ObjectiveLate‐life depression is a significant health risk factor for older adults, part of which is perceived loneliness. In this voxel‐based morphometry study, we examined the relationships between perceived loneliness and depression recurrence.MethodsFifty‐two older adults were recruited, and they were split into 3 groups: single episode, multiple episodes, or normal control groups, according to their clinical histories.ResultsThis result suggests the level of functioning regarding the reward system may be negatively related to the number of depressive episodes. Taken together, the findings of this study offer important insight into the neural underpinnings of the course and chronicity of late‐life depression.
Rumination is a trait that includes two subcomponents, namely brooding and reflective pondering, respectively construed as maladaptive and adaptive response styles to negative experiences. Existing evidence indicates that rumination in general is associated with structural and functional differences in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). However, conclusive evidence on the specific neural structural basis of each of the two subcomponents is lacking. In this voxel-based morphometry study, we investigated the independent and specific neural structural basis of brooding and reflective pondering in 30 healthy young adults, who belonged to high or low brooding or reflective pondering groups. Consistent with past research, modest but significant positive correlation was found between brooding and reflective pondering. When controlling for reflective pondering, high-brooding group showed increased gray matter volumes in the left DLPFC and ACC. Further analysis on extracted gray matter values showed that gray matter of the same DLPFC and ACC regions also showed significant negative effects of reflective pondering. Taken together, our findings indicate that the two subcomponents of rumination might share some common processes yet also have distinct neural basis. In view of the significant roles of the left DLPFC and ACC in attention and self-related emotional processing/regulation, our findings provide insight into how the potentially shared and distinct cognitive, affective and neural processes of brooding and reflective pondering can be extended to clinical populations to further elucidate the neurobehavioral relationships between rumination and prefrontal abnormality.
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