There is increasing focus on changes in reward sensitivity that take place across adolescence; in particular, puberty appears to be a time characterized by increased sensitivity to rewards. At the same time, puberty is a time characterized by a significant increase in depressive symptoms, and depression is characterized by reductions in sensitivity to rewards. The current project examines reward sensitivity as a latent trait, capitalizing on a combination of EEG, functional neuroimaging (fMRI), behavioral, and self-report measures. Along the same lines, we consider multiple assessments of depressive symptoms (e.g., parent and child reports) so that depressive symptoms can also be modeled as a latent trait. The current proposal examines both reward sensitivity and depression in a large (N=300) sample of girls, ranging from 9 to 14 years of age; moreover, this sample will be examined two years after the initial visit, so that both cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships can be examined. In our pilot data, we have focused extensively on the feedback-related negativity (FRN), an electrocortical response observed at the scalp as an apparent negativity approximately 300 ms following feedback indicating monetary loss compared to gain. Our work suggests that the neural differentiation between gains and losses is being driven by a reward-related positive potential that is generated in the ventral striatum-part of the basal ganglia that has been implicated in reward-related neural circuits. We have found that the FRN relates to fMRI-based measures of striatal response to rewards, as well as behavioral metrics of reward sensitivity. Moreover, we have found that the FRN is reduced in both adults and adolescents who are more depressed-and have recently found that reduced reward-related brain activity can predict changes in depressive symptoms over the course of two years among adolescents. The current proposal extends this work into a much larger and longitudinal sample, and incorporates multiple measures of reward sensitivity, depressive symptoms, and puberty. We will assess: a) the relationship between multiple measures of reward sensitivity and depressive symptoms in a large sample that spans adolescence at two time points, separated by 2 years (Aim 1); b) normative developmental increases in both reward sensitivity and depressive symptoms, especially as a function of pubertal stage (Aim 2); c) prospective relations between reward sensitivity and depressive symptoms over time, and whether reward sensitivity at the first assessment can predict changes in depression two years later (Aim 3); finally, if pubertal changes predicts a stronger link between reward sensitivity and later depressive symptoms (Aim 3). A number of secondary aims are also evaluated (e.g., specificity to depressive symptoms and not anxious symptoms; utility of salivary testosterone as a marker of pubertal stage; role of stressful life events). The present study will contribute to the literature on the developmental neurobiology of reward, as well as the neurobiological changes related to individual differences in depression and risk for depression across adolescence.

Public Health Relevance

We examine the role of pubertal stage and change on reward sensitivity (RS; measured using behavioral, ERP, fMRI, and self-report methods) and depressive symptoms among 300 females (aged 9 to 14) in a time-sequential design-and evaluate if low RS can predicts depression.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
3R01MH097767-04S1
Application #
8999705
Study Section
Child Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities Study Section (CPDD)
Program Officer
Garriock, Holly A
Project Start
2012-08-01
Project End
2016-05-31
Budget Start
2015-06-01
Budget End
2016-05-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
State University New York Stony Brook
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
804878247
City
Stony Brook
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
11794
Levinson, Amanda R; Speed, Brittany C; Hajcak, Greg (2018) Neural Response to Pleasant Pictures Moderates Prospective Relationship Between Stress and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescent Girls. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol :1-13
Infantolino, Zachary P; Luking, Katherine R; Sauder, Colin L et al. (2018) Robust is not necessarily reliable: From within-subjects fMRI contrasts to between-subjects comparisons. Neuroimage 173:146-152
Gorday, Julia Y; Meyer, Alexandria (2018) Linking puberty and error-monitoring: Relationships between self-reported pubertal stages, pubertal hormones, and the error-related negativity in a large sample of children and adolescents. Dev Psychobiol 60:483-490
Meyer, Alexandria; Carlton, Corinne; Crisler, Sierah et al. (2018) The development of the error-related negativity in large sample of adolescent females: Associations with anxiety symptoms. Biol Psychol 138:96-103
Jackson, Felicia; Nelson, Brady D; Meyer, Alexandria et al. (2017) Pubertal development and anxiety risk independently relate to startle habituation during fear conditioning in 8-14 year-old females. Dev Psychobiol 59:436-448
Nelson, Brady D; Hajcak, Greg (2017) Anxiety and Depression Symptom Dimensions Demonstrate Unique Relationships with the Startle Reflex in Anticipation of Unpredictable Threat in 8 to 14 Year-Old Girls. J Abnorm Child Psychol 45:397-410
Luking, Katherine R; Nelson, Brady D; Infantolino, Zachary P et al. (2017) Internal Consistency of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Electroencephalography Measures of Reward in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging 2:289-297
Speed, Brittany C; Jackson, Felicia; Nelson, Brady D et al. (2017) Unpredictability increases the error-related negativity in children and adolescents. Brain Cogn 119:25-31
Luking, Katherine R; Pagliaccio, David; Luby, Joan L et al. (2016) Reward Processing and Risk for Depression Across Development. Trends Cogn Sci 20:456-468
Pagliaccio, David; Luking, Katherine R; Anokhin, Andrey P et al. (2016) Revising the BIS/BAS Scale to study development: Measurement invariance and normative effects of age and sex from childhood through adulthood. Psychol Assess 28:429-42

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