Work

Disrupted amygdala-prefrontal connectivity during emotion regulation links stress-reactive rumination and adolescent depressive symptoms

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: Rumination in response to stress (stress-reactive rumination) has been linked to higher levels of depressive symptoms in adolescents. However, no work to date has examined the neural mechanisms connecting stress-reactive rumination and adolescent depressive symptoms. The present work attempted to bridge this gap through an fMRI study of 41 adolescent girls (Mage = 15.42, SD = 0.33) – a population in whom elevated levels of depressive symptoms, rumination, and social stress sensitivity are displayed. During the scan, participants completed two tasks: an emotion regulation task and a social stress task. Using psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses, we found that positive functional connectivity between the amygdala and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) during the emotion regulation task mediated the association between stress-reactive rumination and depressive symptoms. These results suggest that stress-reactive rumination may interfere with the expression and development of neural connectivity patterns associated with effective emotion regulation, which may contribute, in turn, to heightened depressive symptoms.

Source: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.09.002

Authors: Carina H. Fowler, Michelle E. Miernicki, Karen D. Rudolph, Eva H. Telzer

Institutions: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Language: English

Topic: Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,650