Abstract
Background: Ruminative responding involves repetitive and passive thinking about one’s negative affect. This tendency interferes with initiation of goal-directed rewarding strategies, which could alleviate depressive states. Such reward-directed response selection has been shown to be mediated by ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens (VS/NAcc) function. However, to date, no study has examined whether trait rumination relates to VS/NAcc functionality. Here, we tested whether rumination moderates VS/NAcc function both in response to reward and during a ruminative state. Methods: Trait rumination was considered dimensionally using Rumination Response Scale (RRS) scores. Our sample (N = 80) consisted of individuals from a community sample and from patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder, providing a broad range of RRS scores. Participants underwent fMRI to assess two modes of VS/NAcc functionality: 1) in response to reward, and 2) during resting-state, as a proxy for ruminative state. We then tested for associations between RRS scores and VS/NAcc functional profiles, statistically controlling for overall depressive symptom severity. Results: RRS scores correlated positively with VS/NAcc response to reward. Furthermore, we noted that higher RRS scores were associated with increased ruminative-dependent resting-state functional connectivity of the VS/NAcc with the left orbitofrontal cortex. Conclusions: These findings suggest that ruminative tendencies manifest in VS/NAcc reward- and rumination-related functions, providing support for a theoretical-clinical perspective of rumination as a habitual impairment in selection of rewarding, adaptive coping strategies.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 67 |
Journal | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
Volume | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 20 Feb 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© Copyright © 2020 Erdman, Abend, Jalon, Artzi, Gazit, Avirame, Ais, Levokovitz, Gilboa-Schechtman, Hendler and Harel.
Funding
This work is part of the BSMT consortium (Brain Stimulation and Monitoring Toolbox), and was supported by grants from the MAGNET program of the Israeli Innovation Authority (IIA).
Funders | Funder number |
---|---|
IIA | |
Israeli Innovation Authority |
Keywords
- depression
- nucleus accumbens
- reward
- rumination
- ventral striatum