Activation in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in response to maternal criticism and praise in recovered depressed and healthy control participants.
BACKGROUND
High family levels of expressed emotion reliably predict relapse in patients with schizophrenia and mood disorders; however, the neural mechanisms linking expressed emotion and relapse are unexplored. Dysfunctional activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of depression. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to assess focal activation changes in DLPFC in response to a novel psychosocial challenge stimulus developed from the expressed emotion construct.


METHODS
Healthy control subjects and fully remitted unipolar depressed participants completed blood oxygen level-dependent fMRI while they heard their own mothers making critical and praising comments about them.


RESULTS
Relative to control subjects, participants with a history of depression failed to activate DLPFC when they heard critical remarks. There were no differences between the two groups in their DLPFC responses to maternal praise.


CONCLUSIONS
Even if fully well at the time of testing, participants with a known vulnerability to depression respond differently to the psychosocial challenge of being criticized. These findings might have implications for our understanding of vulnerability to depression and to depressive relapse.
Hooley
Jill M
JM
Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massacusetts 02138, USA. jmh@wjh.harvard.edu
Gruber
Staci A
SA
Scott
Laurie A
LA
Hiller
Jordan B
JB
Yurgelun-Todd
Deborah A
DA
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D010100:Oxygen