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Liu P, Vandemeer MRJ, Joanisse MF, Barch DM, Dozois DJA, Hayden EP. Depressogenic self-schemas are associated with smaller regional grey matter volume in never-depressed preadolescents. Neuroimage Clin 2020; 28:102422. [PMID: 32949875 PMCID: PMC7502366 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Self-referential processing (i.e., self-schemas that guide processing of self-descriptive information) emerges early in youth, with deeper encoding of negative self-descriptors and/or shallower encoding of positive self-descriptors causally linked to depression. However, the relationship between depressogenic self-schemas and brain structure is unclear. We investigated associations between self-schemas and regional grey matter volume (GMV) in 84 never-depressed preadolescents oversampled for depression risk based on maternal depression history. Self-schemas were assessed using a Self-Referent Encoding Task (SRET) and regional GMV was indexed via voxel-based morphometry analysis of structural magnetic resonance imaging data. Youths' positive self-schemas were associated with greater regional GMV within the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), while negative self-schemas were associated with smaller regional GMV within vlPFC and PCC, areas important to emotion regulation and self-referential processing. These associations remained significant after controlling for youths' concurrent depressive symptoms. Exploratory mediation analysis suggested that adolescents' depressogenic self-schemas may mediate associations between GMV and depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that the observed GMV variations within vlPFC and PCC may serve as neurobiological markers of depressogenic self-schemas during preadolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pan Liu
- Department of Psychology, Western University, Westminster Hall, 361 Windermere Rd, London, ON N6G 2K3, Canada; The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada.
| | - Matthew R J Vandemeer
- Department of Psychology, Western University, Westminster Hall, 361 Windermere Rd, London, ON N6G 2K3, Canada; The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Marc F Joanisse
- Department of Psychology, Western University, Westminster Hall, 361 Windermere Rd, London, ON N6G 2K3, Canada; The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Deanna M Barch
- Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, Campus Box 1125, 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - David J A Dozois
- Department of Psychology, Western University, Westminster Hall, 361 Windermere Rd, London, ON N6G 2K3, Canada
| | - Elizabeth P Hayden
- Department of Psychology, Western University, Westminster Hall, 361 Windermere Rd, London, ON N6G 2K3, Canada; The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
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