Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

The development of major depressive disorder (MDD) likely involves both genetics and environmental stressors. To understand this further, the present investigation will assess whether environmental and genetic factors influence brain connections in depression, and whether these neural connections can predict antidepressant treatment response. To accomplish this, genetic information and assessments of early life stress will be collected from individuals with depression. Additionally, an MRI scan called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) will be used to determine the strength of neural connections in depressed individuals. This information will allow us to assess whether genetic and environmental factors influence neural connections in emotion regulation and cognitive regions in depressed individuals. Following this, antidepressants will be given to patients to treat their depression. Assessing improvements in their depression will allow us to determine whether changes in neural connectivity can predict improvements in depression. These findings will enable us to understand whether genetic and environmental factors influence neural connection changes in depression and whether those changes can be used to predict treatment response.