Medial Prefrontal Cortex Activity to Reward Outcome Moderates the Association Between Victimization Due to Sexual Orientation and Depression in Youth.

Background: Sexual minority youth (SMY) are 3 times more likely to experience depression than heterosexual peers. Minority stress theory posits that this association is explained by sexual orientation victimization, which acts as a stressor to impact depression. For those vulnerable to the effects of stress, victimization may worsen depression by altering activity in neural reward systems.

An examination of maternal prenatal BMI and human fetal brain development.

Background: Prenatal development is a time when the brain is acutely vulnerable to insult and alteration by environmental factors (e.g., toxins, maternal health).