Rostral anterior cingulate connectivity in older adults with subthreshold depressive symptoms: A preliminary study
Andrew M. Gradone,
Gabriell Champion,
Keith M. McGregor,
Joe R. Nocera,
Sarah J. Barber,
Lisa C. Krishnamurthy,
Vonetta M. Dotson
Affiliations
Andrew M. Gradone
Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
Gabriell Champion
Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States; VA Rehabilitation Research & Development Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation, Atlanta VA Health Care System, Decatur, GA, United States
Keith M. McGregor
VA Rehabilitation Research & Development Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation, Atlanta VA Health Care System, Decatur, GA, United States; Department of Neurology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States; Birmingham VA Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center, Birmingham, AL, United States; University of Alabama –Birmingham, School of Health Professions, Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences, Birmingham, United States
Joe R. Nocera
VA Rehabilitation Research & Development Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation, Atlanta VA Health Care System, Decatur, GA, United States; Department of Neurology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States; Division of Physical Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
Sarah J. Barber
Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States; Gerontology Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
Lisa C. Krishnamurthy
VA Rehabilitation Research & Development Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation, Atlanta VA Health Care System, Decatur, GA, United States; Department of Physics & Astronomy, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States; Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
Vonetta M. Dotson
Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States; Gerontology Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States; Corresponding author.
Subthreshold depressive symptoms are highly prevalent among older adults and are associated with numerous health risks including cognitive decline and decreased physical health. One brain region central to neuroanatomical models of depressive disorders is the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). The rostral portion of the ACC—comprised of the pregenual ACC and subgenual ACC—is implicated in emotion control and reward processing. The goal of the current study was to examine how functional connectivity in subregions of the rostral ACC relate to depressive symptoms, measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition, in an ethnically diverse sample of 28 community-dwelling older adults. Based on meta-analyses of previous studies in primarily young adults with clinical depression, we hypothesized that greater depressive symptoms would be associated with primarily increased resting-state functional connectivity from both the subgenual ACC and pregenual ACC to default mode network regions and the dorsolateral PFC. We instead found that higher depressive symptoms were associated with lower functional connectivity of the ACC to the dorsolateral PFC and regions within the default mode network, including from the subgenual ACC to the dorsolateral PFC and anterior cingulate and from the pregenual ACC to the middle cingulate gyrus. This preliminary study highlights brain alterations at subthreshold levels of depressive symptoms in older adults, which could serve as targets for interventions.
