TY - JOUR
T1 - Face-memory and emotion
T2 - Associations with major depression in children and adolescents
AU - Pine, Daniel S.
AU - Lissek, Shmuel
AU - Klein, Rachel G.
AU - Mannuzza, Salvatore
AU - Moulton, John L.
AU - Guardino, Mary
AU - Woldehawariat, Girma
PY - 2004/10
Y1 - 2004/10
N2 - Background: Studies in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) document abnormalities in both memory and face-emotion processing. The current study used a novel face-memory task to test the hypothesis that adolescent MDD is associated with a deficit in memory for face-emotions. The study also examines the relationship between parental MDD and memory performance in offspring. Methods: Subjects were 152 offspring (ages 9-19) of adults with either MDD, anxiety disorders, both MDD and anxiety, or no disorder. Parents and offspring were assessed for mental disorders. Collection of face-memory data was blind to offspring and parent diagnosis. A computerized task was developed that required rating of facial photographs depicting 'happy,' 'fearful,' or 'angry' emotions followed by a memory recall test. Recall accuracy was examined as a function of face-emotion type. Results: Age and gender independently predicted memory, with better recall in older and female subjects. Controlling for age and gender, offspring with a history of MDD (n = 19) demonstrated significant deficits in memory selectively for fearful faces, but not happy or angry faces. Parental MDD was not associated with face-memory accuracy. Discussion: This study found an association between MDD in childhood or adolescence and perturbed encoding of fearful faces. MDD in young individuals may predispose to subtle anomalies in a neural circuit encompassing the amygdala, a brain region implicated in the processing of fearful facial expressions. These findings suggest that brain imaging studies using similar face-emotion paradigms should test whether deficits in processing of fearful faces relate to amygdala dysfunction in children and adolescents with MDD.
AB - Background: Studies in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) document abnormalities in both memory and face-emotion processing. The current study used a novel face-memory task to test the hypothesis that adolescent MDD is associated with a deficit in memory for face-emotions. The study also examines the relationship between parental MDD and memory performance in offspring. Methods: Subjects were 152 offspring (ages 9-19) of adults with either MDD, anxiety disorders, both MDD and anxiety, or no disorder. Parents and offspring were assessed for mental disorders. Collection of face-memory data was blind to offspring and parent diagnosis. A computerized task was developed that required rating of facial photographs depicting 'happy,' 'fearful,' or 'angry' emotions followed by a memory recall test. Recall accuracy was examined as a function of face-emotion type. Results: Age and gender independently predicted memory, with better recall in older and female subjects. Controlling for age and gender, offspring with a history of MDD (n = 19) demonstrated significant deficits in memory selectively for fearful faces, but not happy or angry faces. Parental MDD was not associated with face-memory accuracy. Discussion: This study found an association between MDD in childhood or adolescence and perturbed encoding of fearful faces. MDD in young individuals may predispose to subtle anomalies in a neural circuit encompassing the amygdala, a brain region implicated in the processing of fearful facial expressions. These findings suggest that brain imaging studies using similar face-emotion paradigms should test whether deficits in processing of fearful faces relate to amygdala dysfunction in children and adolescents with MDD.
KW - Adolescence
KW - Cognitive neuroscience
KW - Depression
KW - Face processing
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00311.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00311.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 15335340
AN - SCOPUS:4544250330
SN - 0021-9630
VL - 45
SP - 1199
EP - 1208
JO - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines
JF - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines
IS - 7
ER -