Biobehavioral Predictors of Illness Progression in Adolescent Depression

PROJECT NARRATIVE Our overall goal is to better understand the mechanisms contributing to the maintenance and severity of adolescent depression. A prospective multimodal study will test the overall hypothesis that reward dysfunction and associated neuroimmunological abnormalities contribute to depression progression in youth. Such work would provide information on modifiable factors to facilitate novel treatment approaches influencing the course of illness early on and prior to chronicity effects, so that we may work to ameliorate morbidity and mortality of this devastating disorder.