Project Summary

Naomi Eisenberger, Ph.D., (Young Investigator 2006) of the University of California, Los Angeles, aims to use functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the relationship between depression and immune-system reactivity. Dr. Eisenberger recently found that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), typically associated with physical pain distress, plays a role in the feelings associated with social rejection or social loss. She also found that individuals with elevated baseline proinflammatory cytokine levels report feeling more distressed and show more dACC activity during social rejection. To investigate the role that cytokines may play in the heightened social pain sensitivity that can contribute to depression, Dr. Eisenberger will randomly assign healthy subjects to receive either endotoxin (which increases proinflammatory cytokine activity) or placebo and then ask the participants to undergo a neuroimaging study in which they will be rejected during an online ball-tossing game. She hypothesizes that individuals exposed to endotoxin will report more social distress and depression following rejection and will show more dACC reactivity during rejection. The proposed study is the first to investigate the effect of systemic inflammation on neural reactivity related to social and affective processes, which may increase the risk of depression.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Unipolar

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