Depression Risk Is Associated With Weakened Synchrony Between the Amygdala and Experienced Emotion

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Genetics

Background:

• Major depressive disorder (MDD) is linked to abnormal limbic system responses to emotional stimuli.
• Understanding how self-generated emotions influence limbic activity and brain-emotion synchrony is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how self-generated emotions modulate limbic neural activity on a trial-by-trial basis.
• To determine if brain-emotion synchrony differs based on familial risk for MDD and neuroticism levels.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an emotion induction task with 74 participants from a longitudinal cohort study.
• Assessed participant-specific modulation of limbic neurobiology, including the amygdala and hippocampus.
• Collected data on neuroticism, mental health, familial parenting, and MDD history.

Main Results:

• Emotional arousal modulated amygdala and hippocampal activity in a participant-specific manner.
• Attenuated right amygdala modulation by arousal was associated with higher neuroticism.
• This attenuated amygdala modulation was more prevalent in offspring of parents with MDD, irrespective of personal MDD history.

Conclusions:

• Weak amygdala-emotion synchrony, characterized by attenuated modulation by emotional arousal, is linked to neuroticism.
• This neurophenotype is predicted by parental MDD history, suggesting it as a potential predisposing risk factor for MDD.
• These findings indicate an intergenerational pathway for depression risk, where weak amygdala-emotion synchrony may be inherited.