Нейромаркеры рабочей памяти и эмоциональной регуляции предсказывают риск депрессии у молодых взрослых

Future depression in young adults at risk for affective disorders is predicted by specific neural markers of working memory (WM) and emotional regulation (ER), according to study findings published in Molecular Psychiatry. Identifying neural markers for affective disorders, such as major depressive disorder (MDD), has the potential to identify individuals at risk and better understand the mechanism of symptoms. Previously, the study investigators found that future depression was related to WM- and ER-related left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) activity. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine examined relationships between future depression severity and right precuneus activity and left dIPFC activity during WM and ER risk in an independent young adult sample and a larger combined sample. Using data from previously published and newly collected samples, researchers selected young adults at risk for affective disorders or expression, such as bipolar disorder or MDD, or individuals with subthreshold symptoms for depression and mania. Additionally, study participants had subsyndromal to syndromal depression with or without comorbid disorders such as anxiety disorders and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These findings provide candidate neural markers to guide risk identification and […] new […] interventions, and highlight the importance of considering baseline levels of neural activity during decision-making […]. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), while performing an adapted emotional n-back working memory task (EFNBACK) to measure attentional control over emotional distracters. Researchers also assessed depression and mania/hypomania using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), respectively, at 2 time points: baseline and 12 months. Additionally, researchers assessed anxiety severity using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A). In the new sample, there were 77 total participants (mean age, 24.68 years; 64.9% women), while in the combined sample, there were 121 study participants (mean age, 23.81; 68.6% women). Of the participants in the new and combined sample, 1.3% vs 19.0% had anxiety, 0.0% vs 5.0% had MDD, 2.6% vs 5.0% had ADHD, and 0.0% vs 1.65% used psychotropic medications, respectively. In the new sample, future depression severity was significantly associated with WM-related left dlPFC activity (B, 0.478; P <.001), WM-related right precuneus activity (B, 0.213; P =.009), and ER-related left dlPFC activity (B, 0.612; P <.001). The neural-only models for WM and ER explained 15.59% and 7.21% of the variance in future depression, respectively. Similarly, in the combined sample, future depression severity was significantly associated with WM-related left dlPFC activity (B, 0.298), WM-related right precuneus activity (B, 0.346), and ER-related left dlPFC activity (B, 1.285; all P <.001). The neural-only model for WM and ER explained 7.74% and 14.63% of the variance in future depression, respectively. Future mania or hypomania severity was not associated with WM- or ER-related left dlPFC or right precuneus activity. In an exploratory analysis that excluded individuals with affective disorders at baseline, left precuneus activity was significantly associated with future depression severity (B, 0.024). The main study limitation is that no functional connectivity patterns identified in the original sample were present in the new sample. The study authors concluded, “These findings provide candidate neural markers to guide risk identification and […] new […] interventions, and highlight the importance of considering baseline levels of neural activity during decision-making […].” References: Afriyie-Agyemang Y, Bertocci MA, Iyengar S, et al. Neural markers of working memory and emotional regulation are predictors of future depression severity in at risk young adults: a replication study. Mol Psychiatry. Published online July 31, 2026. doi:10.1038/s41380-026-03771-5