Brain Reactivity and Vulnerability to Social Feedback Following Acute Stress in Early Adolescence

Abstract

Introduction: Early adolescence is a time of high psychosocial stress exposure and high stress reactivity, associated with the development of mental disorders. Understanding how the brain reacts to acute and social stressors during this period might help us detect and protect those at risk. Methods: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate acute social stress reactivity in non-clinical adolescents between ages 13 and 15 years (N = 61) with a range of depression scores (Beck Depression Inventory scores 0–32). Participants underwent a modified Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST) with psychosocial stress condition consisting of two parts: acute stress (challenging maths) fol..