The emergence of depression in adolescence: Development of the prefrontal cortex and the representation of reward
Abstract
Adolescent development is accompanied by the emergence of a population-wide increase in vulnerability to depression that is maintained through adulthood. We provide a model for understanding how this vulnerability to depression arises, and why depression is so often precipitated by social rejection or loss of status during this phase. There is substantial remodeling and maturation of the dopaminergic reward system and the prefrontal cortex during adolescence, that coincides with the adolescent entering the complex world of adult peer and romantic relationships, where the rewards that can be obtained (feelings such as belonging, romantic love, status and agency) are abstract and temporally distant from the proximal context. Development of the prefrontal cortex makes it possible to pursue such complex and distal rewards, which are, however, tenuous and more readily frustrated than more immediate rewards. We hypothesize that when these distant rewards are frustrated they suppress the reward system, and that when such suppression is extensive and occurs for long enough, the clinical picture that results is one of depression.
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Developmental models suggest that social stressors influence depressive symptoms through effects on reward-related brain function.
“Developmental models suggest that social stressors influence depressive symptoms through effects on reward-related brain function (Forbes and Dahl, 2005; Nelson et al., 2005; Davey et al., 2008).”
From Neural Activation to Parental Praise Interacts With Social Context to Predict Adolescent Depressive Symptoms (2019) · cites this paper as Davey et al., 2008
High motivation to seek out positive social experiences could lead to greater depressive symptoms when social experiences are not viewed as positive.
“Although high motivation to seek out positive social experiences is likely developmentally appropriate in adolescence (Davey et al., 2008), this could lead to greater depressive symptoms when social experiences are not viewed as positive.”
From Neural Activation to Parental Praise Interacts With Social Context to Predict Adolescent Depressive Symptoms (2019) · cites this paper as Davey et al., 2008
High motivation to seek out positive social experiences is likely developmentally appropriate in adolescence.
“Although high motivation to seek out positive social experiences is likely developmentally appropriate in adolescence (Davey et al., 2008), this could lead to greater depressive symptoms when social experiences are not viewed as positive.”
From Neural Activation to Parental Praise Interacts With Social Context to Predict Adolescent Depressive Symptoms (2019) · cites this paper as Davey et al., 2008
Sex differences in anxiety diagnoses emerge during puberty.
“Sex differences in anxiety diagnoses emerge during puberty (12–15).”
From Sexual differentiation of neural mechanisms of stress sensitivity during puberty (2023) · cites this paper as [14]
Sex differences in stress sensitivity emerge at puberty in humans and other animals, coinciding with an increased incidence of anxiety in women.
“Sex differences in stress sensitivity emerge at puberty in both humans (63, 64) and other animals (20–22), coinciding with an increased incidence of anxiety in women (10, 12, 14, 15).”
From Sexual differentiation of neural mechanisms of stress sensitivity during puberty (2023) · cites this paper as [14]
An alternative account holds that depression is not a failure of prefrontal control; instead, developing prefrontal capacities, such as anticipating distant or abstract rewards, may raise vulnerability.
“According to an alternative hypothesis [74], depression does not represent a failure of prefrontal regulation. Instead, vulnerability to depression may actually be increased by the development of prefrontally mediated capacities, such as the adolescent's enhanced ability to anticipate abstract and distal rewards (or punishments; Figure 1).”
From Arrested development? Reconsidering dual-systems models of brain function in adolescence and disorders (2012) · cites this paper as [74]
Depression rates begin to rise in adolescence and remain elevated into adulthood, beyond the point when prefrontal regulation is thought to mature.
“increased rates of depression start in adolescence, they persist though adulthood – well past the period when prefrontal regulatory mechanisms have presumably matured [74].”
From Arrested development? Reconsidering dual-systems models of brain function in adolescence and disorders (2012) · cites this paper as [74]
Vulnerability to depression is thought to arise as a result of the unstable nature of rewards that are encoded during adolescence.
“Vulnerability to depression is thought to arise as a result of the unstable nature of rewards that are encoded during adolescence (29).”
From Neural sensitivity to eudaimonic and hedonic rewards differentially predict adolescent depressive symptoms over time (2014) · cites this paper as [29]
Individual differences in the structural growth and functional fine-tuning of neural circuitry that underpins social-cognitive and affective processing may relate to adolescents' increased and differential sensitivity to social influences.
“Therefore, individual differences in the structural growth and functional fine-tuning of neural circuitry that underpins social-cognitive and affective processing may relate to adolescents’ increased and differential sensitivity to social influences (Davey et al., 2008, Nelson and Guyer, 2011).”
From Adolescent neurobiological susceptibility to social context (2016) · cites this paper as Davey et al., 2008
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References 226 · Cited by 377
- Authors
- Davey, C. G., Yücel, M., & Allen, N. B.
- Affiliations
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Allen, Nicholas B.
- Venue
- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2008-01
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1-19
- ISSN
- 0149-7634 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1979418246
- Semantic Scholar
- 1e41f25a5985880556bc92b496b92bb9de7e98d4
- Cited by
- 377
- References
- 226
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 28
- FWCI
- 0.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- adolescent depression, prefrontal cortex maturation, dopaminergic reward system, reward representation, social rejection, status loss, frustration, peer relationships, romantic relationships, adolescent development, depression vulnerability
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Psychology, Adolescent, Animals, Depressive Disorder, Dopamine, Frustration, Humans, Models, Psychological, Neural Pathways, Reward, Prefrontal Cortex
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