TY - JOUR
T1 - Depressogenic self-schemas are associated with smaller regional grey matter volume in never-depressed preadolescents
AU - Liu, Pan
AU - Vandemeer, Matthew R.J.
AU - Joanisse, Marc F.
AU - Barch, Deanna M.
AU - Dozois, David J.A.
AU - Hayden, Elizabeth P.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work is supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research ( MOP86458 ) and Ontario Mental Health Foundation to EPH . Neuroimaging costs were subsidized by a Canada First Research Excellence Fund grant to BrainsCAN. Computing infrastructure support was provided by a Nvidia Corporation grant to MFJ.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s)
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Self-referential processing (i.e., self-schemas that guide processing of self-descriptive information) emerges early in youth, with deeper encoding of negative self-descriptors and/or shallower encoding of positive self-descriptors causally linked to depression. However, the relationship between depressogenic self-schemas and brain structure is unclear. We investigated associations between self-schemas and regional grey matter volume (GMV) in 84 never-depressed preadolescents oversampled for depression risk based on maternal depression history. Self-schemas were assessed using a Self-Referent Encoding Task (SRET) and regional GMV was indexed via voxel-based morphometry analysis of structural magnetic resonance imaging data. Youths’ positive self-schemas were associated with greater regional GMV within the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), while negative self-schemas were associated with smaller regional GMV within vlPFC and PCC, areas important to emotion regulation and self-referential processing. These associations remained significant after controlling for youths’ concurrent depressive symptoms. Exploratory mediation analysis suggested that adolescents’ depressogenic self-schemas may mediate associations between GMV and depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that the observed GMV variations within vlPFC and PCC may serve as neurobiological markers of depressogenic self-schemas during preadolescence.
AB - Self-referential processing (i.e., self-schemas that guide processing of self-descriptive information) emerges early in youth, with deeper encoding of negative self-descriptors and/or shallower encoding of positive self-descriptors causally linked to depression. However, the relationship between depressogenic self-schemas and brain structure is unclear. We investigated associations between self-schemas and regional grey matter volume (GMV) in 84 never-depressed preadolescents oversampled for depression risk based on maternal depression history. Self-schemas were assessed using a Self-Referent Encoding Task (SRET) and regional GMV was indexed via voxel-based morphometry analysis of structural magnetic resonance imaging data. Youths’ positive self-schemas were associated with greater regional GMV within the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), while negative self-schemas were associated with smaller regional GMV within vlPFC and PCC, areas important to emotion regulation and self-referential processing. These associations remained significant after controlling for youths’ concurrent depressive symptoms. Exploratory mediation analysis suggested that adolescents’ depressogenic self-schemas may mediate associations between GMV and depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that the observed GMV variations within vlPFC and PCC may serve as neurobiological markers of depressogenic self-schemas during preadolescence.
KW - Cognitive vulnerability
KW - Depression
KW - Grey matter volume
KW - Preadolescent
KW - Self-referent encoding task
KW - sMRI
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090880289&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102422
DO - 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102422
M3 - Article
C2 - 32949875
AN - SCOPUS:85090880289
SN - 2213-1582
VL - 28
JO - NeuroImage: Clinical
JF - NeuroImage: Clinical
M1 - 102422
ER -