ArticleBiological psychiatry2015
Fetal exposure to maternal depressive symptoms is associated with cortical thickness in late childhood.
Article in Biological psychiatry, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 114 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
114 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 217 citations in OpenAlex.
- Application of a diathesis-stress model to the interplay of cortical structural development and emerging depression in youth.Clinical psychology review · 2020Pooled it
- Mental Health of Pregnant and Postpartum Women During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2020Pooled it
- Infant hippocampal and amygdala volume in an observational follow-up from a randomized clinical trial for maternal prenatal depression.Nature communications · 2026Trial
- The association between perinatal depressive symptoms and child neurodevelopment.American journal of obstetrics & gynecology MFM · 2024Trial
- Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings in Children after Antenatal Maternal Depression Treatment, a Longitudinal Study Built on a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Trial
- Offspring Personality Mediates the Association between Maternal Depression and Childhood Psychopathology.Journal of abnormal child psychology · 2019Trial
- An experimental test of the fetal programming hypothesis: Can we reduce child ontogenetic vulnerability to psychopathology by decreasing maternal depression?Development and psychopathology · 2018Trial
- Prenatal serotonin reuptake inhibitor exposure and maternal depression symptoms are associated with altered fetal brain and placental development.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Observational
- Association of prenatal depression and anxiety with cortical development and behavioral outcomes in 8-year-old children.Journal of affective disorders · 2026Article
- Positive and negative maternal mental health demonstrate distinct pathways to childhood depression.Psychological medicine · 2026Article
- Preconception mental health and developmental vulnerability at school entry: population-based cohort study.BJPsych open · 2026Article
- Prenatal maternal psychological distress is associated with neurodevelopmental outcomes in toddlers with congenital heart disease.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- The maternal gut-fetal brain axis: role of maternal microbial metabolome in early neurodevelopment.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Article
- Neurodevelopment in congenital heart disease: a review of antenatal mechanisms and therapeutic potentials.Pediatric research · 2025Review
- Investigating the dynamic relations between maternal sleep and depression across pregnancy.Journal of mood and anxiety disorders · 2025Article
- COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Prenatal Distress and Infant Functional Brain Development.JAACAP open · 2025Article
- The association between prenatal maternal anxiety, infant brain volumes, and temperament during the COVID-19 pandemic.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Virtual versus in-person ROSE program (La Luz) as universal prevention for perinatal depression: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial in a safety net hospital.Contemporary clinical trials · 2025Article
- Associations of prenatal stress with 5-year-old children's executive function in a low socioeconomic status population.Development and psychopathology · 2025Article
54 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMaternal depression is one of the most common prenatal complications. The consequences of fetal exposure to maternal depression are poorly understood. The aim of this study is to examine the association between fetal exposure to maternal depressive symptoms and cortical thickness in children 6-9 years old.
methodsA prospective, longitudinal study of maternal depressive symptoms at 19, 25, and 31 weeks' gestation was followed by acquisition of a structural magnetic resonance imaging scan in 81 children (age, 86.1 ± 9.9 months).
resultsSignificant (p < .01) cortical thinning in children primarily in the right frontal lobes was associated with exposure to prenatal maternal depression. The strongest association was at 25 weeks' gestation; exposure to maternal depression at 25 gestational weeks was associated with cortical thinning in 19% of the whole cortex and 24% of the frontal lobes, primarily in the right superior, medial orbital, and frontal pole regions of the prefrontal cortex (p < .01). The significant association between prenatal maternal depression and child externalizing behavior (p < .05) was mediated by cortical thinning in prefrontal areas of the right hemisphere.
conclusionsThe pattern of cortical thinning in children exposed to prenatal maternal depression is similar to patterns in depressed patients and in individuals with risk for depression. Exposure to prenatal depression coupled with subsequent cortical thinning was associated with presence of externalizing behavior in preadolescent children and may be prodromal markers of risk for dysphoria. Vulnerability to prenatal influences at 25 gestational weeks may result from the enormous growth and dramatic structural changes in the nervous system.
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