Dr. Katie McLaughlin: Understanding How Stress Causes Anxiety and Depression in Youth
*This trial has concluded and the results are currently being analyzed. We look forward to sharing more information when it is published in 2019.
Dr. McLaughlin is using brain imaging and smartphone-enabled technologies to investigate the biology of how stress can lead to anxiety and depression in youth.
The years of adolescence tend to present many stressful events. Not coincidentally, more than 1 in 5 youth age 9 to 17 suffer from a diagnosable mental health condition. Extensive research shows that anxiety and depression, at any age, are strongly associated with exposure to stressful life events (SLEs). However, little is known about the specific brain mechanisms underlying this connection.
Katie McLaughlin, PhD is our 2015 One Mind Institute / AIM Rising Star Research Award winner, and an Associate Professor of Psychology at University of Washington. McLaughlin’s research pursues a brilliantly direct and original approach to understanding the biology linking the stress of adolescent life with the development of anxiety and depression.
One critical challenge not met by previous studies has been in monitoring participants with sufficient frequency to document the neural changes associated with SLEs. This challenge arises from the speed of changes in the brain that, in turn, influence emotion and behavior, following stressful events. McLaughlin’s team is now observing these changes, as they progress in study participants, continuously using wearable digital technology, as well as monthly, using brain imaging and face-to-face interviews.
These precise assessments could provide the fine-resolution data needed to reveal biological markers of adolescent anxiety and depression early enough to prevent the onset of anxiety and mood disorders.
As of January 2017, McLaughlin’s team has recruited participants and is halfway through collecting the data needed for analysis. Her research is proceeding quickly toward answering three critical questions:
- How do stressful life events change the neurobiology underlying how young people respond emotionally to their environment? McLaughlin predicts that after SLEs, teens will assign greater salience to negative emotional stimuli, reflected in heightened response to these cues in the brain’s fear circuits, and reduced pleasure from positive stimuli, reflected in blunted response to positive cues in the brain’s reward circuits. She also predicts that adolescents’ neural circuits regulating positive and negative emotions will be weakened.
- Are these stress-induced neurobiological changes governed by daily variations in physical activity, sleep, social behavior, and physiological arousal? She predicts that adolescents will experience reduced sleep duration and quality, reduced social engagement (as seen through reduced frequency of phone and text use), reduced physical activity (tracked by steps), and reduced heart period variability and elevated sympathetic tone, which will mediate changes in brain function following SLEs.
- Do these stress-induced changes in neurobiology predict symptoms of anxiety and depression? By correlating fluctuations in neural markers with changes in symptoms monthly, this connection will become clear.
The study has been progressing with great success. Each participant enrolled in the study is followed for a one-year period of time, with intensive monthly assessments of stressful life events, brain structure and function, and mental health. We have completed data collection on more than half of our sample and have had excellent retention. The study will be completed in April 2018, and we are eager to analyze our data and share our results at that time.
Success story:
“I thought that feeling hopeless and like a failure was something that I would always live with. Being in the study and talking to the interviewers each month helped me realize that I could change the thoughts that were causing me to feel this way. After working with my counselor, I have a new perspective and skills I can use when I start feeling suicidal and depressed. I am happier and healthier than I have been in a long time.” 15 year old female client
We are grateful to the donors of AIM for Mental Health.
Understanding How Stress Causes Anxiety & Depression in Youth
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Krista Reuther is the Assistant Director of Ohana’s Community Health and Prevention Program. She received her Masters in Public Health and Social Work at UC Berkeley. She comes to this position after 14 years of clinical social work experience at Stanford Children’s Hospital in pediatric oncology, critical care, and bereavement. Her goal is to reduce the incidence of mental illness in children and adolescents in Monterey County.
Dr. Guss is a 35-year veteran educator with a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership. She served as a classroom teacher for 10 years, including two years as a teacher in a bilingual program in South Central Los Angeles. She has also served as a college professor, mentor teacher for new teachers, and a master teacher for teacher candidates completing their student teaching experience. She continues to be a strong advocate for the teaching profession.
Fellowship: Stanford University School of Medicine (1994) CA
Michael G. Thompson, Ph.D. is a consultant, author and psychologist specializing in children and families. He is the supervising psychologist for the Belmont Hill School and has worked in more than seven hundred schools across the United States, as well as in international schools in Central America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
is 15 years old and a sophomore at Marina High School in Marina, CA. Her academic interests include math, history, and psychology. She joined the AIM Ideas Lab in 2021 because she wanted to be a part of something that could have a great impact on her community. Marwa is interested in youth mental health because she has always been fascinated with the human mind and she wants to support those that are suffering who may feel like their challenges in life aren’t important enough or are too afraid to seek necessary help.
Giovanna Panetta is a 16 year old junior at Carmel High School. She has always been called to STEM subjects, specifically biology. The AIM Ideas Lab instantly attracted her attention as a research opportunity. Gia has always comprehended the importance of mental health. She knows that COVID only exacerbated previously existing problems, and that as a community we can try and find the root of those problems. Mental health is an integral part of life, and can impede a body’s ability to be healthy. She strongly believes that life is worth living, and she wants to help anyone that thinks otherwise.
Dr. Friedman completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology from University of California San Diego (UCSD). She went on to complete her masters and doctorate degrees (Ph.D.) in Clinical Psychology from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science/Chicago Medical School. Dr. Friedman completed her pre-doctoral internship at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, and her post-doctoral fellowship training at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. Her clinical training and experience has been focused primarily on comprehensive assessment and effective treatments for anxiety, mood and related disorders. Dr. Friedman has extensive experience in providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapies for anxiety disorders (e.g. worry, OCD, social anxiety, phobias and PTSD), depression, adjustment disorders/life stress, insomnia and body-focused repetitive behaviors (e.g. Trichotillomania and skin picking). She has received training in evidence-based interventions for a variety of specific problems, including exposure with response prevention (ERP) for treatment of OCD, Prolonged Exposure (PE) for treatment of PTSD, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). Moreover, she has specialty training in the treatment of childhood anxiety and related disorders, such as ADHD, selective mutism, separation anxiety, PTSD, depression and specific phobias. In addition, Dr. Friedman has developed an expertise in research on Trichotillomania and body-focused repetitive behaviors, which has led to numerous local and national presentations. Dr. Friedman regularly attends local and national conferences, training seminars and workshops in order to stay informed on the most up to date treatments and apply state of the art science into her clinical practice.
Dr. Piacentini is a board-certified clinical child and adolescent psychologist and Professor in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. He directs the UCLA Child OCD, Anxiety, and Tic Disorders Clinic and Tourette Association Center of Excellence which provide diagnostic evaluation and treatment (both therapy and medication) for youth with the above problems. He also directs the UCLA Center for Child Anxiety Resilence, Education, and Support (CARES; carescenter.ucla.edu) which provides education and programming to parents, teachers, and clinicians about anxiety prevention and management.
Citlalli Nava is 18 years old and a first year majoring in Psychology at Hartnell Community College in Salinas, CA. She is passionate about understanding how mental health affects how youth think, act, and feel. Citlalli joined the AIM Ideas Lab in 2021 after witnessing the increase in mental health challenges in teenagers and considering the mental health issues they are facing. Citlalli is interested in youth mental health because it is a real problem faced by her generation.
Clinical and community psychologist and health care innovator Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, is CEO of the American Psychological Association, the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. With more than 146,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students as members, APA promotes and disseminates psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve lives – a mission consistent with Evans’ life work.
