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Changes of regional brain activity associated with the occurrence and severity of depression in diminished ovarian reserve patients
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  • Published: 10 March 2026

Changes of regional brain activity associated with the occurrence and severity of depression in diminished ovarian reserve patients

  • Miao Guo1,2 na1,
  • Yihan Li2,3 na1,
  • Jing Feng2,3,
  • Ping Chen2,
  • Liya Ma1,
  • Shurong Li2,
  • Xuan Zhou1,5,
  • Siwen Liu4 &
  • …
  • Dawei Zhang1,5 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Depression
  • Endocrine reproductive disorders
  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

Patients with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) often exhibit depression, which may aggravate the disease by affecting spontaneous regional activity in the brain. However, the differences of brain activity between DOR patients with and without depression are unclear. Eighty-five DOR patients including 42 depressive and 43 non-depressive patients, as well as 44 healthy controls (HC), were enrolled. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were obtained and preprocessed to calculate the measures of fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo), evaluating the differences of spontaneous regional brain activity between groups. In addition, relationships between fALFF, ReHo values of altered brain regions and scores of 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) were evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were also used to explore the suitability of the altered brain regions as potential neuroimaging biomarkers for evaluating the level of depression in DOR patients. Compared with HC, DOR patients with depression showed decreased intensity and concordance of regional brain activity especially in the frontal regions while DOR patients without depression exhibited decreased brain activity in the frontal, parietal regions and increased concordance of activity in the parietal, temporal regions. In addition, compared with non-depressive DOR patients, depressive patients displayed decreased brain activity in the frontal, temporal and parietal regions. DOR patients with moderate depression demonstrated decreased brain activity in the frontal and parietal regions when compared to patients with mild depression. Moreover, negative relationships were found between HAMD-17 scores and fALFF values of the right opercular part of inferior frontal gyrus, precuneus and postcentral gyrus, as well as ReHo values in the right middle cingulate gyrus and supplementary motor area. Moreover, ROC analysis revealed that both altered fALFF and ReHo values of impaired regions might be helpful for evaluating the level of depression in DOR patients. The accompanied depression in DOR patients might be associated with decreased intensity and concordance of brain activity in the frontal, temporal and parietal regions. In depressive DOR patients, the worse depression might be related to decreased brain activity in the frontal and parietal regions. These findings might provide new insights into the pathological mechanism underlying DOR with depression.

Data availability

The data supporting this study’s findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

The work was supported by the grants of: Special Project for Scientific Research of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Henan Province (Key Project) (No. 2023ZYZD09); Henan Province Key Research and Promotion Special Project (Science and Technology Tackle) (No. 222102310139).

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Author notes

  1. Miao Guo and Yihan Li are co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, 450000, Henan, China

    Miao Guo, Liya Ma, Xuan Zhou & Dawei Zhang

  2. Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, 450000, Henan, China

    Miao Guo, Yihan Li, Jing Feng, Ping Chen & Shurong Li

  3. First Clinical Medical College, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, 450000, Henan, China

    Yihan Li & Jing Feng

  4. Department of Oncology, Jiangsu Cancer Hospital & Jiangsu Institute of Cancer Research & The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210009, Jiangsu, China

    Siwen Liu

  5. Department of Gynaecology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, 450008, Henan, China

    Xuan Zhou & Dawei Zhang

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Contributions

Miao Guo and Dawei Zhang designed the experiments. Miao Guo, Yihan Li, Jing Feng, Ping Chen, Liya Ma, Shurong Li, Xuan Zhou and Dawei Zhang contributed to clinical data collection and assessment. Miao Guo, Siwen Liu and Dawei Zhang analyzed the results. Miao Guo, Siwen Liu and Dawei Zhang wrote the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Siwen Liu or Dawei Zhang.

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Guo, M., Li, Y., Feng, J. et al. Changes of regional brain activity associated with the occurrence and severity of depression in diminished ovarian reserve patients. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-41986-2

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  • Received: 30 October 2024

  • Accepted: 24 February 2026

  • Published: 10 March 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-41986-2

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Keywords

  • Diminished ovarian reserve
  • Depression
  • Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging
  • Spontaneous brain activities
  • Fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation
  • Regional homogeneity
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