Clinical significance of increased cerebellar default-mode network connectivity in resting-state patients with drug-naive somatization disorder

The cerebellum has been proven to be connected to the brain network, as in the default-mode network (DMN), among healthy subjects and patients with psychiatric disorders. However, whether or not abnormal cerebellar DMN connectivity exists and what its clinical significance is among drug-naive patients with somatization disorder (SD) at rest remain unclear. A total of 25 drug-naive patients with SD and 28 healthy controls were enrolled for a resting-state scan. The imaging data were analyzed using the seed-based functional connectivity (FC) method. Compared with the controls, patients with SD showed increased left/right Crus I-left/right angular gyrus (AG) connectivity and Lobule IX-left superior medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) connectivity. The FC values of the left/right Crus I-right AG connectivity of the patients were positively correlated with their scores in the somatization subscale of the symptom checklist-90 (Scl-90). A trend level of correlations was observed between the FC values of the left Crus I-left AG connectivity of the patients and their scores for the somatization subscale of Scl-90, as well as between the FC values of their Lobule IX-left superior MPFC connectivity and their scores for the Eysenck personality questionnaire (EPQ) extraversion. Our findings show the increased cerebellar DMN connectivity in patients with SD and therefore highlight the importance of the DMN in the neurobiology of SD. Increased cerebellar DMN connectivities are also correlated with their somatization severity and personality, both of which bear clinical significance.