Pervasive negative thoughts about the self are central to the experience of depression. Brain imaging studies in the general population have localised self-related cognitive processing to areas of the medial pre-frontal cortex. To use fMRI to compare the neural correlates of self-referential processing in depressed and non-depressed participants. Cross-sectional comparison of regional activation using Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) fMRI in 13 non-medicated participants with major depressive episode and 14 comparison participants, whilst carrying out a self-referential cognitive task. Both groups showed significant activation of the dorsomedial pre-frontal cortex and posterior cingulate cortex in the 'self-referent' condition. The depressed group showed significantly greater activation in the medial superior frontal cortex during the self-referent task. No difference was observed between groups in the 'other-referent' condition. Major depressive episode is associated with specific neurofunctional changes related to self-referential processing.
CITATION STYLE
Sarsam, M., Parkes, L. M., Roberts, N., Reid, G. S., & Kinderman, P. (2013). The Queen and I: neural correlates of altered self-related cognitions in major depressive episode. PloS One, 8(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0078844
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