TY - JOUR
T1 - The interplay of stress and electrocortical reactivity to reward in the prospective prediction of depression symptoms during COVID-19
AU - Feurer, Cope
AU - Granros, Maria
AU - Calentino, Alison E.
AU - Suor, Jennifer H.
AU - Patel, Khushboo
AU - Burkhouse, Katie L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2021/8
Y1 - 2021/8
N2 - Rates of depression have increased during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, potentially due to associated stress exposure. However, it remains unclear which individuals are most susceptible. Electrocortical markers of reward processing, such as the reward positivity (RewP), are implicated in depression risk and may provide insights into who is most vulnerable to stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study examined whether pre-pandemic neural correlates of reward reactivity (i.e., RewP) moderated the impact of social and financial stress on changes in youth and mother depression symptoms pre-to-post pandemic onset. Youth (n = 45) and mothers (n = 45) in the current sample were recruited prior to the COVID-19 pandemic as part of a larger study. RewP was assessed pre-pandemic, and depression symptoms were assessed pre- and post-pandemic onset for both youth and mothers. Additionally, social and financial chronic stress severity was assessed post-pandemic onset using a modified version of the UCLA Life Stress Interview. Financial stress was associated with prospective increases in depression for youth exhibiting blunted RewP at baseline. Similarly, family stress was associated with prospective increases in depression symptoms for mothers exhibiting blunted RewP at baseline. Findings suggest reduced reward responsiveness at the neural level may predispose both youth and mothers to future depression symptoms when exposed to higher levels of stress in the context of a pandemic.
AB - Rates of depression have increased during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, potentially due to associated stress exposure. However, it remains unclear which individuals are most susceptible. Electrocortical markers of reward processing, such as the reward positivity (RewP), are implicated in depression risk and may provide insights into who is most vulnerable to stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study examined whether pre-pandemic neural correlates of reward reactivity (i.e., RewP) moderated the impact of social and financial stress on changes in youth and mother depression symptoms pre-to-post pandemic onset. Youth (n = 45) and mothers (n = 45) in the current sample were recruited prior to the COVID-19 pandemic as part of a larger study. RewP was assessed pre-pandemic, and depression symptoms were assessed pre- and post-pandemic onset for both youth and mothers. Additionally, social and financial chronic stress severity was assessed post-pandemic onset using a modified version of the UCLA Life Stress Interview. Financial stress was associated with prospective increases in depression for youth exhibiting blunted RewP at baseline. Similarly, family stress was associated with prospective increases in depression symptoms for mothers exhibiting blunted RewP at baseline. Findings suggest reduced reward responsiveness at the neural level may predispose both youth and mothers to future depression symptoms when exposed to higher levels of stress in the context of a pandemic.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.05.034
DO - 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.05.034
M3 - Article
C2 - 34111702
AN - SCOPUS:85107559832
SN - 0022-3956
VL - 140
SP - 124
EP - 131
JO - Journal of Psychiatric Research
JF - Journal of Psychiatric Research
ER -