Functional connectivity of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex predicts emerging depressive symptoms between mid and late adolescence
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1
Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Australia
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2
Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, The University of Melbourne, Australia
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3
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia
Background: Alterations in the functional activity and connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) have been consistently found in depression, although it remains to be determined whether these changes represent a neurobiological vulnerability marker of the disorder. In this longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study we examined associations between ACC function and emerging symptoms of depression between mid and late adolescence.
Methods: 72 adolescents recruited as part of larger longitudinal study were included here. They had no history of mental illness at the time of baseline scan (T1; aged 16). Resting-state fMRI and ratings of depressive symptoms was acquired as this time point and two years later (T2; age 18). We used our previously published methods to evaluate the functional connectivity of 4 a priori subregions of the ACC; and to explore correlations between subregional connectivity and changes in depressive symptoms.
Results: As a primary finding, functional connectivity between the subgenual ACC and the posterior cingulate cortex, right angular gyrus, and right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex was significantly positively correlated with increased depressive symptoms between T1 and T2. Further analyses showed that the relationship between subgenual ACC and posterior cingulate cortex connectivity and emerging depressive symptoms was mediated by higher levels of trait rumination.
Discussion: Subgenual ACC functional connectivity predicted increased depressive symptoms emerging between mid and late adolescence. This observed pattern of connectivity, particularly implicating subgenual ACC and posterior cingulate cortex, suggests a broader role for the so-called “default mode network” in the emergence of adolescent depressive symptoms. Our results are coherent with an emerging view that this brain network may underlie disturbed self-referential cognitions in depressed individuals, including pathological rumination. For the first time, we have demonstrated that these associations may represent a vulnerability marker of emerging depression in late adolescence.
Keywords:
Depression,
Adolescent,
Resting-state fMRI,
functional connectivity,
anterior cingulate cortex
Conference:
ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference, Clayton, Melbourne, Australia, 28 Nov - 1 Dec, 2013.
Presentation Type:
Oral
Topic:
Emotion and Social
Citation:
Strikwerda-Brown
C,
Davey
CG,
Whittle
S,
Allen
N and
Harrison
B
(2013). Functional connectivity of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex predicts emerging depressive symptoms between mid and late adolescence.
Conference Abstract:
ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2013.212.00181
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Received:
15 Oct 2013;
Published Online:
25 Nov 2013.
*
Correspondence:
Miss. Cherie Strikwerda-Brown, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia, Cherie.strikwerda-brown@sydney.edu.au