Early Childhood Reward-Related Neural Reactivity Concurrently and Prospectively Associates with Depressive Symptom Severity

Background: The emergence of depression during the preschool years is well established. However, the neural correlates of depressive symptoms during this developmental period remain relatively understudied. Prior work has suggested a concurrent association between left amygdala salience reactivity (i.e., reward and loss versus neutral) and depressive symptoms in early childhood. Replication and extension into the predictive utility of the amygdala and other relevant neurobiological correlates are now needed. Methods: The current longitudinal study conducted a conceptual replication and extension of prior work using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in a sample of 4-8-year-old children. We investigated whether reward-related reactivity in a priori regions of interest were associated with parent-reported early childhood depressive symptoms concurrently (N = 114; 54% female) and approximately one year later (N = 75; 53% female). Results: Left amygdala salience reactivity and right caudate and medial prefrontal cortex reward reactivity (i.e., reward versus neutral) negatively associated with concurrent childhood depressive symptom severity. Only right caudate reward reactivity negatively associated with childhood depressive symptom severity one year later. Conclusions: Results replicate prior research suggesting an association between amygdala response to salient outcomes during reward processing and concurrent depressive symptom elevations in young children. They also provide novel information supporting the potential role of right caudate reactivity during reward processing as a biomarker of future elevations in depressive symptoms. These findings provide neurobiological insights into our developmental understanding of early emerging depressive symptoms and underscore early childhood as an important developmental period for understanding depression.