Cognitive and temperamental vulnerability to depression: Longitudinal associations with regional cortical activity

Abstract

Posterior cortical activity may be related to individual differences in temperamental emotionality, especially traits implicated in depression vulnerability. We previously reported that electroencephalographic (EEG) indices of cortical activity in posterior regions were associated with temperamental positive emotionality (PE) in early childhood. This project examined whether EEG indices of regional cortical activity, assessed at age 5–6, were associated with child temperament and cognitive vulnerability to depression, assessed at age 7. Asymmetry in posterior cortical activity measured at age 5–6 was associated with PE at follow-up at age 7, and with greater helplessness during a standardised laboratory task simulating a mild interpersonal rejection. Findings provide further support for the notion that low PE and depression are associated with similar patterns of cortical activity. Furthermore, these patterns of activity may have observable behavioural and cognitive correlates that are meaningfully linked to the phenomenology of depression.

Notes

¹Children were shown a sad clip from a children's movie to induce a sad mood state. Raters blind to the purpose of the mood induction coded child facial affect video recorded during the procedure. Supporting the efficacy of the induction, children displayed significantly greater facial negative affect in the second half of the mood induction (M= − 1.40, SD=0.48) than in the first half (M= − 0.83, SD=0.34), t(60) = 8.83, p<.001, d=1.34 (see Hayden et al., 2006, for further details).

²Families for whom EEG and age 7 data were available were not significantly different from families with only EEG data on SES, t(26) = − 1.65, p=.12.