Abstract
IntroductionLittle is known about the neural correlates of mood states and the specific physiological changes associated with their valence and duration, especially in young people. Arterial spin labeling (ASL) imaging is particularly well-suited to study sustained cerebral states in young people, due to its robustness to low-frequency drift, excellent interscan reliability, and noninvasiveness. Yet, it has so far been underutilized for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying mood states in youth.MethodsIn this exploratory study, 21 healthy adolescents aged 16 to 18 took part in a mood induction experiment. Neutral, sad, and happy mood states were induced using film clips and explicit instructions. An ASL scan was obtained following presentation of each film clip.ResultsMood induction led to robust changes in self-reported mood ratings. Compared to neutral, sad mood was associated with increased regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the left middle frontal gyrus and anterior prefrontal cortex, and decreased rCBF in the right middle frontal gyrus and the inferior parietal lobule. A decrease in self-reported mood from neutral to sad condition was associated with increased rCBF in the precuneus. Happy mood was associated with increased rCBF in medial frontal and cingulate gyri, the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, and ventral striatum, and decreased rCBF in the inferior parietal lobule. The level of current self-reported depressive symptoms was negatively associated with rCBF change in the cerebellum and lingual gyrus following both sad and happy mood inductions.ConclusionsArterial spin labeling is sensitive to experimentally induced mood changes in healthy young people. The effects of happy mood on rCBF patterns were generally stronger than the effects of sad mood.
Highlights
Little is known about the neural correlates of mood states and the specific physiological changes associated with their valence and duration, especially in young people
To test the feasibility of examining mood states in youth using Arterial spin labeling (ASL), we investigated brain perfusion patterns involved in mood changes in a sample of healthy adolescents
Decreased regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the inferior parietal lobule following sad versus neutral mood induction is consistent with this region’s role as a component of the default mode network (DMN), a network of brain regions that are active during wakeful rest (Buckner et al 2008)
Summary
Little is known about the neural correlates of mood states and the specific physiological changes associated with their valence and duration, especially in young people. Arterial spin labeling (ASL) imaging is well-suited to study sustained cerebral states in young people, due to its robustness to low-frequency drift, excellent interscan reliability, and noninvasiveness. It has so far been underutilized for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying mood states in youth. We investigate these correlates using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique known as arterial spin labeling (ASL; Detre and Alsop 1999) following the induction of neutral, sad, and happy moods in a group of healthy adolescents.
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