Stage-specific ERP correlates of audiovisual facial emotion processing across depressive tendencies

Emotional dysregulation can emerge as early as the initial stages of depression. This study aimed to examine event-related potential characteristics during the perception of negative, positive, and neutral facial expressions in healthy individuals across depressive tendencies. Twenty-six healthy participants underwent ERP measurements during emotion recognition using a facial emotion recognition task in visual and audiovisual modalities. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16), and the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) assessed cognitive strategy, emotion regulation difficulties, and depression severity, respectively. Facial affect elicited larger amplitudes compared to neutral faces, from the N170 and early posterior negativity (EPN) in the temporo-occipital region to the late positive potential (LPP) in the centroparietal region. Under audiovisual conditions, P1 peak latency to negative stimuli in the temporal region exhibited significant negative correlations with DERS-16 and BDI-II scores. N170 peak latency to positive stimuli also demonstrated a significant negative correlation with BDI-II scores. Under visual conditions, EPN amplitude to negative stimuli in the occipital region exhibited a significant positive correlation with BDI-II scores. P1 and N170 latencies, or neural response speeds, and EPN amplitude, which represents emotional reaction strength, correlate with depressive tendencies in healthy individuals. These early components function as initial neural signals that may serve as electrophysiological markers of abnormal emotional processing within neuropsychological functions prior to clinical depression.