Emotional regulation mediates the protective role of resting-state brain activity against depression symptoms in late adolescence

Motivation: The neural correlation between emotional regulation and adolescent depressive symptoms has not yet been elucidated. Goal(s): Our goal was to identify the neural substrates of emotional regulation ability (ERA) and its association with depressive symptoms in adolescents. Approach: We conducted whole-brain correlation, prediction and mediate analyses with resting-state fMRI and behavioral measurements data. Results: The results indicated that ERA was associated with brain activity in right ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) and cuneus. Additionally, ERA mediated the link between spontaneous activity of VMPFC and depressive symptoms. Impact: Emotional regulation ability may indirectly modulate depressive symptoms in adolescents through affecting neural activity in the VMPFC, which may provide some neurobiological implications for early intervention of adolescent depression.