Neural signature of error processing in major depression

Abstract

The clinical presentation of major depression (MD) is heterogenous and comprises various affective and cognitive symptoms including an increased sensitivity to errors. Various electrophysiological but only few functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies investigated neural error processing in MD with inconsistent findings. Thus, reliable evidence regarding neural signatures of error processing in patients with current MD is limited despite its potential relevance as viable neurobiological marker of psychopathology. We therefore investigated a sample of 16 young adult female patients with current MD and 17 healthy controls (HC). During fMRI, we used an established Erikson-flanker Go/NoGo-paradigm and focused on neural alterations during errors of commission. In the absence of significant differences in rates of errors of commission in MD compared to HC, we observed significantly (p < 0.05, FWE-corrected on cluster level) enhanced neural activations of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) in MD relative to HC and thus, in brain regions consistently associated to neural error processing and corresponding behavioral adjustments. Considering comparable task performance, in particular similar commission error rates in MD and HC, our results support the evidence regarding an enhanced responsivity of neural error detection mechanisms in MD as a potential neural signature of increased negative feedback sensitivity as one of the core psychopathological features of this disorder.

Hemodynamic activity in the limbic system predicts reoffending in women

“…These psychopathologies are associated with abnormalities in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), a brain region associated with inhibition, error monitoring, and response selection ( de Bruijn et al, 2006 , Holroyd and Coles, 2002 , Kiehl et al, 2000 , Kosson et al, 2006 , Malejko et al, 2021 , Mathalon et al, 2003 , van Rooij and Jovanovic, 2019 , van Veen and Carter, 2002 , Vega et al, 2015 , Yang et al, 2021 , Zilverstand et al, 2018 ). Prior studies have also linked individual differences in dACC activity with risk for criminal re-offending.…”

Neural Signatures of Error Processing in Depressed Adolescents with Comorbid Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI)

“…A higher number of commission errors can be interpreted to relate to lower inhibitory control and is suggestive of greater levels of impulsivity. Besides the behavioral findings, the task has been successfully implemented in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) settings and thus permits investigation of the underlying neurobiology [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ].…”

“…To date, several neuroimaging studies suggest that unsuccessful response inhibition indexed by commission errors in No Go trials activates prefrontal cortex regions, the supplementary motor area (SMA, e.g., [ 24 , 25 ]), and especially and consistently the right inferior frontal gyrus [ 19 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. Functional and structural MRI [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ] and EEG data [ 34 ] brought evidence that damage in this region leads to permanent impairments in subjects’ response inhibition.…”

“…To control for the effects of comorbid psychopathology, adolescents with at least five episodes of NSSI during the past year and a diagnosis of major depression were compared to depressed adolescents without a recent history of NSSI. We used the modified Erikson flanker Go/No Go paradigm without incentive manipulations, which has been shown to reliably elicit neural responses in brain areas processing failed response inhibition [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Based on previous electrophysiological and neuroimaging studies [ 24 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ], we expected a blunted neural response in brain regions previously related to response inhibition and error processing in patients with comorbid NSSI.…”

“…We used the modified Erikson flanker Go/No Go paradigm without incentive manipulations, which has been shown to reliably elicit neural responses in brain areas processing failed response inhibition [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Based on previous electrophysiological and neuroimaging studies [ 24 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ], we expected a blunted neural response in brain regions previously related to response inhibition and error processing in patients with comorbid NSSI. By contrast, depressed adolescents without NSSI were expected to show the previously reported [ 24 ] unimpaired activation of the error-processing network.…”