Does Adolescents' Attention to Punishment Predict Their Risk for Depression?

A growing body of work implicates brain reward systems in depression, with lower activity in reward circuits, less positive experience of rewards, and less attention to rewards seen in depressed versus nondepressed people. Preliminary data suggest that low responsiveness to reward might even predict later depression in adolescents. As part of a prospective, ongoing, cohort study in the Netherlands, investigators measured reward responsiveness with the Spatial Orienting Task in 531 participants without mood disorders at age 16 and assessed them for depression at ages 19 and 25.

During follow-up, 81 participants (15%) experienced depression. Overall, slower initial engagement toward reward or nonpunishment did not predict later depression. How…