Here's looking at you, kid? Maternal depression and adolescent attention to self- or other-directed emotional faces

Background: Maternal depression history represents a significant risk factor for developing psychopathology in children, altered emotional responding may represent a central risk pathway. However, additional research is needed on factors that affect the strength or direction of response alterations in relation to depression-risk in youth. In particular, facial orientation and gaze direction may alter personal relevance, with emotions directed towards an individual heightening motivational salience, compared to emotions directed away. Methods: Mother-daughter dyads (N = 56) were recruited based on presence or absence of maternal depression history and absence of youth depression. In line with theoretical perspectives suggesting diminished sensitivity to emotional context in relation to depression risk, we examined three Event-Related Potential (ERP) components in relation to forward versus averted emotional faces in a sample of girls with and without a maternal history of depression: the N200, N400, and Late Positive Potential (LPP). Results: Results showed a significant maternal depression history by face-orientation effect. Low-risk girls exhibited more negative N200 and N400 amplitudes for straight (M = - 3.72, SE = 0.83; M = - 3.57, SE = 0.86) versus averted (M = - 2.15, SE = 0.76; M = -1.68, SE = 0.81) faces, while girls of mothers with histories of depression showed undifferentiated N200 or N400 responses in relation to face orientation. For LPP amplitudes, low-risk girls exhibited significantly more positive LPP amplitudes than high-risk girls, but only for averted faces (M = 0.69, SE = 0.59 and M = - 2.63, SE = 0.74, respectively). Limitations: Cross-sectional design and limited sample. Conclusions: Results indicate that familial depression risk is associated with altered responsivity to face-orientation, these were interpreted as representing differential sensitivity to the personal-relevance of emotional stimuli.