Effects of bright light therapy on cingulate cortex dynamic functional connectivity and neurotransmitter activity in subthreshold depression

Motivation: Bright light therapy (BLT) is one of the effective interventions for subthreshold depression, but its neural mechanism is still unclear. Goal(s): The goal of this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial was to assess the correlation between BLT and the dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) changes in the cingulate cortex along with distribution of specific neurotransmitters in subthreshold depression. Approach: A double-blind randomized controlled trialResults: BLT alleviates depressive symptoms and changes the cingulate cortex dFC variability in subthreshold depression. And pre-treatment dFC variability of the cingulate cortex could be used as a biomarker for improved BLT treatment in subthreshold depression. Impact: BLT alleviates depressive symptoms and changes the cingulate cortex dFC variability in subthreshold depression, which raises the possibility that pre-treatment dFC variability of the cingulate cortex could be used as a biomarker for improved BLT treatment in subthreshold depression.