Author ORCID Identifier:
Date of Graduation
12-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Psychology (MA)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Psychological Science
Advisor/Mentor
Judah, Matt
Committee Member
Zabelina, Darya
Second Committee Member
Shields, Grant
Keywords
acute stress; depression; executive control; major depressive disorder
Abstract
Executive control under stress has been shown to be a robust predictor of psychopathology, especially Major Depressive Disorder (i.e., depression). However, the underlying neural mechanisms that might explain this association have not been examined. To address this gap, both controls (n = 30) and individuals with current or past depression (n = 30) completed a modified Stroop task under fMRI. Behaviorally, we assessed both participants’ executive control performance and their subjective affect during the task. At the neural level, we examined brain regions related to both executive-related control (e.g., DLPFC) and executive-related affective processes (e.g., amygdala, striatum), as well as a region thought to carry out the cost-benefit analysis for exerting control (dACC). We find that participants in the depression group demonstrated worse Stroop performance compared to controls. Further, we find that those in the depression group reported feeling worse during the task, especially after committing an error on difficult trials, suggesting they find the task more aversive than the control participants. At the neural level, we find differing activity in the dACC across groups, which suggests the cost-benefit analysis to exert control may be altered in depression. Together, our results suggest that depression may not be characterized by an inability to exert control but support a theoretical framework highlighting
Citation
Swanson, B. (2025). Elucidating Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying Depression-Related Differences in Executive Control Under Stress. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/6008
