title: An fMRI study of emotional face processing in adolescent major depression.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Major depressive disorder (MDD) often begins during adolescence when the brain is still maturing. To better understand the neurobiological underpinnings of MDD early in development, this study examined brain function in response to emotional faces in adolescents with MDD and healthy (HC) adolescents using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-two unmedicated adolescents with MDD and 23 healthy age- and gender-matched controls completed an fMRI task viewing happy and fearful faces. Fronto-limbic regions of interest (ROI; bilateral amygdala, insula, subgenual and rostral anterior cingulate cortices) and whole-brain analyses were conducted to examine between-group differences in brain function.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ROI analyses revealed that patients had greater bilateral amygdala activity than HC in response to viewing fearful versus happy faces, which remained significant when controlling for comorbid anxiety. Whole-brain analyses revealed that adolescents with MDD had lower activation compared to HC in a right hemisphere cluster comprised of the insula, superior/middle temporal gyrus, and Heschl׳s gyrus when viewing fearful faces. Brain activity in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex was inversely correlated with depression severity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Limitations include a cross-sectional design with a modest sample size and use of a limited range of emotional stimuli.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results replicate previous studies that suggest emotion processing in adolescent MDD is associated with abnormalities within fronto-limbic brain regions. Findings implicate elevated amygdalar arousal to negative stimuli in adolescents with depression and provide new evidence for a deficit in functioning of the saliency network, which may be a future target for early intervention and MDD treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States. Electronic address: japp0005@umn.edu.
authors.forename: Leah M J
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States.
authors.forename: Bonnie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Klimes-Dougan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States.
authors.forename: Ruskin H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.affiliation: Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States.
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States.
authors.forename: Alaa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Houri
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Noack
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States.
authors.forename: Bryon A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States; Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States.
authors.forename: Kelvin O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States.
authors.forename: Kathryn R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Cullen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008032:Limbic System / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D018401:Sample Size; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: Adolescence; FMRI; Fronto-limbic neural circuitry; Major depression