Abstract
Background: Although reward processing is considered an important part of affective functioning, few studies have investigated reward-related decisions or responses in young people with affective disorders. Depression is postulated to involve decreased activity in reward-related affective systems. Methods: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined behavioral and neural responses to reward in young people with depressive disorders using a reward decision-making task. The task involved choices about possible rewards involving varying magnitude and probability of reward. The study design allowed the separation of decision/anticipation and outcome phases of reward processing. Participants were 9-17 years old and had diagnoses of major depressive disorder (MDD), anxiety disorders, or no history of psychiatric disorder. Results: Participants with MDD exhibited less neural response than control participants in reward-related brain areas during both phases of the task. Group differences did not appear to be a function of anxiety. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were associated with activation in reward-related brain areas. Conclusions: Results suggest that depression involves altered reward processing and underscore the need for further investigation of relations among development, affective disorders, and reward processing.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1031-1040 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines |
Volume | 47 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2006 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Decision-making
- Depression
- Reward
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Developmental and Educational Psychology