Neural Correlates of Rumination: sgACC Activation and its Relationship to Depression Severity
Poster No:
517
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Johanna Meeh1, Maxim Poggeman1, Cosima von Bismarck1, Jochen Bauer1, Bernhard Baune1, Pegah Sarkheil1
Institutions:
1University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Introduction:
Rumination, the action of repetitive negative thinking (RNT), is a common symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD) (Watkins & Roberts, 2020). Patients often struggle to disengage from RNT, posing a significant therapeutic challenge. Using imagination as a form of distraction to break this pattern of negative, self-focused thoughts has shown promising results (Lawrence & Schwartz-Mette, 2018). Regions of the default mode network and the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) have been shown to be involved in the process of RNT (Berman et al., 2010).
Methods:
This study investigated the neural correlates of RNT and its modulation using imagination in 10 subjects with MDD. Participants underwent 2 runs of an fMRI task with a block design composed of alternating "rumination", "imagination" and rest conditions in a pseudo randomized order. Clinical and neuropsychological measures were collected using the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Rumination-Reflection-Questionnaire (RRQ). Functional data were acquired using a 3.0T Philips MRI scanner with a whole-brain EPI sequence and analyzed using SPM12. At the second-level analysis, multiple regression models included MADRS scores, RRQ scores, age, and sex as covariates.
Results:
The findings revealed a significantly higher activation of the sgACC during rumination than during imagination tasks (p < 0.01, cluster threshold ≥ 20 voxels). Furthermore, sgACC activation was positively correlated with depression severity (MADRS scores), underlining its role in depressive rumination.
Conclusions:
Our results contribute to the understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms of RNT in MDD and suggest the sgACC as a potential target region for interventions aiming to disrupt maladaptive thought patterns.
Disorders of the Nervous System:
Psychiatric (eg. Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia) 1
Higher Cognitive Functions:
Higher Cognitive Functions Other 2
Keywords:
Affective Disorders
Behavioral Therapy
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Therapy
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
Abstract Information
By submitting your proposal, you grant permission for the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) to distribute your work in any format, including video, audio print and electronic text through OHBM OnDemand, social media channels, the OHBM website, or other electronic publications and media.
The Open Science Special Interest Group (OSSIG) is introducing a reproducibility challenge for OHBM 2025. This new initiative aims to enhance the reproducibility of scientific results and foster collaborations between labs. Teams will consist of a “source” party and a “reproducing” party, and will be evaluated on the success of their replication, the openness of the source work, and additional deliverables. Click here for more information. Propose your OHBM abstract(s) as source work for future OHBM meetings by selecting one of the following options:
Please indicate below if your study was a "resting state" or "task-activation” study.
Healthy subjects only or patients (note that patient studies may also involve healthy subjects):
Was this research conducted in the United States?
Were any human subjects research approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board or ethics panel? NOTE: Any human subjects studies without IRB approval will be automatically rejected.
Were any animal research approved by the relevant IACUC or other animal research panel? NOTE: Any animal studies without IACUC approval will be automatically rejected.
Please indicate which methods were used in your research:
For human MRI, what field strength scanner do you use?
Which processing packages did you use for your study?
Provide references using APA citation style.
2. Lawrence, H. R., & Schwartz-Mette, R. A. (2018). Imagery and verbal thought during rumination and distraction: Does imagery amplify affective response? Cognition & Emotion, 33(5), 1006–1019.
3. Berman, M. G., Peltier, S., Nee, D. E., Kross, E., Deldin, P. J., & Jonides, J. (2010). Depression, rumination and the default network. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 6(5), 548–555.