Perinatal maternal mental health and amygdala morphology in young adulthood

22 Sep

Non-invasive brain stimulation: current and future applications in neurology

Device-based non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques show promise for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders, although inconsistencies in protocol designs and study findings can make the field difficult to navigate. In this Review, we discuss applications of NIBS for enhancing cognitive and motor function in people with various neurological diseases that are characterized by disruption of large-scale brain networks, including neurodegenerative diseases and brain lesion disorders such as stroke and traumatic brain injury. In particular, we focus on repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial electrical stimulation, as these techniques have been widely used in clinical settings and randomized controlled trials. We summarize and synthesize current knowledge, and highlight gaps and shortcomings in the existing research that make it difficult to draw firm conclusions, including small sample sizes, heterogeneous patient populations and variations in stimulation protocols. We believe that a rapid evolution of NIBS techniques from state-dependent, network-informed, multifocal and subcortical paradigms to individualized electric field modelling and accelerated NIBS protocols will improve the management of neurological disorders.

15 Sep

Maternal antenatal depression and deviations from normative brain development in the offspring

Background: Maternal mental health during pregnancy is important for optimal brain development in the offspring. Exposure to maternal depression in utero was associated with accelerated global cortical brain aging in young adulthood. However, it is not clear whether maternal antenatal depression (MAD) might also predict region-specific deviations from normative development of cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volume in the offspring and whether they stay stable throughout the third decade of life.

Methods: Two neuroimaging follow-ups of a prenatal birth cohort in young adulthood tested whether MAD might be associated with deviations from normative brain development in the offspring in the early and late 20s, as modeled using 37407 MRI images from individuals 3-90 years old (CentileBrain).

Results: MAD predicted deviations from normative development of thalamus and nucleus accumbens but not other subcortical volumes, surface area, or cortical thickness. Women exposed to greater MAD showed a smaller thalamus and nucleus accumbens in both the early and late 20s than expected based on the age- and sex normative means.