Neural signatures of cognitive and emotional biases in depression

Functional brain imaging studies suggest that depression is a system-level disorder affecting discrete but functionally linked cortical and limbic structures, with abnormalities in the anterior cingulate, lateral, and medial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus. Within this circuitry, abnormal corticolimbic interactions underlie cognitive deficits and emotional impairment in depression. Depression involves biases toward processing negative emotional information and abnormal self-focus in response to emotional stimuli. These biases in depression could reflect excessive analytical self-focus in depression, as well as impaired cognitive control of emotional response to negative stimuli. By combining structural and functional investigations, brain imaging studies may help to generate novel antidepressant treatments that regulate structural and functional plasticity within the neural network regulating mood and affective behavior.