Objective
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors (“suicidality”). Of the three components of Joiner's interpersonal theory of suicide, two involve ...negatively valenced, self‐related beliefs: perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. However, the neurocircuitry underlying self‐processing and suicidality has not been fully explored. This study examined the association between suicidality and the neurocircuitry of regions relevant to self‐referential processing in adolescents with depression.
Method
Fifty‐eight adolescents underwent assessment and a resting‐state fMRI scan. Resting‐state functional connectivity (RSFC) analyses included two brain regions implicated in self‐referential processing: precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Suicidality was measured using the Index of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms. While controlling for depression severity, we conducted whole‐brain correlation analyses between suicidality and left and right precuneus and PCC connectivity maps.
Results
Suicidality was positively associated with RSFC between left precuneus and left primary motor and somatosensory cortices, and middle and superior frontal gyri. Suicidality was negatively associated with RSFC between left PCC and left cerebellum, lateral occipital cortex, and temporal–occipital fusiform gyrus.
Conclusions
Findings of hyperconnectivity stemming from the precuneus and hypoconnectivity from the PCC may reflect maladaptive self‐reflection and mentalization. However, additional investigation is warranted to further clarify these relationships.
Introduction
Native American and multiracial youth experience elevated risk for suicide ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA); however, intersectional identities are often unexamined in suicide ...research.
Method
We examined the prevalence of SI and SA, and the impact of intersectional identities (sex, sexual minority identity, and economic insecurity) on these rates, in 496 biracial Black‐Native American, 2,804 Native American, 14,220 Black, 5,569 biracial Native American‐White, 4,076 biracial Black‐White, and 118,816 White youth who participated in the Minnesota Student Survey.
Results
Black‐Native American youth reports of SI and SA resembled other Native American youth and were significantly higher than those reported by Black, White, and Black‐White (SA only) youth. While sexual minority youth reported higher rates of SI and SA than heterosexual youth, this difference between sexual minority and heterosexual Black‐Native American youth was smaller as compared to their peers.
Conclusion
Though they largely resemble their mono/biracial Native American peers, Black‐Native American youth show some distinct patterns of SA when accounting for their intersectional identities. Despite presumed similarities in systemic risk factors, Black and Black‐Native American youth differ considerably in reported suicidality. The experiences of Black‐Native American teens warrant further examination.
Neurobiological disturbances associated with reward and/or habit learning are theorized to maintain symptoms of anorexia nervosa (AN). Although research has investigated responses in brain regions ...associated with reward and habit to disorder‐specific cues (e.g., food) and presumed rewards (e.g., money), little is known about the functional organization of the circuits underlying these constructs independent of stimulus. This study aimed to provide initial data on the synchrony of networks associated with reward and habit in AN by comparing resting‐state functional connectivity (RSFC) patterns between AN and healthy control (HC) participants in these circuits and delineating how these patterns relate to symptoms. Using theoretically selected seeds in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), ventral caudate, and dorsal caudate, reflecting a continuum from reward‐ to habit‐ oriented regions, RSFC patterns were compared between AN restricting subtype (n = 19) and HC (n = 19) participants (cluster threshold: p < .01). Exploratory correlations between RSFC z‐scores and Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) scores, BMI, and illness duration were conducted. The AN group demonstrated lower RSFC between the NAcc and superior frontal gyrus, between the ventral caudate and frontal and posterior regions, and between the dorsal caudate and frontal, temporal, and posterior regions. In the AN group, lower NAcc‐ superior frontal gyrus RSFC correlated with greater EDE Global scores (r = −.58, CI: −.83, −.13). These resting‐state synchrony disruptions of the ventral and dorsal frontostriatal circuits, considered in context of the broader literature, support the utility of further investigating possible reward and habit disturbances supporting symptoms in AN.
Methods
In a 2‐year longitudinal study of 220 families, we examined how youth gender and adrenocortical and parasympathetic activity moderated reciprocal, bidirectional relations between parent and ...youth anxiety and depression problems.
