White Matter Microstructure, Emotion Regulation, and Cognitive Flexibility as Predictors of Social Connection Across Aging and Depression

This preregistration outlines a secondary data analysis examining associations among white matter microstructure, emotion regulation, cognitive flexibility, and social connection in mid- to late-life in healthy adults and individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data from the Neurobehavioral Mechanisms of Emotion Regulation in Depression Across the Adult Lifespan (EMERALD) study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03207503), we investigate whether fractional anisotropy (FA) of the bilateral uncinate fasciculi (UFi) and superior longitudinal fasciculi (SLF II) predict individual differences in perceived social support and social interaction. We investigate whether neurostructural-social associations are moderated by cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, and cognitive flexibility. Analyses will focus on tract-specific versus global white matter associations and age-related patterns across healthy control (HC) and MDD groups.