The Relationship Between Depression Symptoms and Adolescent Neural Response During Reward Anticipation and Outcome Depends on Developmental Timing: Evidence from a Longitudinal Study

Abstract Background Blunted neural reward responsiveness (RR) is observed in youth depression. However, it is unclear whether symptoms of depression experienced early in development relate to adolescent RR beyond current symptoms and further, whether such relationships with RR differ during two key components of reward processing: anticipation and outcome Methods Within a prospective longitudinal study oversampled for early depression, children and caregivers completed semi-annual diagnostic assessments beginning in preschool. In later adolescence, mean age = 16.49 years (SD = 0.94), youths’ (N=100) neurophysiological responses to cues signaling likely win and loss and these outcomes were assessed. Longitudinally assessed dimensional depression and externalizing symptoms (often co-morbid with depression and also associated with RR) experienced at different developmental periods (preschool 3-5.11 years, school-age 6-9.11 years, early-adolescent 10-14.11 years, current) were used as simultaneous predictors of event-related potentials indexing anticipatory cue processing (cue-P3) and outcome processing (Reward Positivity-RewP/Feedback Negativity-FN, feedback-P3) Results Blunted motivated attention to cues signaling likely win (cue-P3) was specifically predicted by early-adolescent depression symptoms. Blunted initial response to win (RewP) and loss (FN) outcomes was specifically predicted by preschool depression symptoms. Blunted motivational salience of win and loss outcomes (feedback-P3) was predicted by cumulative depression, not specific to any developmental stage Conclusions Although blunted anticipation and outcome RR is a common finding in depression, specific deficits related to motivated attention to cues and initial outcome processing may map onto the developmental course of these symptoms.