ArticleJournal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines2018
Emerging depression in adolescence coincides with accelerated frontal cortical thinning.
Article in Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 135 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Dynamic Interplay Between Puberty and Structural Brain Development as a Predictor of Mental Health Difficulties in Adolescence: A Systematic Review.Biological psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Application of a diathesis-stress model to the interplay of cortical structural development and emerging depression in youth.Clinical psychology review · 2020Pooled it
- Neuroimaging predictors of onset and course of depression in childhood and adolescence: A systematic review of longitudinal studies.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2019Pooled it
- Mechanisms of Change in the Prevention of Depression: An Indicated School-Based Prevention Trial at the Transition to High School.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2020Trial
- Puberty, pregnancy, and menopause show shared and distinct structural changes across the lifespan.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Illness Severity and Longitudinal Gray Matter Volumes Among People With Major Depressive Disorder.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Perinatal Factors and Neuroimaging Changes for Brain Maturation Among Adolescents.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Effects of genetic risk for depression and household socioeconomic status on emotional behavior and brain development in early adolescence.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2026Article
- Longitudinal associations between depressive symptoms and brain structure across late childhood and adolescence: A panel network analysis study.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Psychobiological mechanisms underlying the association between early life stress and depression in adolescence.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Review
- Synchrony between brain age and internalising and externalising symptoms across adolescence.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Independent brain cortical signatures of risk for adolescent cannabis use and consequences of such use are moderated by sex.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Polygenic score for C-reactive protein is linked to faster cortical thinning and psychopathology risk in adolescents.Nature. Mental health · 2026Article
- Understanding the emergence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in adolescence from a brain and behavioral developmental perspective.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- The nature of the relation between mental well-being and ill-being.Nature human behaviour · 2025Review
- The relationship between screen time and anxiety/depression symptoms in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder: the mediating role of cortical volume.BMC pediatrics · 2025Observational
- Individual Differences in Developmental Trajectories of Global and Subcortical Brain Volumes Between Late Childhood and Late Adolescence: Findings From a 12-Wave Neuroimaging Study.Human brain mapping · 2025Article
- Causal Analyses of Associations Between Brain Structure and Suicide Attempt in Adulthood and Late Childhood.JAACAP open · 2025Article
- Using deep learning to predict internalizing problems from brain structure in youth.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Prospective Relations between Cortical Thickness and Change in Internalizing Symptoms are Moderated by Chronic Stress Exposure in Adolescents with Depression and Anxiety.Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science · 2025Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAdolescence is a transition period characterized by heightened emotional reactivity, which for some sets the stage for emerging depressive symptoms. Prior studies suggest that adolescent depression is associated with deviant cortical and subcortical brain structure. Longitudinal studies are, however, currently scarce, but critical to detect which adolescents are at risk for developing depressive symptoms.
methodsIn this longitudinal study, a community sample of 205 participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in three biennial waves (522 scans) spanning 5 years across ages 8-25 years. Depressive symptomatology was assessed using self-report at the third time point. Mixed models were used to examine the relations between structural brain development, specifically regional change in cortical thickness, surface area and subcortical volumes (hippocampus and amygdala), and depressive symptoms.
resultsAccelerated frontal lobe cortical thinning was observed in adolescents who developed depressive symptoms at the third time point. This effect remained after controlling for parent-reported affective problems at the first time point. Moreover, the effect was driven by specific lateral orbitofrontal and precentral regions. In addition, differential developmental trajectories of parietal cortical thickness and surface area in several regions were found for participants reporting higher depressive symptomatology, but these results did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Volumes or developmental volume changes in hippocampus or amygdala were not related to depressive symptoms.
conclusionsThis study showed that emerging depression is associated with cortical thinning in frontal regions within individuals. These findings move beyond detecting cross-sectional correlations and set the stage for early detection, which may inform future intervention.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.