Familial risk for depression and p3b component as a possible neurocognitive vulnerability marker

OBJECTIVE: Complex genetic mechanisms are involved in the vulnerability to depressive disorders and cognitive dysfunctions found in depression. This study was performed to explore the effect of the familial risk for depression on electrophysiological correlates of attentional functions as demonstrated by an event-related potential (ERP) go/no-go experiment. METHODS: The component P3b as an indicator of target detection processing was investigated in two groups of healthy subjects with or without a family history of depression (n = 14 each). An electrophysiological source localization method (LORETA) was employed to allow a neuro-anatomical interpretation for the ERP data. RESULTS: The group with a familial risk for depression showed a reduced P3b amplitude over left temporal areas in contrast to the control group. This two-dimensional effect was associated with a significantly reduced activation of the left middle temporal gyrus. CONCLUSIONS: The P3b amplitude decrement might represent a neurocognitive vulnerability marker for the development of depression.