Structural Brain Development and Depression Onset During Adolescence: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

Whittle, Sarah; Lichter, Renee; Dennison, Meg; Vijayakumar, Nandita; Schwartz, Orli; Byrne, Marann; Simmons, Julian G; Yücel, Murat; Pantelis, Christos; McGorry, Patrick D.; Allen, Nicholas

doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.13070920

Cited by 217 publications

(189 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…For example, higher rates of childhood adversity were associated with larger (ie, more mature) left amygdala volume in early adolescence (Whittle et al, 2013), as was adolescent-onset depression (another condition that disrupts the early rearing environment; Whittle et al, 2014). In addition, children exposed to maternal depression since birth had larger amygdale than same-aged peers without depressed mothers (Lupien et al, 2009).…”

Section: Effects Of Chronic Parental Deprivation On Amygdala-prefrontmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Neuro-Environmental Loop of Plasticity: A Cross-Species Analysis of Parental Effects on Emotion Circuitry Development Following Typical and Adverse Caregiving

Callaghan

Tottenham

2015

Neuropsychopharmacol

233

210

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Early experiences critically shape the structure and function of the brain. Perturbations in typical/species-expected early experiences are known to have profound neural effects, especially in regions important for emotional responding. Parental care is one species-expected stimulus that plays a fundamental role in the development of emotion neurocircuitry. Emerging evidence across species suggests that phasic variation in parental presence during the sensitive period of childhood affects the recruitment of emotional networks on a moment-to-moment basis. In addition, it appears that increasing independence from caregivers cues the termination of the sensitive period for environmental input into emotion network development. In this review, we examine how early parental care, the central nervous system, and behavior come together to form a 'neuroenvironmental loop,' contributing to the formation of stable emotion regulation circuits. To achieve this end, we focus on the interaction of parental care and the developing amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) network-that is at the core of human emotional functioning. Using this model, we discuss how individual or group variations in parental independence, across chronic and brief timescales, might contribute to neural and emotional phenotypes that have implications for long-term mental health.

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Section: Effects Of Chronic Parental Deprivation On Amygdala-prefrontmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Neuro-Environmental Loop of Plasticity: A Cross-Species Analysis of Parental Effects on Emotion Circuitry Development Following Typical and Adverse Caregiving

Callaghan

Tottenham

2015

Neuropsychopharmacol

233

210

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“…Cortical reconstruction and volumetric segmentation were performed using the freely available FreeSurfer image analysis pipeline v5.3 (http://surfer.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/) [42]. FreeSurfer analysis tools have been validated in pediatric populations [23]. The segmentations were visually inspected for accuracy by a trained researcher.…”

Section: Mri Acquisition and Volumetric Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reduced hippocampal volume has also been associated with psychiatric disorders such as depression in adolescence [23]. Disentangling the effects of ELA and psychopathology on hippocampal development is difficult, because many studies investigating hippocampal differences in childhood maltreatment include children with psychopathology [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Early-Life Adversity on Hippocampal Structures and Associated HPA Axis Functions

Dahmen¹,

Puetz

Scharke

et al. 2017

Dev Neurosci

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Early-life adversity (ELA) is one of the major risk factors for serious mental and physical health risks later in life. ELA has been associated with dysfunctional neurodevelopment, especially in brain structures such as the hippocampus, and with dysfunction of the stress system, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Children who have experienced ELA are also more likely to suffer from mental health disorders such as depression later in life. The exact interplay of aberrant neurodevelopment and HPA axis dysfunction as risks for psychopathology is not yet clear. We investigated volume differences in the bilateral hippocampus and in stress-sensitive hippocampal subfields, behavior problems, and diurnal cortisol activity in 24 children who had experienced documented ELA (including out-of-home placement) in a circumscribed duration of adversity only in their first 3 years of life in comparison to data on 25 control children raised by their biological parents. Hippocampal volumes and stress-sensitive hippocampal subfields (Cornu ammonis [CA]1, CA3, and the granule-cell layer of the dentate gyrus [GCL-DG]) were significantly smaller in children who had experienced ELA, taking psychiatric diagnoses and dimensional psychopathological symptoms into account. ELA moderated the relationship between left hippocampal volume and cortisol: in the control group, hippocampal volumes were not related to diurnal cortisol, while in ELA children, a positive linear relationship between left hippocampal volume and diurnal cortisol was present. Our findings show that ELA is associated with altered development of the hippocampus, and an altered relationship between hippocampal volume and HPA axis activity in youth in care, even after they have lived in stable and caring foster family environments for years. Altered hippocampal development after ELA could thus be associated with a risk phenotype for the development of psychiatric disorders later in life.

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“…Secondary analyses were conducted to examine whether cortical development during the early adolescent period predicted mindfulness outcomes at age 19, by comparing the data for the age 16 scan with a baseline scan obtained on the sample at age 12 (Whittle et al, 2014). No significant relationships were found between dispositional mindfulness levels at age 19 and prefrontal cortical thinning trajectories between the ages of 12 and 16.…”

Section: Testing the Association Between Cortical Thickness Change Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dispositional mindfulness is predicted by structural development of the insula during late adolescence

Friedel

Whittle

Vijayakumar

et al. 2015

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

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Adolescence is a critical period of development, in which the increasing social and cognitive demands of independence need to be met by enhanced self-regulatory abilities. The cultivation of mindfulness has been associated with improved self-regulation in adult populations, and it is theorized that one neurodevelopmental mechanism that supports this capacity is the development of the prefrontal cortex. The current study examined the neurodevelopmental mechanisms associated with dispositional mindfulness in adolescence. Using a longitudinal within-persons design, 82 participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessments at approximately ages 16 and 19, and also completed self-reported measurements of mindfulness at age 19. It was hypothesized that adolescents who demonstrated greater thinning of frontal cortical regions between the age of 16 and 19 would exhibit higher dispositional mindfulness levels at age 19. Results indicated that, contrary to predictions, adolescents with higher levels of mindfulness demonstrated less thinning in the left anterior insula. By contrast, higher IQ was associated with greater thinning of the right caudal middle frontal and right superior frontal regions. The involvement of insula development in mindfulness is consistent with a direct role for this structure in managing self-regulation, and in doing so concords with recent models of self-referential interoceptive awareness.

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Structural Brain Development and Depression Onset During Adolescence: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

Cited by 217 publications

References 42 publications

The Neuro-Environmental Loop of Plasticity: A Cross-Species Analysis of Parental Effects on Emotion Circuitry Development Following Typical and Adverse Caregiving

The Neuro-Environmental Loop of Plasticity: A Cross-Species Analysis of Parental Effects on Emotion Circuitry Development Following Typical and Adverse Caregiving

Effects of Early-Life Adversity on Hippocampal Structures and Associated HPA Axis Functions

Dispositional mindfulness is predicted by structural development of the insula during late adolescence

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