BACKGROUND: Major depression is characterized by a negativity bias: an enhanced responsiveness to, and memory for, affectively negative stimuli. However, it is not yet clear whether this bias represents 1) impaired top-down cognitive control over affective responses, potentially linked to deficits in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex function; or 2) enhanced bottom-up responses to affectively laden stimuli that dysregulate cognitive control mechanisms, potentially linked to deficits in amygdala and anterior cingulate function. METHODS: We used an attentional interference task using emotional distracters to test for top-down versus bottom-up dysfunction in the interaction of cognitive-control circuitry and emotion-processing circuitry. A total of 27 patients with major depression and 24 control participants was tested. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was carried out as participants directly attended to, or attempted to ignore, fear-related stimuli. RESULTS: Compared with control subjects, patients with depression showed an enhanced amygdala response to unattended fear-related stimuli (relative to unattended neutral). By contrast, control participants showed increased activity in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann areas 46/9) when ignoring fear stimuli (relative to neutral), which the patients with depression did not show. In addition, the depressed participants failed to show evidence of error-related cognitive adjustments (increased activity in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on posterror trials), but the control group did show them. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest multiple sources of dysregulation in emotional and cognitive control circuitry in depression, implicating both top-down and bottom-up dysfunction.
BACKGROUND:Major depression is characterized by a negativity bias: an enhanced responsiveness to, and memory for, affectively negative stimuli. However, it is not yet clear whether this bias represents 1) impaired top-down cognitive control over affective responses, potentially linked to deficits in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex function; or 2) enhanced bottom-up responses to affectively laden stimuli that dysregulate cognitive control mechanisms, potentially linked to deficits in amygdala and anterior cingulate function. METHODS: We used an attentional interference task using emotional distracters to test for top-down versus bottom-up dysfunction in the interaction of cognitive-control circuitry and emotion-processing circuitry. A total of 27 patients with major depression and 24 control participants was tested. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was carried out as participants directly attended to, or attempted to ignore, fear-related stimuli. RESULTS: Compared with control subjects, patients with depression showed an enhanced amygdala response to unattended fear-related stimuli (relative to unattended neutral). By contrast, control participants showed increased activity in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann areas 46/9) when ignoring fear stimuli (relative to neutral), which the patients with depression did not show. In addition, the depressed participants failed to show evidence of error-related cognitive adjustments (increased activity in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on posterror trials), but the control group did show them. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest multiple sources of dysregulation in emotional and cognitive control circuitry in depression, implicating both top-down and bottom-up dysfunction.
Authors: Greg J Siegle; Stuart R Steinhauer; Michael E Thase; V Andrew Stenger; Cameron S Carter Journal: Biol Psychiatry Date: 2002-05-01 Impact factor: 13.382
Authors: Greg J Siegle; Wesley Thompson; Cameron S Carter; Stuart R Steinhauer; Michael E Thase Journal: Biol Psychiatry Date: 2006-10-06 Impact factor: 13.382
Authors: Greg Perlman; Alan N Simmons; Jing Wu; Kevin S Hahn; Susan F Tapert; Jeffrey E Max; Martin P Paulus; Gregory G Brown; Guido K Frank; Laura Campbell-Sills; Tony T Yang Journal: J Affect Disord Date: 2012-03-07 Impact factor: 4.839
Authors: Anne-Laura van Harmelen; Marie-José van Tol; Liliana R Demenescu; Nic J A van der Wee; Dick J Veltman; André Aleman; Mark A van Buchem; Philip Spinhoven; Brenda W J H Penninx; Bernet M Elzinga Journal: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci Date: 2012-01-17 Impact factor: 3.436
Authors: C M Sylvester; M Corbetta; M E Raichle; T L Rodebaugh; B L Schlaggar; Y I Sheline; C F Zorumski; E J Lenze Journal: Trends Neurosci Date: 2012-06-02 Impact factor: 13.837
Authors: Yvette I Sheline; Deanna M Barch; Joseph L Price; Melissa M Rundle; S Neil Vaishnavi; Abraham Z Snyder; Mark A Mintun; Suzhi Wang; Rebecca S Coalson; Marcus E Raichle Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2009-01-26 Impact factor: 11.205