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Abstract

Objective:

A role for aberrant reward processing in the pathogenesis of depression has long been proposed. However, no review has yet examined its role in depression by integrating conceptual and quantitative findings across functional MRI (fMRI) and EEG methodologies. The authors quantified these effects, with an emphasis on development.

Method:

A total of 38 fMRI and 12 EEG studies were entered into fMRI and EEG meta-analyses. fMRI studies primarily examined reward anticipation and reward feedback. These were analyzed using the activation likelihood estimation method. EEG studies involved mainly the feedback-related negativity (FRN) event-related potential, and these studies were analyzed using random-effects meta-analysis of the association between FRN and depression.

Results:

Analysis of fMRI studies revealed significantly reduced striatal activation in depressed compared with healthy individuals during reward feedback. When region-of-interest analyses were included, reduced activation was also observed in reward anticipation, an effect that was stronger in individuals under age 18. FRN was also significantly reduced in depression, with pronounced effects in individuals under age 18. In longitudinal studies, reduced striatal activation in fMRI and blunted FRN in EEG were found to precede the onset of depression in adolescents.

Conclusions:

Taken together, the findings show consistent neural aberrations during reward processing in depression, namely, reduced striatal signal during feedback and blunted FRN. These aberrations may underlie the pathogenesis of depression and have important implications for development of new treatments.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to American Journal of Psychiatry
Go to American Journal of Psychiatry
American Journal of Psychiatry
Pages: 1111 - 1120
PubMed: 29921146

History

Received: 18 October 2017
Revision received: 7 February 2018
Revision received: 19 March 2018
Accepted: 26 March 2018
Published online: 20 June 2018
Published in print: November 01, 2018

Keywords

  1. Depression
  2. Reward
  3. fMRI
  4. EEG
  5. Meta-analysis

Authors

Details

Hanna Keren, Ph.D. [email protected]
From the Mood, Brain, and Development Unit, the Section on Mood Dysregulation and Neuroscience, and the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, Md.; the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park; the Department of Psychiatry, Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London.
Georgia O’Callaghan, Ph.D.
From the Mood, Brain, and Development Unit, the Section on Mood Dysregulation and Neuroscience, and the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, Md.; the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park; the Department of Psychiatry, Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London.
Pablo Vidal-Ribas, M.Sc.
From the Mood, Brain, and Development Unit, the Section on Mood Dysregulation and Neuroscience, and the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, Md.; the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park; the Department of Psychiatry, Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London.
George A. Buzzell, Ph.D.
From the Mood, Brain, and Development Unit, the Section on Mood Dysregulation and Neuroscience, and the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, Md.; the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park; the Department of Psychiatry, Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London.
Melissa A. Brotman, Ph.D.
From the Mood, Brain, and Development Unit, the Section on Mood Dysregulation and Neuroscience, and the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, Md.; the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park; the Department of Psychiatry, Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London.
Ellen Leibenluft, M.D.
From the Mood, Brain, and Development Unit, the Section on Mood Dysregulation and Neuroscience, and the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, Md.; the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park; the Department of Psychiatry, Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London.
Pedro M. Pan, M.D., Ph.D
From the Mood, Brain, and Development Unit, the Section on Mood Dysregulation and Neuroscience, and the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, Md.; the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park; the Department of Psychiatry, Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London.
Liana Meffert, B.Sc.
From the Mood, Brain, and Development Unit, the Section on Mood Dysregulation and Neuroscience, and the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, Md.; the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park; the Department of Psychiatry, Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London.
Ariela Kaiser, B.A.
From the Mood, Brain, and Development Unit, the Section on Mood Dysregulation and Neuroscience, and the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, Md.; the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park; the Department of Psychiatry, Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London.
Selina Wolke, M.Sc.
From the Mood, Brain, and Development Unit, the Section on Mood Dysregulation and Neuroscience, and the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, Md.; the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park; the Department of Psychiatry, Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London.
Daniel S. Pine, M.D.
From the Mood, Brain, and Development Unit, the Section on Mood Dysregulation and Neuroscience, and the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, Md.; the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park; the Department of Psychiatry, Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London.
Argyris Stringaris, M.D., Ph.D.
From the Mood, Brain, and Development Unit, the Section on Mood Dysregulation and Neuroscience, and the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Emotion and Development Branch, NIMH, Bethesda, Md.; the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park; the Department of Psychiatry, Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London.

Notes

Address correspondence to Dr. Keren ([email protected]).

Author Contributions

The first two authors contributed equally to this article.

Competing Interests

The authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

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