Risk for depression and neural responses to fearful facial expressions of emotion

Abstract

Background: Depression is associated with neural abnormalities in emotional processing.

Aims: This study explored whether these abnormalities underlie risk for depression.

Method: We compared the neural responses of volunteers who were at high and low-risk for the development of depression (by virtue of high and low neuroticism scores; high-N group and low-N group respectively) during the presentation of fearful and happy faces using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Results: The high-N group demonstrated linear increases in response in the right fusiform gyrus and left middle temporal gyrus to expressions of increasing fear, whereas the low-N group demonstrated the opposite effect. The high-N group also displayed greater responses in the right amygdala, cerebellum, left middle frontal and bilateral parietal gyri to medium levels of fearful v. happy expressions.

Conclusions: Risk for depression is associated with enhanced neural responses to fearful facial expressions similar to those observed in acute depression.