Early morning cortisol response and emotional processing in adults exposed to postnatal depression in infancy.

Journal article

Emotional processing and cortisol were investigated in non-depressed young adults whose mothers experienced PND. PND-exposed participants (n=11) had higher waking salivary cortisol and slower performance on an emotional categorization task than controls (n=15). This supports the hypothesis that early exposure to maternal depression is associated with characteristics reminiscent of vulnerability to depression.

Authors: Douglas, J; Harmer, C

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 479-481
• Publication date: 2011-11-01
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2010.01.015
• EISSN: 1778-3585
• ISSN: 0924-9338
• Language: English
• Keywords: Child Development; Pituitary-Adrenal System; Questionnaires; Humans; Adult; Male; Saliva; Female; Mother-Child Relations; Depression; Infant, Newborn; Affective Symptoms; Postnatal Care; Depression, Postpartum; Hydrocortisone