Temperament-based Differential Associations between Pre-existing Neural Activity and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: Neurobiological Predictors of Adolescent Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Increases in depressive symptoms among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic (Racine et al., 2020) may be related to dramatic changes resulting from social distancing. Examining factors that influence social functioning, such as temperament and neural response to social feedback, is key for understanding depression risk during the pandemic. Shy/fearful temperament confers risk for depression through high social anxiety and avoidance (Gladstone et al., 2005). Blunted neural reactivity to positive and negative social feedback may confer risk for depression by supporting disengagement from the environment (Rottenberg & Gotlib, 2004). We explored how interactions between these factors predict depressive symptoms in adolescent girls, a population with heightened social sensitivity and risk for depression. We hypothesized that shy/fearful girls with blunted neural activation to social feedback would report the highest depressive symptoms during the pandemic, as they may be the most likely to socially disengage at a time when social interactions are already so limited.

Ninety-three girls (12-17 years; 71% white; two-thirds with shy/fearful temperament) were recruited from a longitudinal study for a follow-up study on socioemotional health during COVID-19. During the larger study (conducted 2016-2018), participants reported on depressive symptoms and completed an fMRI task in which they received performance-related positive and negative social feedback from virtual peers. Depressive symptoms were reported again during COVID, when stay-at-home orders were in place (April-May 2020). In 65 participants with complete data (Mage=15), parameter estimates were extracted from anatomically-defined regions-of-interest (i.e., nucleus accumbens, caudate, putamen, insula, amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex) during social reward or punishment feedback (vs. neutral feedback). We examined interactions between baseline temperament (high or low in shy/fearful temperament; dummy coded) and neural activation on depressive symptoms during COVID-19, controlling for age, baseline depressive symptoms, and time between the baseline and COVID assessments.

Depressive symptoms increased from baseline to COVID across the entire sample (F(1,90)=13.30, p<.001, ηp2=.13). Following FDR correction, interactions emerged between temperament and neural activation to social reward in the caudate (Figure 1), putamen, and insula. Shy/fearful girls with blunted activity in these regions reported the highest depressive symptoms; girls lower in shy/fearful temperament showed significant positive associations between neural activity and depressive symptoms. No interactions were found for neural activation to social punishment.

Shy/fearful girls with blunted neural activation to social rewards may be less motivated to engage socially during the pandemic, potentially conferring risk for depressive symptoms through increased loneliness or social disconnectedness. These girls may be unlikely to participate in potentially rewarding virtual interactions with peers (e.g., videochats), which may be detrimental in combination with restrictions on in-person interactions. Girls low in shy/fearful temperament with heightened reactivity to social rewards may be motivated to engage socially, but this might also be detrimental during the pandemic because these girls find their quality and/or quantity of social interactions diminished. Focusing on ways to improve social connection and interaction, even virtually, may be critical for all adolescents during the pandemic. More broadly, findings shed light on how neurobiological individual differences impact mental health when social contexts change.

Authors

• Stefanie Sequeira, University of Pittsburgh
  Presenting Author

• Jennifer S. Silk, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author

• Emily Anne Hutchinson, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author

• Neil P Jones, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author

• Cecile D Ladouceur, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author