Neural Indicators of Anhedonia: Predictors and Mechanisms of Treatment Change in a Randomized Clinical Trial in Early Childhood Depression

Deanna M Barch; Diana Whalen; Kirsten Gilbert; Danielle Kelly; Emily S Kappenman; Greg Hajcak; Joan L Luby

doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.11.021

Neural Indicators of Anhedonia: Predictors and Mechanisms of Treatment Change in a Randomized Clinical Trial in Early Childhood Depression

Biol Psychiatry. 2019 May 15;85(10):863-871. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.11.021. Epub 2018 Dec 4.

Authors

Deanna M Barch¹, Diana Whalen², Kirsten Gilbert², Danielle Kelly², Emily S Kappenman³, Greg Hajcak⁴, Joan L Luby²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
² Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
³ Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Science and Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.

Abstract

Background: Early childhood depression is associated with anhedonia and reduced event-related potential (ERP) responses to rewarding or pleasant stimuli. Whether these neural measures are indicators of target engagement or treatment outcome is not yet known.

Methods: We measured ERP responses to win and loss feedback in a guessing task and to pleasant versus neutral pictures in young (4.0-6.9 years of age) depressed children before and after randomization to either 18 weeks of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy-Emotion Development (PCIT-ED) treatment or waitlist (WL) control condition.

Results: Analyses included reward positivity (RewP) data from 118 children randomized to PCIT-ED treatment (n = 60) or WL control condition (n = 58) at baseline and late positive potential (LPP) data from 99 children (44 PCIT-ED treatment vs. 55 WL control condition) at baseline. Children in the PCIT-ED group showed a greater reduction in anhedonia (F_1,103 = 10.32, p = .002, partial η² = .09). RewP reward responses increased more (F_1,87 = 5.45, p = .02, partial η² = .06) for PCIT-ED and a greater change in RewP was associated with a greater reduction in major depressive disorder symptoms (r = -.24, p = .05). Baseline RewP did not predict treatment change. LPPs to positive pictures did not change across treatment, but greater baseline LPPs to positive pictures predicted a higher likelihood of remission from major depressive disorder in the PCIT-ED group (B = 0.14; SE = 0.07; odds ratio = 1.15; p = .03).

Conclusions: The ERP reward response improved in young children with depression during a treatment designed to enhance emotion development, providing evidence of target engagement of the neural systems associated with reward. Further, greater baseline LPP responses to positive pictures were associated with a greater reduction in depression, suggesting that this ERP measure can predict which children are most likely to respond to treatment.

Keywords: Anhedonia; Clinical trial; Depression; ERP; Preschool; Reward.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Retracted Publication

MeSH terms

Anhedonia / physiology*
Behavior Therapy*
Brain / physiopathology*
Child
Child, Preschool
Depressive Disorder, Major / physiopathology*
Depressive Disorder, Major / psychology*
Depressive Disorder, Major / therapy
Evoked Potentials*
Female
Humans
Male
Parent-Child Relations
Reward
Treatment Outcome

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

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