Dr Sarah Whittle
Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre,
The University of Melbourne, Vic
Geoffrey Betts Post Doctoral Fellowship 2011
Dr. Whittle has published a number of scientific papers and book chapters on these topics, and has presented her research at national and international conferences. She is also involved in the supervision of a number of postgraduate students and performs sessional lectures at the University of Melbourne. During her fellowship with Australian Rotary Health, she will continue her work investigating biological and environmental risk factors for adolescent mood disorders, with a focus on depression.
SUMMARY OF PROJECT:
Sensitivity to the environment: Risk and resilience for adolescent depression
Developmental processes that give rise to adolescent depression likely involve complex interrelations between biological and environmental factors. It has been suggested that biological vulnerabilities interact with the environment to trigger psychological disorders. However, no research to date has investigated how neurobiological features, such as brain development, and their interaction with key environmental factors, such as family relationships, might predict the onset of depression in adolescence. The aims of this project are as follows:
1. To utilise an established cohort of adolescents to investigate whether brain development (i.e., changes in brain structure across time) confers vulnerability for depression during adolescence.
2. To investigate the interactive effects of family environments on the relationship between brain development and depression outcomes in adolescence.
We have established a unique cohort of approximately 240 Victorian early adolescents, who were selected to encompass both risk and resilience for later emotional and behavioural problems. We have collected data from participants at a number of time points, from 2004 (ages 11-13 years) to present, including three waves of brain imaging and psychiatric assessment data at ages 11-13, 15-17, and 18-20, and one wave of observed family interaction data at age 11-13. I will use this data to test the significance of interactions between neuroanatomical and environmental measures in predicting depression outcomes in adolescence.
This work is expected to be of major relevance to researchers, clinicians, adolescents and their families. It will contribute to our understanding of risk and resilience factors for depression in adolescence. The joint examination of biological vulnerability and potentially modifiable environmental risk factors will provide a strong basis for developing preventive strategies targeted at those most vulnerable.