title: Increased amygdala activity during successful memory encoding in adolescent major depressive disorder: An FMRI study.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. rrobersonnay@vcu.edu
authors.forename: Roxann
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roberson-Nay
authors.forename: Erin B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: McClure
authors.forename: Christopher S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Monk
authors.forename: Eric E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Amanda E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Guyer
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Fromm
authors.forename: Dennis S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Charney
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Leibenluft
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blair
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ernst
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Pine
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen