Abstract
BackgroundNeuroimaging research has determined deficits in the dopaminergic circuit of major depressive disorder (MDD) during adolescence. This study investigated how emotional contexts modulate the temporal dynamics of reward anticipation and feedback in adolescents.MethodsEEG data from 35 MDD and 37 healthy adolescents were recorded when they conducted a gambling task after being presented with emotional pictures.ResultsThe results demonstrated that both MDD and healthy adolescents exhibited the largest late positive component (LPC) in positive contexts at the frontal sites and the largest LPC in negative contexts at the central sites; however, MDD adolescents exhibited anticipatory LPC hypoactivation than healthy adolescents. However, MDD adolescents exhibited smaller gain feedback negativity (FN) than healthy adolescents independent of emotional contexts, positively correlating with the trait anhedonia according to the consummatory aspect of the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale. In contrast, MDD adolescents exhibited greater FN loss in positive and neutral contexts than healthy adolescents while no difference in FN loss was found between the two groups in negative contexts. Moreover, the FN loss amplitudes negatively correlated with hedonic tone according to the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale over the past week.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that MDD adolescents exhibited dissociable deficits in reward anticipation and gain or loss feedback that are distinctly modulated by emotional contexts, and they deepen our understanding of the modulation of emotional contexts on the temporal dynamic reorganization of the reward circuit in MDD adolescents.
Highlights
Adolescence is a critical period of developmental transition in cognitive, affective, and social domains [1]
The present study aimed to investigate how emotional contexts interact with reward processes in major depressive disorder (MDD) adolescents
The post hoc tests indicated that the Late positive component (LPC) amplitudes in MDD adolescents were lower than those in healthy adolescents; the LPC amplitudes for positive pictures were greater than those for negative pictures, which were larger than those neutral pictures; the LPC amplitudes at the frontocentral sites were the greatest
Summary
Adolescence is a critical period of developmental transition in cognitive, affective, and social domains [1]. As MDD impacts responses to emotional events, but extends to other cognitive processes (e.g., reward processing) carried out in the context of emotional engagement [5, 6], exploring the interaction between emotional contexts and reward processes is important for the understanding of the reward function reorganization in MDD across adolescence It is well-known that contextual factors (e.g., affective state/ mood) might promote or subvert goal-directed behaviors [7]. Changes in anticipatory effect might lead to goal reprioritization by modifying the salience of potential gains or loss: positive mood increases the value of reward motivation and activates corticostriatal pathways, including the nucleus accumbens, putamen, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex [9, 12,13,14]. This study investigated how emotional contexts modulate the temporal dynamics of reward anticipation and feedback in adolescents
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
