Abstract
Numerous studies have shown differences in the functioning in the areas of the frontal-limbic circuitry between depressed patients and controls. However, current knowledge on frontal-limbic neural substrates of individual differences in mood states in everyday life in healthy individuals is scarce. The present study investigates anatomical, resting-state, and functional neural correlates of daily mood states in healthy individuals. We expected to observe associations between mood and the frontal-limbic circuitry and the default-mode network (DMN). A total of 42 healthy adults (19 men, 23 women; 34 ± 1.2 years) regularly followed for behavior and psychosocial functioning since age of 6, underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan, and completed a daily diary of mood states and related cognitions for 5 consecutive days. Results showed that individuals with smaller left hippocampal gray matter volumes experienced more negative mood and rumination in their daily life. Greater resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) within the DMN, namely between posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and medial prefrontal cortex regions as well as between PCC and precuneus, was associated with both greater negative and positive mood states in daily life. These rsFC results could be indicative of the role of the DMN regional functioning in emotional arousal, irrespective of valence. Lastly, greater daily positive mood was associated with greater activation in response to negative emotional stimuli in the precentral gyri, previously linked to emotional interference on cognitive control. Altogether, present findings might reflect neural mechanisms underlying daily affect and cognition among healthy individuals.
Highlights
The function and structure of frontal-limbic brain regions play a major role in the regulation of mood
We examined neural correlates of daily mood states in healthy adults
Negative and positive mood were each associated with greater resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) between posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and such regions as anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and precuneus
Summary
The function and structure of frontal-limbic brain regions play a major role in the regulation of mood. Individuals with MDD display greater neural responses to negative emotional stimuli in limbic regions including amygdala and hippocampus (e.g., Victor et al, 2010; Hall et al, 2014), as well as lower resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) between amygdala and such (pre)frontal regions as dorsal LPFC, ventral medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (e.g., Pannekoek et al, 2014; Connolly et al, 2017). Several studies indicated that MDD is characterized by resting-state functional hypoconnectivity between dorsal LPFC and parietal regions, which are involved in attending to the environmental cues, as well as hyperconnectivity among MPFC, ACC, and hippocampus, implicated in self-referential processes (e.g., Kaiser et al, 2015; Northoff, 2016). In MDD, this connectivity “imbalance” would contribute to shifting focus on self-oriented thoughts, potentially resulting in rumination (e.g., Kaiser et al, 2015; Northoff, 2016)
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