Background
Altered reward processing is postulated to be a feature of depression. Reward processing
may be valuable to understanding early-onset depressive disorders, which tend to be
chronic and recurrent.
Methods
Reward-related decision making was examined within a longitudinal study of 221 11-year-old
boys, 25 of whom had a depressive disorder at age 10 or 11. Participants completed
a behavioral decision-making task involving varying probability and magnitude of obtaining
reward.
Results
Under conditions involving a high probability of winning, boys with depression failed
to distinguish between options involving small or large possible reward. Boys with
anxiety or externalizing disorders at age 10 or 11 did not differ from others in their
reward-related decisions. Low frequency of choosing the high-probability, large reward
option at age 11 predicted depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, and depressive
symptoms 1 year later. Furthermore, reward-related decisions predicted later depressive
or anxiety disorders even when adjusting for the continuity of such disorders and
the presence of concurrent externalizing disorders.
Conclusions
Findings are consistent with affective neuroscience models of altered reward processing
and diminished positive affect in depression. This study represents a step toward
elucidating the motivational and emotional aspects of early-onset depression.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 21, 2006
Accepted:
May 23,
2006
Received in revised form:
August 11,
2005
Received:
April 7,
2005
Identification
Copyright
© 2007 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
