The interplay of rumination and error-related brain activity in the prospective prediction of depressive symptoms among youth

Introduction Rumination is a risk factor for the development of depression among adolescents. However, not all at-risk youth develop depression, suggesting the presence of factors that moderate risk patterns. Error-related negativity (ERN), an event-related potential indexing cognitive error processing, has been associated with both rumination and internalizing symptoms. However, it remains unknown whether ERN interacts with rumination to predict youth internalizing symptoms and if the interaction effects are specific to depression and anxiety symptoms. The current study examined the interplay of ERN and rumination in the 12-month prospective prediction of anxiety and depressive symptoms in a sample of youth.