title: Girls' challenging social experiences in early adolescence predict neural response to rewards and depressive symptoms.
abstract: Developmental models of psychopathology posit that exposure to social stressors may confer risk for depression in adolescent girls by disrupting neural reward circuitry. The current study tested this hypothesis by examining the relationship between early adolescent social stressors and later neural reward processing and depressive symptoms. Participants were 120 girls from an ongoing longitudinal study of precursors to depression across adolescent development. Low parental warmth, peer victimization, and depressive symptoms were assessed when the girls were 11 and 12 years old, and participants completed a monetary reward guessing fMRI task and assessment of depressive symptoms at age 16. Results indicate that low parental warmth was associated with increased response to potential rewards in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), striatum, and amygdala, whereas peer victimization was associated with decreased response to potential rewards in the mPFC. Furthermore, concurrent depressive symptoms were associated with increased reward anticipation response in mPFC and striatal regions that were also associated with early adolescent psychosocial stressors, with mPFC and striatal response mediating the association between social stressors and depressive symptoms. These findings are consistent with developmental models that emphasize the adverse impact of early psychosocial stressors on neural reward processing and risk for depression in adolescence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States. Electronic address: casementmd@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Melynda D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Casement
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Ecology and Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, 267 Cousteau Place, Davis, CA 95618, United States. Electronic address: aeguyer@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Amanda E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Guyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States. Electronic address: hipwellae@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Alison E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Hipwell
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States. Electronic address: mcaloonrl@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Rose L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: McAloon
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States. Electronic address: hoffmanna@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Amy M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, W415, MC 3077, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, United States. Electronic address: kkeenan@yoda.bsd.uchicago.edu.
authors.forename: Kathryn E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Keenan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States; Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States. Electronic address: forbese@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Erika E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Forbes
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008960:Models, Psychological; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010379:Peer Group; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012201:Reward; D012919:Social Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Adolescence; Depression; Parental warmth; Peer victimization; Reward; fMRI