Right prefrontal function and coping strategies in patients with remitted major depressive disorder

Patients with remitted major depressive disorder (rMDD) generally rely on maladaptive coping strategies for stressful situations. These maladaptive copings are associated with an elevated relapse risk of rMDD; however, their neural basis remains poorly understood.

We enrolled (1) 45 patients with rMDD (17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HRSD₁₇] total score ≤ 3) and (2) 56 healthy controls (HCs). Coping styles were measured using the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) according to three coping dimensions: avoidance-, emotion-, and task-oriented copings. The cognitive strategic processes of the prefrontal cortex were measured using a verbal fluency task (VFT). Furthermore, regional frontotemporal hemodynamic responses were monitored by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).

Patients with rMDD had significantly lower task-oriented coping scores and significantly higher avoidance- and emotion-oriented coping scores than HCs. Predominantly in the left frontotemporal region, patients with rMDD had lower frontotemporal hemodynamic responses during a VFT than HCs. Hemodynamic responses in the right inferior frontal gyrus of patients with rMDD were significantly and negatively associated with avoidance-oriented coping scores, but not of HCs. Conversely, those responses of HCs were significantly and positively associated with task-oriented coping scores, but not of patients with rMDD.

Alteration in the right inferior frontal cortex plays an important role in dysfunction to stress response in patients with rMDD. Differential functioning patterns of the right inferior frontal cortex associated with coping strategies may link to MDD recurrence vulnerability.