A study published in Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07805-2) reveals that the frontostriatal salience network is significantly expanded in individuals with depression, with effects observed in multiple samples and across different age groups. The expansion, primarily due to network border shifts, was stable over time and unaffected by mood state, and was detectable in children before the onset of depression symptoms. Longitudinal analyses showed that changes in connectivity within this network tracked fluctuations in specific symptoms, such as anhedonia and anxiety, and predicted future symptom changes. The study used precision functional mapping and densely sampled longitudinal neuroimaging data to identify these changes, demonstrating that the salience network expansion is a trait-like feature of brain network organization, stable over time and detectable in children before the onset of depression symptoms. The findings suggest that this expansion may confer risk for depression and that changes in connectivity within the frontostriatal circuits predict the emergence and remission of depressive symptoms over time. The study also highlights the importance of using high-quality, densely sampled multi-echo fMRI data to accurately map individual differences in network topology. The results indicate that the salience network expansion is driven primarily by border shifts affecting three specific higher-order functional systems, with distinct modes of encroachment in different individuals. The study also found that changes in striatal connectivity with the anterior cingulate and anterior insula nodes of the salience network track the emergence and remission of anhedonia and anxiety symptoms, respectively. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying depression and may have implications for the development of targeted treatments.A study published in Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07805-2) reveals that the frontostriatal salience network is significantly expanded in individuals with depression, with effects observed in multiple samples and across different age groups. The expansion, primarily due to network border shifts, was stable over time and unaffected by mood state, and was detectable in children before the onset of depression symptoms. Longitudinal analyses showed that changes in connectivity within this network tracked fluctuations in specific symptoms, such as anhedonia and anxiety, and predicted future symptom changes. The study used precision functional mapping and densely sampled longitudinal neuroimaging data to identify these changes, demonstrating that the salience network expansion is a trait-like feature of brain network organization, stable over time and detectable in children before the onset of depression symptoms. The findings suggest that this expansion may confer risk for depression and that changes in connectivity within the frontostriatal circuits predict the emergence and remission of depressive symptoms over time. The study also highlights the importance of using high-quality, densely sampled multi-echo fMRI data to accurately map individual differences in network topology. The results indicate that the salience network expansion is driven primarily by border shifts affecting three specific higher-order functional systems, with distinct modes of encroachment in different individuals. The study also found that changes in striatal connectivity with the anterior cingulate and anterior insula nodes of the salience network track the emergence and remission of anhedonia and anxiety symptoms, respectively. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying depression and may have implications for the development of targeted treatments.