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Aberrant insula activity to negative and reduced learning from positive feedback underlie maladaptive self-beliefs in depression

delete2026-08-06
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OA
AI
N
Nora Czekalla *
A
Alexander Schröder
A
Annalina V. Mayer
J
Janine Stierand
D
David S. Stolz
T
Tobias Κube
C
Christoph W. Korn
I
Ines Wilhelm
J
Jan Philipp Klein
F
Frieder M. Paulus
S
Sören Krach *
L
Laura Müller‐Pinzler *
DOI:10.1038/s41398-026-04341-7delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Maladaptive self-beliefs are a core symptom of major depressive disorder. These beliefs are perpetuated by a negatively biased integration of self-related feedback. Understanding the neurocomputational mechanisms of biased belief updating may help to counteract maladaptive beliefs and the maintenance of depression. The present study uses a belief-updating task and functional neuroimaging to examine the neurocomputational mechanisms associated with self-related feedback processing in individuals with major depression (n = 35) and matched healthy controls (n = 32). We hypothesized that increased symptom burden in depression is associated with negatively biased self-belief updating and altered hemodynamic responses to social feedback. Our findings show that, in the clinical sample, the incorporation of unexpected positive feedback was reduced with greater symptom burden, and that insula reactivity was generally elevated to unexpected negative feedback. The interplay of increased hemodynamic responsiveness to negative feedback and the reduced learning from positive feedback provide new insights into cognitive distortions in depression and may explain the persistence of maladaptive self-beliefs and, thus, the maintenance of depression.

Journal

Translational Psychiatry cover
Translational Psychiatry
IF:
6.2
Papers:
5.5K
Citations:
2.4W

Organization

D
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
Scholars:
168
Papers: 51
Citations: 6
D
department of psychiatry
Scholars:
1.9K
Papers: 692
Citations: 0
D
department of general psychiatry
Scholars:
22
Papers: 12
Citations: 0
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