Longitudinal Associations Between Reward Responsiveness and Depression Across Adolescence

Abstract

Objective: Lower neural response to reward predicts subsequent depression during adolescence. Both pubertal development and biological sex have important effects on reward system development and depression during this period. However, relations among these variables across the transition from childhood to adolescence are not well characterized.

Method: Depressive symptoms, pubertal status, and the reward positivity (RewP) event-related potential component, a neural indicator of reward responsivity, were assessed in 609 community-recruited youth at 9, 12, and 15 years of age. Structural equation modeling was used to examine concurrent and prospective relations within and between depression and reward responsiveness as well as the influence of pubertal status and biological sex on these variables across assessments.

Results: Stability paths for depression, the RewP, and pubertal status were significant across assessments. Compared with male participants, female participants reported more advanced pubertal status at all assessments, a smaller RewP at age 9, and higher levels of depression at age 15. More advanced pubertal status was associated with a larger RewP at age 15. Most importantly, there were bidirectional prospective effects between the RewP and depression from ages 12 to 15; a lower RewP at age 12 predicted increases in depression at age 15, whereas increased depression at age 12 predicted a lower RewP at age 15.

Conclusion: These findings indicate that there are bidirectional prospective effects between reward responsiveness and depression that emerge between ages 12 and 15. This may be a crucial time for studying bidirectional reward responsiveness-depression associations across time.

Keywords: RewP; depression; longitudinal; reward positivity; reward responsiveness.

Figure 1. RewP Waveform and Scalp Distribution at Ages 9, 12, and 15.

Event-related potential (ERP) waveforms (left) and three-dimensional rendered scalp distributions of neural responses to gains, losses, and the Reward Positivity difference score (RewP; i.e., gains minus losses) at electrode FCz (right) for ages 9 (top), 12 (middle), and 15 (bottom).

Figure 2. Structural Equation Model Examining Associations Between RewP, Depression, Puberty and Biological Sex at Ages 9, 12, and 15.

Significant paths are depicted with solid lines. Non-significant paths are depicted with dashed lines. Observed variables are depicted with boxes. Latent variables are depicted with ovals. Regression paths are depicted with single-headed arrows. Correlations are depicted with double-headed arrows. Age 9 latent depression mean = −0.05. Age 12 latent depression mean = 0.31. Age 15 latent depression mean = 3.33. Biological sex is coded as dichotomous with higher scores reflecting female sex. CDI = Children’s Depression Inventory. Dep = Depression. KSADS = Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime version. RewP = Reward Positivity.