Cortical thickness and emotion processing in young adults with mild to moderate depression: a preliminary study

BMC Psychiatry
Bernice A FonsekaGlenda M MacQueen

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a multifaceted illness involving cognitive, emotional, and structural brain changes; illness onset typically occurs in adolescence or young adulthood. Cortical thickness modulations may underlie, or accompany, functional brain activity changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during emotional processing that tend to be observed in MDD. Thirteen unmedicated young adults with mild to moderate MDD, aged 18-24, completed a facial expression Go/No Go task and underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to assess cortical thickness. Cortical thickness and performance on the Go/No Go task was also assessed in age-matched healthy comparison subjects (HCs; N = 14). Participants with depression had thicker left pars opercularis cortices than HCs. They also exhibited impaired response inhibition to neutral faces when responding only to sad faces, and a faster response time overall. Though our sample size is limited, this pilot study nevertheless provides evidence for cortical thickening in left frontal brain regions in a non-severely depressed, young adult group compared to healthy controls. There was also evidence of disturbances in emotion processing in this group.

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Citations

Feb 28, 2017·Biological Psychology·Simone Messerotti BenvenutiDaniela Palomba
Sep 28, 2018·Journal of Psychopharmacology·Ewelina Rzepa, Ciara McCabe
Nov 7, 2019·Neuropsychopharmacology : Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·Qian LiQiyong Gong
Nov 2, 2017·Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience·Chuanlin ZhuDianzhi Liu
Jul 7, 2021·Journal of Affective Disorders·Fernando C KrauseMichael T Moore
Aug 18, 2018·Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry·Jee Su SuhBenicio N Frey
Aug 23, 2021·Psychosomatic Medicine·Esther Yuet Ying LauBenjamin Rusak

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
pharmacotherapy

Software Mentioned

ePrime
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences ( SPSS )
NimStim
FreeSurfer

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