Anxiety and Depression
Many factors including day-to-day life stressors can lead to emotional symptoms in adolescence. If these symptoms persist, they can lead to anxiety and depressive disorders later in life.
Research
The brain undergoes remodelling during teenage years and our research in adolescent girls (12 – 18 years), has revealed important structural and functional changes that reflect the emergence of emotional disorders during this time. Specifically, we have shown that stress modifies brain development and introduces vulnerabilities that likely predispose to future anxiety and depression.
What are we hoping to achieve?
Identify early biological and psychosocial markers of emotional disorders.
Track the development of disorders longitudinally.
Reveal potential targets for treatment.
A deeper understanding of how mood disorders emerge will allow for the development of effective prevention strategies and lead to improvements in outcomes for those at risk of developing mental illnesses.
The significance of this research
This important research will tell us:
Who is more likely to develop mood disorders
Which early indicators of debilitating mood disorders signify the onset of anxiety and depression
When to intervene for maximum and long-term benefit.
Therefore, this research will build towards facilitating timely intervention and prevention efforts.
Relevant publications
If you are interested in our published research, please contact us here.
