186 Chapter 7 found for neural correlates of prolonged eye contact (i.e., direct versus averted gaze) in parents, neuroimaging results showed that the sight of one’s own child versus an unfamiliar child was associated with decreased deactivations of blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD)-responses in middle/inferior occipital gyrus, fusiform gyrus, and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Lastly, activity in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) increased with the duration of eye contact, which was positively associated with parents’ self-reported feelings of connectedness. Together, the results provide first insights into the neural and affective signatures of prolonged eye contact between parents and adolescents and show that prolonged duration is key to eliciting positive affect and affiliation within the parent-child context and to others in general. Chapter 3 examined the impact of a history of childhood emotional maltreatment (CEM) in parents on their neural and affective responses to gazing into their own and others’ eyes. Participants who reported more CEM exhibited increased activity in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) to one’s own, but not others’, direct gaze. This brain region has been robustly implicated in self-referential processing. Despite equivalent amounts of time spent looking into other people’s eyes, participants with more experienced CEM did not benefit as much from the mood-boosting effects of eye contact with others compared to people who reported fewer of such experiences. In sum, participants who reported more severe CEM seem to show altered neural and affective responses to gazing into their own eyes and those of others, which may be a mechanism underlying negative evaluations about self and others that is common in individuals with a history of CEM. Chapter 4 investigated adolescents’ neural and affective responses when making prolonged eye contact with their parent and unknown others. In addition, differences in these responses between depressed and non-depressed adolescents were examined. Similar to their parents, prolonged eye contact boosted adolescents’ feelings of connectedness compared to the presentation of a static picture. Furthermore, adolescents reported to feel better and more connected with others after a direct versus an averted gaze. In contrast to their parents, adolescents showed specific neural correlates related to gaze direction, in the inferior frontal gyrus, temporal pole, and superior frontal gyrus. Unlike non-depressed adolescents, depressed adolescents did not report a better mood in response to direct versus averted gaze of others and they did not report a better mood and enhanced feelings of connectedness when seeing their parent relative to others. This suggests blunted affective responses to eye contact in depressed versus non-depressed adolescents, particularly with their own parent. Regarding their neural responses, depressed adolescents exhibited blunted activity in IFG and secondary visual cortex. Since these brain regions have been implicated in inferring other’s feelings and social exclusion, this might reflect a lack of social engagement characteristic of adolescent depression, and even a feeling of being excluded.
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