Barraclough M, McKie S, Parker B, et al. - For SLE groups, the presence of altered functional connectivity (FC) in default mode network (DMN) nodes was observed regardless of disease activity. Some of this impact is attributable to depression but SLE directly accounted for more. If these alterations may be a precursor to cognitive dysfunction (CD) in SLE, rs-fMRI may serve as an early marker for CD in SLE and aid in future CD in SLE treatment trials.

• This study utilizes data from 19 SLE-active, 23 SLE-stable and 30 healthy controls (HC) participants, to determine SLE impacts on FC within the DMN employing resting state fMRI—and how depression may influence this.

• Applying independent component analysis, 14 DMN nodes were described, and in five nodes, significantly decreased FC was seen in the SLE groups vs the HC group.

• Correlation of depression score with only one factor, generated in factor analysis, was observed for both the HC group (r _s =-0.510) and SLE groups combined (r _s =-0.390).

• According to mediation analysis, depression score accounted for 22% of the altered FC in the DMN, and the rest of the 78% was explained by disease state.