Prenatal exposure to maternal and paternal depressive symptoms and white matter microstructure in children

ConclusionsPrenatal maternal depressive symptoms were associated with higher MD in the uncinate fasciculus and the cingulum bundle. These structures are part of the limbic system, which is involved in motivation, emotion, learning, and memory. As paternal depressive symptoms were also related to lower FA in the cingulum, the observed effect may partly reflect a genetic predisposition and shared environmental family factors and to a lesser extent a specific intrauterine effect.

Source: Depression and Anxiety - February 2, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Hanan El Marroun, Runyu Zou, Ryan L. Muetzel, Vincent W. Jaddoe, Frank C. Verhulst, Tonya White, Henning Tiemeier Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research