An fMRI study of emotional face processing in adolescent major depression
2013-02
Loading...
View/Download File
Persistent link to this item
Statistics
View StatisticsJournal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Title
An fMRI study of emotional face processing in adolescent major depression
Authors
Published Date
2013-02
Publisher
Type
Thesis or Dissertation
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a serious, often chronic illness associated with significant impairment and suicide. MDD often begins during adolescence when brain areas that regulate emotion processing are still maturing. To expand upon our limited understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of MDD early on in development, this study examined function within fronto-limbic neural circuits in response to an emotional faces task among depressed adolescents and healthy controls (HC) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). METHOD: 34 adolescents with MDD (12 medicated, 22 unmedicated) and 16 healthy age and gender matched controls completed an emotional faces task where BOLD response was examined when viewing happy and fearful faces (presented in a block design) during fMRI. Scanning was completed using a 3.0 Tesla scanner. Data preprocessing and analysis was carried out using FEAT in FSL. Whole brain group level analyses were conducted using a mixed-effects model (FLAME) with cluster-wise significant testing (min Z=2.32; cluster significance = p<0.05, corrected). RESULTS: In response to viewing fearful versus happy faces, MDD showed reduced activation in areas of the right thalamus, right insula, and right hippocampus compared to HC. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that emotion processing in adolescent MDD is associated with abnormalities in subcortical and paralimbic brain regions within the broader fronto-limbic neural network. It is possible that these findings reflect deficits in depressed adolescents' ability to elicit cognitive control from higher cortical regions and to accurately respond to and process the emotional significance of fearful stimuli.
Keywords
Description
University of Minnesota M.S. thesis. February 2013. Major: Psychology. Advisors:Bonnie Klimes-Dougan, PhD, Scott Crow, MD. 1 computer file (PDF); v, 46 pages.
Related to
Replaces
License
Series/Report Number
Funding information
Isbn identifier
Doi identifier
Previously Published Citation
Suggested citation
Jappe, Leah Marie. (2013). An fMRI study of emotional face processing in adolescent major depression. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/147495.
Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.