Key result
Adolescents with major depressive disorder exhibited significantly greater pupil dilation to positive pictures and slower pupillary constriction velocities compared to healthy controls.
Why the study?
Pupil response reflects central autonomic activity and emotional regulation, but studies examining pupil response to emotional stimuli in adolescent depression are rare.
Does oculometric behavior and pupillary light reflex differ between adolescents with major depressive disorder and healthy controls?
Case-Control (n=40)
No
Does oculometric behavior and pupillary light reflex differ between adolescents with major depressive disorder and healthy controls?
Absolute Event Rate: 4.52% vs 3.84%
p-value: p=0.013
Adolescent depression is associated with altered pupillary light reflex and oculometric behavior, suggesting early central autonomic dysregulation characterized by parasympathetic hypoactivity.
May indicate early autonomic dysregulation in adolescent MDD; hypothesis-generating for pupillometry as biomarker, needs prospective validation.
Oculometric behaviour assessed by pupil response provides important information about central autonomic activity and emotional regulation. However, studies regarding pupil response to emotional stimuli in adolescent depression are rare. We aimed to study emotional-linked pupil response in adolescent depression. Twenty depressive adolescents (average age: 15.4+/-1.2 years) and 20 age/gender-matched healthy subjects were examined. Average pupil diameter assessed by eye-tracking and pupillary light reflex were evaluated during protocol - baseline, free-view task, recovery phase. Regarding right eye, significantly greater initial pupil diameter and pupil dilation to positive pictures free-viewing (p=0.013, p=0.031, respectively), significantly slower average and maximum constriction velocity in baseline and positive pictures free-viewing (p=0.036, p=0.050, p=0.021, p=0.015, respectively), significantly slower maximum constriction velocity in recovery phase (p=0.045), and significantly faster average dilation velocity in negative pictures free-viewing (p=0.042) were observed in depressive group. Regarding left eye, significantly lower constriction percentual change in negative pictures free-viewing (p=0.044) and significantly greater baseline pupil diameter and pupil diameter at the peak of constriction in positive vs. negative pictures free-viewing (p=0.002, p=0.015, respectively) were observed in depressive group. Our study revealed discrete central autonomic dysregulation - parasympathetic hypoactivity associated with relative sympathetic dominance influenced by impairments in emotional processing already in adolescent depression.
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Sekaninova et al. (2019) conducted a case-control in Major depressive disorder (n=40). Major depressive disorder vs. Healthy controls was evaluated on Average pupil diameter during positive pictures free-viewing (right eye) (p=0.013). Adolescents with major depressive disorder exhibited significantly greater pupil dilation to positive pictures and slower pupillary constriction velocities compared to healthy controls.
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