Results
Maternal anxiety predicted subsequent youth anxiety and depression. Maternal depression predicted youth anxiety and, for daughters and youth with low adrenocortical reactivity, youth depression. Youth depression predicted maternal depression only for youth with high adrenocortical reactivity. There were no associations between paternal and youth psychopathology.
Discussion
Examining youth gender and psychophysiological characteristics that shape the nature of bidirectional influences may inform efforts to identify families at heightened risk for intergenerational transmission of psychopathology.
Abstract This study investigated whether major depression in adolescence is characterized by neurocognitive deficits in attention, affective decision making, and cognitive control of emotion ...processing. Neuropsychological tests including the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, the Continuous Performance Test–Identical Pairs, the Attention Network Test, the Iowa Gambling Task, the Emotional Go-NoGo Task, and the Face Go-NoGo Task were administered to adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) ( n = 31) and psychiatric diagnosis free controls ( n = 30). Findings indicated that compared with controls, depressed adolescents exhibited impaired sustained attention; a gender by group interaction on affective decision making such that depressed males tended to make less advantageous choices on the IGT; and an inverse pattern of correlations between depressive symptom counts and reaction time to affective stimuli, characterizing greater affective reactivity in depressed adolescents. Findings demonstrate that adolescents with MDD display selective neurocognitive impairments on tasks capturing ‘cool’ and ‘hot’ executive functioning.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) occurs frequently in adolescents, but the neurobiology of depression in youth is poorly understood. Structural neuroimaging studies in both adult and pediatric ...populations have implicated frontolimbic neural networks in the pathophysiology of MDD. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which measures white matter (WM) microstructure, is a promising tool for examining neural connections and how they may be abnormal in MDD.
We used two separate approaches to analyze DTI data in adolescents with MDD (n = 14) compared with healthy volunteers (n = 14).
The first, hypothesis-driven approach was to use probabilistic tractography to delineate tracts arising from the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Adolescents with MDD demonstrated lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in the WM tract connecting subgenual ACC to amygdala in the right hemisphere. The second, exploratory approach was to conduct a voxelwise comparison of FA. This analysis revealed 10 clusters where adolescents with MDD had significantly lower (uncorrected) FA than the healthy group within WM tracts including right and left uncinate and supragenual cingulum.
These preliminary data support the hypothesis that altered WM microstructure in frontolimbic neural pathways may contribute to the pathophysiology of MDD in adolescents.
A key objective in the field of translational psychiatry over the past few decades has been to identify the brain correlates of major depressive disorder (MDD). Identifying measurable indicators of ...brain processes associated with MDD could facilitate the detection of individuals at risk, and the development of novel treatments, the monitoring of treatment effects, and predicting who might benefit most from treatments that target specific brain mechanisms. However, despite intensive neuroimaging research towards this effort, underpowered studies and a lack of reproducible findings have hindered progress. Here, we discuss the work of the ENIGMA Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) Consortium, which was established to address issues of poor replication, unreliable results, and overestimation of effect sizes in previous studies. The ENIGMA MDD Consortium currently includes data from 45 MDD study cohorts from 14 countries across six continents. The primary aim of ENIGMA MDD is to identify structural and functional brain alterations associated with MDD that can be reliably detected and replicated across cohorts worldwide. A secondary goal is to investigate how demographic, genetic, clinical, psychological, and environmental factors affect these associations. In this review, we summarize findings of the ENIGMA MDD disease working group to date and discuss future directions. We also highlight the challenges and benefits of large-scale data sharing for mental health research.
The need for a multimethod approach to the study of emotion in children and adolescents is crucial, as is a multilevel analysis in which emotional experience is assessed at a variety of levels ...(Solomon, 2002). This review highlights the critical role of emotion theory when constructing and selecting appropriate assessment tools with a focus on Functionalist theory that emphasizes the importance of contextual variables (Barrett & Campos, 1987). The review begins with an examination of theoretical and pragmatic issues in emotion measurement followed by discussions of four basic methods of emotion assessment (i.e., self-report, other-report, observation, neurophysiology). Implications of emotion assessment for clinical practice and future directions for research conclude the review.
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