A blunted neural response to rewards precedes adolescent-onset depression and symptom emergence, a recent study found. Researchers evaluated a sample of 444 girls, aged 13.5 to 15.5 years, with no lifetime history of depressive disorder, along with a biological parent for each girl. At baseline and approximately 18 months later, reward positivity was measured using a monetary guessing task, current depressive symptoms were assessed using a self-report questionnaire, and the teens’ and parents’ lifetime psychiatric histories were evaluated with diagnostic interviews. They found:

• A blunted reward positivity at baseline predicted first-onset depressive disorder and greater depressive symptom scores 18 months later.

• The reward positivity was also a significant predictor independent of other prominent risk factors, including baseline depressive symptoms and adolescent and parental lifetime psychiatric history.

• The combination of a blunted reward positivity and greater depressive symptom scores at baseline provided the greatest positive predictive value for first-onset depressive disorder.

Citation: Nelson BD, Perlman G, Klein DN, Kotov R, Hajcak G. Blunted neural response to rewards as a prospective predictor of the development of depression in adolescent girls. [Published online ahead of print July 1, 2016]. Am J Psychiatr. doi:10.1176./appi.ajp.2016.15121524.