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There has been little neuroimaging evidence on how prenatal maternal depression affects the amygdala in the newborn. In this study, 157 pregnant Asian patients completed a brief self-report depression scale at week 26. At 6 to 14 days after birth, their children underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging without sedation (5-minute Apgar, >7; birth weight, >2500 g; gestation duration, ≥37 weeks).
Analyses controlled for several measures (e.g., birth weight, postconceptual age) and for the lower incomes and smoking exposure seen in high depression scorers. Compared with children of the 42 mothers with the fewest depression symptoms, offspring of the 28 highest scorers had lower fractional anisotropy and axial diffusivity (measures of whit…