"Linking Childhood Adversity to Adult Depression Through Orbitofrontal Cortex Thinning"

A longitudinal study in Germany suggests that negative life events experienced during childhood can predict depressive symptoms later in life, with the development of depressive symptoms preceded by accelerated thinning of the orbitofrontal cortex region of the brain. The study sheds light on the neural and psychological mechanisms underpinning the development of depression, but also has limitations, including the treatment of negative life events as a singular score without considering timing, frequency, or duration.