Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Research Publications

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Author: Allen, Nicholas × Author: Dennison, Megan × Author: Schwartz, Orli × Type: Journal Article ×

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    Observed Measures of Negative Parenting Predict Brain Development during Adolescence
    Whittle, S ; Vijayakumar, N ; Dennison, M ; Schwartz, O ; Simmons, JG ; Sheeber, L ; Allen, NB ; Rosenfeld, CS (PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2016-01-29)
    Limited attention has been directed toward the influence of non-abusive parenting behaviour on brain structure in adolescents. It has been suggested that environmental influences during this period are likely to impact the way that the brain develops over time. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between aggressive and positive parenting behaviors on brain development from early to late adolescence, and in turn, psychological and academic functioning during late adolescence, using a multi-wave longitudinal design. Three hundred and sixty seven magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were obtained over three time points from 166 adolescents (11-20 years). At the first time point, observed measures of maternal aggressive and positive behaviors were obtained. At the final time point, measures of psychological and academic functioning were obtained. Results indicated that a higher frequency of maternal aggressive behavior was associated with alterations in the development of right superior frontal and lateral parietal cortical thickness, and of nucleus accumbens volume, in males. Development of the superior frontal cortex in males mediated the relationship between maternal aggressive behaviour and measures of late adolescent functioning. We suggest that our results support an association between negative parenting and adolescent functioning, which may be mediated by immature or delayed brain maturation.
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    Structural Brain Development and Depression Onset During Adolescence: A Prospective Longitudinal Study
    Whittle, S ; Lichter, R ; Dennison, M ; Vijayakumar, N ; Schwartz, O ; Byrne, ML ; Simmons, JG ; Yuecel, M ; Pantelis, C ; McGorry, P ; Allen, NB (AMER PSYCHIATRIC PUBLISHING, INC, 2014-05)
    OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to investigate whether the structural development of limbic, striatal, and prefrontal regions that are critically implicated in the pathophysiology of depression is associated with adolescent-onset depression. METHOD: In a longitudinal design, a risk enriched community sample of 86 adolescents (41 of them female) who had no history of depressive disorders participated in neuroimaging assessments conducted during early (age 12) and midadolescence (age 16). Onset of depressive disorders was assessed for the period spanning early to late adolescence (ages 12 to 18). Thirty participants experienced a first episode of a depressive disorder during the follow-up period. The authors assessed whether onset of depressive disorder was associated with structural change in limbic, striatal, and prefrontal cortical regions from early to mid-adolescence. RESULTS: Volumetric change in the hippocampus, amygdala, and putamen from early to mid-adolescence was associated with the onset of depression during adolescence. Attenuated growth of the hippocampus and attenuated reduction in putamen volume over time were associated with the onset of depression. Sex moderated the association between amygdala growth and depression such that exaggerated growth and attenuated growth of the amygdala were associated with depression in females and males, respectively. Across time, smaller nucleus accumbens volume was associated with depression in females only. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that alterations in the developmental trajectories of limbic and striatal regions during adolescence may represent a neurobiological manifestation of a risk factor for the development of depression during this critical period and thus may provide clues as to etiological mechanisms of this disorder.
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    Positive parenting predicts the development of adolescent brain structure: A longitudinal study
    Whittle, S ; Simmons, JG ; Dennison, M ; Vijayakumar, N ; Schwartz, O ; Yap, MBH ; Sheeber, L ; Allen, NB (ELSEVIER SCI LTD, 2014-04)
    Little work has been conducted that examines the effects of positive environmental experiences on brain development to date. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate the effects of positive (warm and supportive) maternal behavior on structural brain development during adolescence, using longitudinal structural MRI. Participants were 188 (92 female) adolescents, who were part of a longitudinal adolescent development study that involved mother-adolescent interactions and MRI scans at approximately 12 years old, and follow-up MRI scans approximately 4 years later. FreeSurfer software was used to estimate the volume of limbic-striatal regions (amygdala, hippocampus, caudate, putamen, pallidum, and nucleus accumbens) and the thickness of prefrontal regions (anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortices) across both time points. Higher frequency of positive maternal behavior during the interactions predicted attenuated volumetric growth in the right amygdala, and accelerated cortical thinning in the right anterior cingulate (males only) and left and right orbitofrontal cortices, between baseline and follow up. These results have implications for understanding the biological mediators of risk and protective factors for mental disorders that have onset during adolescence.