title: EMOTION-PROCESSING BIASES AND RESTING EEG ACTIVITY IN DEPRESSED ADOLESCENTS.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although theorists have posited that adolescent depression is characterized by emotion-processing biases (greater propensity to identify sad than happy facial expressions), findings have been mixed. Additionally, the neural correlates associated with putative emotion-processing biases remain largely unknown. Our aim was to identify emotion-processing biases in depressed adolescents and examine neural abnormalities related to these biases using high-density resting EEG and source localization.
  
  
  METHODS
  Healthy (n = 36) and depressed (n = 23) female adolescents, aged 13-18 years, completed a facial recognition task in which they identified happy, sad, fear, and angry expressions across intensities from 10% (low) to 100% (high). Additionally, 128-channel resting (i.e., task-free) EEG was recorded and analyzed using a distributed source localization technique (low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA)). Given research implicating the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in depression and emotion processing, analyses focused on this region.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Relative to healthy youth, depressed adolescents were more accurate for sad and less accurate for happy, particularly low-intensity happy faces. No differences emerged for fearful or angry facial expressions. Further, LORETA analyses revealed greater theta and alpha current density (i.e., reduced brain activity) in depressed versus healthy adolescents, particularly in the left DLPFC (BA9/BA46). Theta and alpha current density were positively correlated, and greater current density predicted reduced accuracy for happy faces.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Depressed female adolescents were characterized by emotion-processing biases in favor of sad emotions and reduced recognition of happiness, especially when cues of happiness were subtle. Blunted recognition of happy was associated with left DLPFC resting hypoactivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Randy P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Auerbach
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Jeremy G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Colin H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Stanton
authors.affiliation: Abteilung Klinische Psychologie & Psychotherapie, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Gießen, Germany.
authors.forename: Erik M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Diego A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Pizzagalli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000786:Anger; D003463:Cues; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004644:Emotions; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D012146:Rest
keywords: adolescent depression; alpha band; emotion identification; emotion processing; theta band