title: How stable is activation in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex in adolescence? A study of emotional face processing across three measurements.
abstract: Prior developmental functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have demonstrated elevated activation patterns in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex (PFC) in response to viewing emotional faces. As adolescence is a time of substantial variability in mood and emotional responsiveness, the stability of activation patterns could be fluctuating over time. In the current study, 27 healthy adolescents (age: 12-19 years) were scanned three times over a period of six months (mean test-retest interval of three months; final samples N=27, N=22, N=18). At each session, participants performed the same emotional faces task. At first measurement the presentation of emotional faces resulted in heightened activation in bilateral amygdala, bilateral lateral PFC and visual areas including the fusiform face area. Average activation did not differ across test-sessions over time, indicating that at the group level activation patterns in this network do not vary significantly over time. However, using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), fMRI reliability demonstrated only fair reliability for PFC (ICC=0.41-0.59) and poor reliability for the amygdala (ICC<0.4). These findings suggest substantial variability of brain activity over time and may have implications for studies investigating the influence of treatment effects on changes in neural levels in adolescents with psychiatric disorders.
authors.affiliation: Curium-LUMC, Leiden University Medical Center, Endegeesterstraatweg 27, 2342 AK, Oegstgeest, The Netherlands. b.g.van_den_bulk@curium.nl
authors.forename: Bianca G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: van den Bulk
authors.forename: P Cédric M P
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Koolschijn
authors.forename: Paul H F
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Meens
authors.forename: Natasja D J
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: van Lang
authors.forename: Nic J A
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: van der Wee
authors.forename: Serge A R B
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Rombouts
authors.forename: Robert R J M
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Vermeiren
authors.forename: Eveline A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Crone
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult