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Different neural and cognitive response to emotional faces in healthy monozygotic twins at risk of depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2014

K. W. Miskowiak ,
L. Glerup ,
C. Vestbo ,
C. J. Harmer ,
A. Reinecke ,
J. Macoveanu ,
H. R. Siebner ,
L. V. Kessing  and
M. Vinberg
K. W. Miskowiak*
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark
L. Glerup
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark
C. Vestbo
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark
C. J. Harmer
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
A. Reinecke
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
J. Macoveanu
Affiliation:
Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Denmark
H. R. Siebner
Affiliation:
Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Denmark Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg, Denmark
L. V. Kessing
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark
M. Vinberg
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark
*
* Address for correspondence: K. W. Miskowiak, Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Blegdamsvej Copenhagen, Denmark. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

Negative cognitive bias and aberrant neural processing of emotional faces are trait-marks of depression. Yet it is unclear whether these changes constitute an endophenotype for depression and are also present in healthy individuals with hereditary risk for depression.

Method

Thirty healthy, never-depressed monozygotic (MZ) twins with a co-twin history of depression (high risk group: n = 13) or without co-twin history of depression (low-risk group: n = 17) were enrolled in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. During fMRI, participants viewed fearful and happy faces while performing a gender discrimination task. After the scan, they were given a faces dot-probe task, a facial expression recognition task and questionnaires assessing mood, personality traits and coping strategies.

Results

High-risk twins showed increased neural response to happy and fearful faces in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), pre-supplementary motor area and occipito-parietal regions compared to low-risk twins. They also displayed stronger negative coupling between amygdala and pregenual ACC, dmPFC and temporo-parietal regions during emotional face processing. These task-related changes in neural responses in high-risk twins were accompanied by impaired gender discrimination performance during face processing. They also displayed increased attention vigilance for fearful faces and were slower at recognizing facial expressions relative to low-risk controls. These effects occurred in the absence of differences between groups in mood, subjective state or coping.

Conclusions

Different neural response and functional connectivity within fronto-limbic and occipito-parietal regions during emotional face processing and enhanced fear vigilance may be key endophenotypes for depression.

Keywords

Depressionemotional processingendophenotypefMRIrisktwins
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 45 , Issue 7 , May 2015 , pp. 1447 - 1458
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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