title: The neurobiology of self-processing in abused depressed adolescents.
abstract: Maltreatment is associated with chronic depression, high negative self-attributions, and lifetime psychopathology. Adolescence is a sensitive period for the formation of self-concept. Identifying neurobiomarkers of self-processing in depressed adolescents with and without maltreatment may parse the effects of trauma and depression on self-development and chronic psychopathology. Depressed adolescents (n = 86) maltreated due to omission (DO, n = 13) or commission (DCM, n = 28) or without maltreatment (DC, n = 45), and HCs (HC, n = 37) appraised positive and negative self-descriptors in the scanner. DCM and DO showed hypoactivity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) while processing positive versus negative self-descriptors compared to DC youth, who in turn showed reduced dACC recruitment versus HC. HC youth showed the highest activation in the dACC and striatum during positive self-descriptors; these regions showed a linear decline in activity across DC, DO, and DCM. Low dACC activity to positive versus negative self-descriptors was linked to inadequate coregulation of children's emotions by parents. Negative self-cognitions prevalent in DCM and DO adolescents may be perpetuated by activity in the dACC and striatum. Reduced activation of the dACC and striatum for positive self-descriptors, coupled with enhanced activity for negative self-descriptors, may heighten the risk for persistent depression.
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota.
authors.forename: Karina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Quevedo
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development.
authors.forename: Rowena
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh.
authors.forename: Garry
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Smyda
authors.affiliation: University of Oregon.
authors.forename: Jennifer H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Pfeifer
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Malone
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002649:Child Abuse; D003863:Depression / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012649:Self Concept