title: Stress, sensitive periods and maturational events in adolescent depression.
abstract: In this paper, we provide an overview of how the maturation of specific brain regions and stress exposure during windows of vulnerability initiate a series of events that render adolescents exceptionally susceptible to the development of depression. This stress-incubation/corticolimbic development cascade provides a means of understanding why depression emerges with such force and frequency in adolescence. The development of the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala and ventral striatum is described from a translational perspective as they relate to stress exposure, onset, pathogenesis and gender differences in depression. Adolescent depression is a serious recurrent brain-based disorder. Understanding the genesis and neurobiological basis is important in the development of more effective intervention strategies to treat or prevent the disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02478, USA. sandersen@mclean.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Susan L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: Martin H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Teicher
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*