# Trajectories of Reward Sensitivity and Depression Across Adolescence

> **NIH NIH R01** · STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK · 2022 · $748,510

## Abstract

Abstract
Adolescence is a high-risk period for the emergence of depression. Early identification and prevention are critical
to reducing incidence and impact, and to aid these efforts research has begun to examine fundamental neural
systems and mechanisms that underlie risk. Adolescence is a key period for reward circuit development, and
abnormalities in the reward system are central to many etiological models of depression. [Event-related potential
(ERP) and functional MRI (fMRI) measures of reward sensitivity are promising biomarkers of risk for depression.
However, supporting evidence has primarily been cross-sectional, relied on a single neural measure, and/or not
examined whether neural measures have predictive value above other risk factors (e.g., maternal history of
depression, prior symptoms). Research on reward circuit development has largely not examined within-subjec t
trajectories of change. This is a critical gap in the literature as three assessments are suggested for growth curve
modeling, and four assessments allow for a better examination of non-linear changes. Trajectories of reward
circuit development may provide a more sensitive measure of individual differences compared to a single
assessment, particularly in relation to risk for psychopathology, and may help identify optimal points of
intervention.] The proposed study is a competitive renewal of the trajectories of reward sensitivity across
adolescence project (R01MH097767) that involved 317 8 to 14 year-old girls and a biological parent. The project
is a multimodal neuroimaging study of reward sensitivity (ERPs and fMRI) and depressive symptoms that
included a baseline (T1; ages 8 to 14) and follow-up assessment two years later (T2; ages 10 to 16). At T2, the
majority of girls were just entering adolescence and had not completely traversed this pivotal period for reward
system development and increased risk for depression. The proposed study will involve two additional
assessments (T3; ages 12 to 18, and T4: ages 14 to 20) of neural reward sensitivity and psychopathology in girls,
and [the addition of self-report and physiological measures of stress accumulation], which may impact reward
trajectories and the emergence of depression. This study has three primary aims. First, we will examine whether
maternal risk predicts developmental trajectories of reward in adolescent girls (Aim 1). These analyses will be
conducted in adolescent girls who had no lifetime history of a depressive disorder at the baseline (T1) assessment
(N=301). Maternal risk will be determined using two approaches: maternal history of depression and maternal
reward sensitivity (measured via ERPs and fMRI). We will test the novel possibility that maternal reward
sensitivity, compared to maternal history of depression, will better account for developmental trajectories of the
adolescent girls’ reward system. Second, we will examine whether developmental trajectories of reward predict
depression in adolescent...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10350567
- **Project number:** 5R01MH097767-10
- **Recipient organization:** STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK
- **Principal Investigator:** Brady D Nelson
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $748,510
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2012-08-01 → 2024-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10350567

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10350567, Trajectories of Reward Sensitivity and Depression Across Adolescence (5R01MH097767-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10350567. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*