Increased amygdala activity during successful memory encoding in adolescent major depressive disorder: An FMRI study.
BACKGROUND
Although major depressive disorder (MDD) represents one of the most serious psychiatric problems afflicting adolescents, efforts to understand the neural circuitry of adolescent MDD have lagged behind those of adult MDD. This study tests the hypothesis that adolescent MDD is associated with abnormal amygdala activity during evocative-face viewing.


METHODS
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), between-group differences among MDD (n = 10), anxious (n = 11), and non-psychiatric comparisons (n = 23) were examined during successful vs. unsuccessful face encoding, with encoding success measured post-scan.


RESULTS
Compared to healthy adolescents, MDD patients exhibited poorer memory for faces. fMRI analyses accounted for this performance difference through event-related methods. In an analysis comparing successful vs. unsuccessful face encoding, MDD patients exhibited greater left amygdala activation relative to healthy and anxious youth.


CONCLUSIONS
Given prior findings among adults, this study suggests that adolescent and adult MDD may involve similar underlying abnormalities in amygdala functioning.
Roberson-Nay
Roxann
R
Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. rrobersonnay@vcu.edu
McClure
Erin B
EB
Monk
Christopher S
CS
Nelson
Eric E
EE
Guyer
Amanda E
AE
Fromm
Stephen J
SJ
Charney
Dennis S
DS
Leibenluft
Ellen
E
Blair
James
J
Ernst
Monique
M
Pine
Daniel S
DS
D000293:Adolescent; D000679:Amygdala / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood
D010100:Oxygen