a quantifiable measure of an individual's susceptibility to change has been proposed. Specifically, the network theory of plasticity proposes that the strength of the connection among elements of the network, such as symptoms, is a measure of behavioral plasticity and thus of susceptibility to change brain functioning and behavioral outcome according to the environment. To date, nobody has applied the network approach in general populations assessing how network features, such as connectivity, can be informative to discriminate those individuals that are vulnerable from those who are resilient to psychopathology taking into consideration the environmental conditions.

Aim: By applying network approach identify specific network configuration able to identify vulnerable to depression individuals in the general population when experiencing different environmental conditions and investigate the role of subjective appraisal.

Project duration: The project is a part of my PhD thesis, and the duration is estimate for at least 2 years.

Public health impact: The results of the project will provide a useful diagnostic tool to identify individuals most vulnerable to stress and thus develop more effective and personalized strategies for the prevention and treatment of depression.