Reward Processing and Risk for Depression Across Development

Offspring of depressed mothers are at increased risk for developing depression and show blunted responses to reward, relative to low-risk peers, within the dorsal and ventral striatum. The strongest evidence for the relationship between depression risk and blunted striatal response to reward has been found during mid-adolescence, a time in development when healthy low-risk groups show maximal striatal response to reward. Blunted striatal...