Neurophysiological activity following gains and losses among young adults with non-suicidal self-injury: An ERP study

Objective

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is an increasingly concerning issue that is linked to a range of mental health problems. However, little is known about the potential neurophysiological mechanisms underlying risk decision-making in Major depressive disorder (MDD) patients with NSSI—the present study aimed to fill this important literature gap.

Methods

A total of 81 MDD patients (with NSSI: n = 40, without NSSI: n = 41) and 44 matched healthy controls (HC) underwent a modified version of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) while an electroencephalogram was recorded. Feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P300 were examined during the feedback stage of the risky decision-making process.

Results

Behavioural findings revealed that individuals diagnosed with MDD displayed a greater tendency to make risky decisions compared to the control group. Furthermore, MDD patients with NSSI demonstrated a significantly more negative ΔFN (i.e., the difference in neural response to losses compared to gains) than those without NSSI. Further, NSSI patients showed a larger difference ΔFN (loss minus gain), which was associated with enhanced impulsivity.

Conclusions

Collectively, the findings suggest that there is an altered processing of risky decision-making in the electrophysiology of patients with MDD who engage in NSSI. The ΔFN may serve as a psychophysiological marker indicating risk for NSSI.