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  • Perspective
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Neuroimaging insights into adolescent depression risk and development

Nature Mental Health volume 3, pages 772–779 (2025) Cite this article

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Abstract

Adolescence is a period of increased risk for the onset of depression. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this vulnerability remain poorly understood despite substantial investment and efforts in this research area. In this Perspective, we review existing literature on the links between the adolescent brain and depression risk and development, and discuss methodological and conceptual challenges related to quantifying brain features and measuring depression. We highlight the importance of considering both large-scale longitudinal cohort studies and smaller focused investigator-led studies with deep phenotyping to advance our understanding of the neural basis of depression in adolescence. Emphasizing the need to embrace the developmental context and refine our methodologies, we propose several considerations to help current and future researchers advance our understanding of how the developing brain influences depression risk in today’s youth.

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Fig. 1: Summary of the considerations presented in this Perspective.
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Acknowledgments

N.M. and C.K.T. are supported by the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority (number 2023012). Y.J.T. is supported by Convergence | Healthy Start, a program of the Convergence Alliance—Delft University of Technology, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Erasmus Medical Center. C.K.T. is supported by the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority (number 2021070 and number 500189) and the Research Council of Norway (number 288083 and number 323951).

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Author notes

  1. Niamh MacSweeney & Christian K. Tamnes

    Present address: PROMENTA Research Centre, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

  2. Niamh MacSweeney & Christian K. Tamnes

    Present address: Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway

  3. Yara J. Toenders

    Present address: Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

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    1. Niamh MacSweeney
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    N.M.: conceptualization; writing—original draft, writing—review and editing; visualization, project administration. Y.J.T.: conceptualization; writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. C.K.T.: conceptualization; writing—review and editing; funding acquisition.

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    Correspondence to Niamh MacSweeney.

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    MacSweeney, N., Toenders, Y.J. & Tamnes, C.K. Neuroimaging insights into adolescent depression risk and development. Nat. Mental Health 3, 772–779 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-025-00453-z

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-025-00453-z

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