CIBSR - Pediatric Cancer

Depression and Suicide in children and adolescents are major public health concerns. Major depressive disorder, a debilitating and potentially life-threatening disorder, has a 15% - 20% life time prevalence in adolescents, and is a major cause for suicide attempts in this age-group. The neural underpinnings of the biological predisposition that places an individual at risk for committing suicide are poorly understood. Disrupted white matter circuits (brain pathways) involved in mood regulation are thought to contribute to the development of depression in adults, but white matter structure in adolescents has not been investigated to date. In addition it is unknown whether brain differences exist between depressed adolescents with and without suicidal ideations.

The CIBSR is conducting a study, funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), investigating how brain pathways and brain function differ between adolescent females with depressive symptoms and adolescent females with no depressive symptoms. In this study we also explore brain differences between depressed adolescent females with and without suicidal ideations. The goal of this study is to identify brain regions that are affected in adolescent depression that could serve as future targets for treatment of the disorder.

Another ongoing study on adolescent depression compares brain activation in individuals with and without a history of psychological trauma, such as abuse. Abuse and trauma in children is horrifically prevalent, with 15% to 20% of juveniles encountering some form of severe trauma. Furthermore, depression secondary to psychological trauma is common, with 48% of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder also receiving a comorbid diagnosis of depression. Distinguishing between neural abnormalities associated with depression and those associated with trauma-related depression may help us to better understand the effects of traumatic stress on brain function in depression, and could help to develop more targeted treatments.

This study, funded by the Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation (KTGF), will use functional MRI to examine brain activation during emotion processing tasks in female adolescents with and without a history of trauma. The information about brain function that we gain from this study will be used to develop real-time fMRI biofeedback techniques for treatment of depression.

For more information, or to ask about participation, please email Dr. Amy Garrett at : depressionstudy@lists.stanford.edu