TY - JOUR
T1 - Lower neural value signaling in the prefrontal cortex is related to childhood family income and depressive symptomatology during adolescence
AU - Palacios-Barrios, Esther E.
AU - Hanson, Jamie L.
AU - Barry, Kelly R.
AU - Albert, W. Dustin
AU - White, Stuart F.
AU - Skinner, Ann T.
AU - Dodge, Kenneth A.
AU - Lansford, Jennifer E.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grants RO1-HD054805 and T32-HD007376 , as well as grant P30-DA023026 from the National Institute of Drug Abuse . The authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.
PY - 2021/4
Y1 - 2021/4
N2 - Lower family income during childhood is related to increased rates of adolescent depression, though the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Evidence suggests that individuals with depression demonstrate hypoactivation in brain regions involved in reward learning and decision-making processes (e.g., portions of the prefrontal cortex). Separately, lower family income has been associated with neural alterations in similar regions. Motivated by this research, we examined associations between family income, depression, and brain activity during a reward learning and decision-making fMRI task in a sample of adolescents (full n = 94; usable n = 78; mean age = 15.2 years). We focused on brain activity for: 1) expected value (EV), the learned subjective value of an object, and 2) prediction error, the difference between EV and the actual outcome received. Regions of interest related to reward learning were examined in connection to childhood family income and parent-reported adolescent depressive symptoms. As hypothesized, lower activity in the subgenual anterior cingulate (sACC) for EV in response to approach stimuli was associated with lower childhood family income, as well as greater symptoms of depression measured one-year after the neuroimaging session. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that lower early family income leads to disruptions in reward and decision-making brain circuitry, contributing to adolescent depression.
AB - Lower family income during childhood is related to increased rates of adolescent depression, though the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Evidence suggests that individuals with depression demonstrate hypoactivation in brain regions involved in reward learning and decision-making processes (e.g., portions of the prefrontal cortex). Separately, lower family income has been associated with neural alterations in similar regions. Motivated by this research, we examined associations between family income, depression, and brain activity during a reward learning and decision-making fMRI task in a sample of adolescents (full n = 94; usable n = 78; mean age = 15.2 years). We focused on brain activity for: 1) expected value (EV), the learned subjective value of an object, and 2) prediction error, the difference between EV and the actual outcome received. Regions of interest related to reward learning were examined in connection to childhood family income and parent-reported adolescent depressive symptoms. As hypothesized, lower activity in the subgenual anterior cingulate (sACC) for EV in response to approach stimuli was associated with lower childhood family income, as well as greater symptoms of depression measured one-year after the neuroimaging session. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that lower early family income leads to disruptions in reward and decision-making brain circuitry, contributing to adolescent depression.
KW - Adolescent depression
KW - Child poverty
KW - Decision-making
KW - Prefrontal cortex
KW - Reward learning
KW - Socioeconomic status
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U2 - 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100920
DO - 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100920
M3 - Article
C2 - 33517111
AN - SCOPUS:85100030230
VL - 48
JO - Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
JF - Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
SN - 1878-9293
M1 - 100920
ER -