Neural Indicators of Anhedonia: Predictors and Mechanisms of Treatment Change in a Randomized Clinical Trial in Early Childhood Depression
- PMID: 33153527
- DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.06.032
Neural Indicators of Anhedonia: Predictors and Mechanisms of Treatment Change in a Randomized Clinical Trial in Early Childhood Depression
Abstract
Background: Early childhood depression is associated with anhedonia and reduced event-related potential (ERP) responses to rewarding or pleasant stimuli. Whether these neural measures are indicators of target engagement or treatment outcome is not yet known.
Methods: We measured ERP responses to win and loss feedback in a guessing task and to pleasant versus neutral pictures in young (4.0-6.9 years of age) depressed children before and after randomization to either 18 weeks of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy-Emotion Development (PCIT-ED) or waitlist.
Results: Analyses included reward positivity (RewP) data from 118 children randomly assigned to PCIT-ED (n = 60) or waitlist (n = 58) at baseline and late positive potential (LPP) data from 99 children (44 assigned to PCIT-ED vs. 55 assigned to waitlist) at baseline. Children undergoing PCIT-ED showed a greater reduction in anhedonia (F1,103 = 10.32, p = .002, partial η2 = .09). RewP reward responses increased more (F1,86 = 5.98, p = .02, partial η2 = .07) for PCIT-ED, but a greater change in RewP was not significantly associated with a greater reduction in major depressive disorder symptoms (r = -.12, p > .4). Baseline RewP did not predict treatment change. LPPs to positive pictures did not change across treatment, but greater baseline LPPs to positive pictures predicted a higher likelihood of remission from major depressive disorder in children undergoing PCIT-ED (B = 0.14; SE = 0.07; odds ratio = 1.15; p = .03).
Conclusions: The ERP reward response improved in young children with depression during a treatment designed to enhance emotion development, providing evidence of target engagement of the neural systems associated with reward. Further, greater baseline LPP responses to positive pictures was associated with a greater likelihood of depression remission, suggesting that this ERP measure can predict which children are most likely to respond to treatment.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02076425.
Keywords: Anhedonia; Clinical trial; Depression; ERP; Preschool; Reward.
Copyright © 2020 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Similar articles
-
Neural Indicators of Anhedonia: Predictors and Mechanisms of Treatment Change in a Randomized Clinical Trial in Early Childhood Depression.Biol Psychiatry. 2019 May 15;85(10):863-871. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.11.021. Epub 2018 Dec 4. Biol Psychiatry. 2019. Retraction in: Biol Psychiatry. 2020 Dec 1;88(11):888. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.08.010. PMID: 30583852 Free PMC article. Retracted. Clinical Trial.
-
Preschool-Onset Major Depressive Disorder is Characterized by Electrocortical Deficits in Processing Pleasant Emotional Pictures.J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2020 Jan;48(1):91-108. doi: 10.1007/s10802-019-00585-8. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2020. PMID: 31515716 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
-
Reduced neural response to reward and pleasant pictures independently relate to depression.Psychol Med. 2021 Apr;51(5):741-749. doi: 10.1017/S0033291719003659. Epub 2020 Jan 7. Psychol Med. 2021. PMID: 31907094
-
Reduced reward responsiveness and depression vulnerability: Consideration of social contexts and implications for intervention.Psychophysiology. 2024 Jun;61(6):e14528. doi: 10.1111/psyp.14528. Epub 2024 Jan 23. Psychophysiology. 2024. PMID: 38263892 Review.
-
Pathways to depression: Dynamic associations between neural responses to appetitive cues in the environment, stress, and the development of illness.Psychophysiology. 2023 Jan;60(1):e14193. doi: 10.1111/psyp.14193. Epub 2022 Oct 18. Psychophysiology. 2023. PMID: 36256483 Review.
Cited by
-
Novel mechanism-based treatments for pediatric anxiety and depressive disorders.Neuropsychopharmacology. 2024 Jan;49(1):262-275. doi: 10.1038/s41386-023-01709-x. Epub 2023 Aug 22. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2024. PMID: 37608220 Review.
-
Deficits in doors P300 amplitude during adolescence associated with preschool-onset depression.Psychophysiology. 2023 Oct;60(10):e14331. doi: 10.1111/psyp.14331. Epub 2023 May 12. Psychophysiology. 2023. PMID: 37171040 Free PMC article.
-
Neural responsiveness to reward and suicidal ideation in social anxiety and major depression before and after psychotherapy.Biol Psychol. 2023 Mar;178:108520. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108520. Epub 2023 Feb 17. Biol Psychol. 2023. PMID: 36801433 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
-
Environmental Conditions to Promote Healthy Childhood Brain/Behavioral Development: Informing Early Preventive Interventions for Delivery in Routine Care.Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci. 2022 Jul;2(3):233-241. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.10.003. Epub 2021 Oct 21. Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci. 2022. PMID: 35855293 Free PMC article.
-
Event-related potential studies of emotion regulation: A review of recent progress and future directions.Int J Psychophysiol. 2022 Jun;176:73-88. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.03.008. Epub 2022 Mar 25. Int J Psychophysiol. 2022. PMID: 35346736 Free PMC article. Review.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Associated data
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous