Professor Nicholas Allen
BSc(Hons), MSc (Clin. Psych.), PhD.
Professor
Contact details:
| email: nba AT unimelb.edu.au | |
| telephone: +61 3 8344 6325 | |
| Lab Web Page: Affective Development and Psychopathology Team (ADAPT) |
Throughout the lifespan there are certain developmental transitions that appear to be particularly important for determining a person’s mental health. The transition from childhood to adolescence is especially important, as many serious mental health problems, such as depression and substance use problems, emerge for the first time during or after this transition. In my research group, we use a developmental psychopathology approach to understand how children and adolescents are affected by the environments in which they grow up. We have especially focussed on how family interactions and other aspects of the child’s environment that have been shown to increase risk for mental health problems (e.g., stress, abuse, socio-economic disadvantage) influence the child’s emotional functioning and the development of the biological systems that undergird these emotions. The aim of this work is to not only shed light on the underlying causes of mental health and ill-health during these stages of life, but also to inform innovative approaches to early intervention and prevention by utilising this knowledge to generate and test novel, developmentally-targeted clinical and public health interventions.
Methodologically we have conducted longitudinal studies of children and adolescents, studying their family and peer environments using micro-social behavioural observation, and examining their brain development via structural and functional neuroimaging and psychophysiological techniques. We have also utilised assays of stress-related endocrine systems and the hormones that activate pubertal development, along with investigations of immune system function. We have collaborated in the development of automated methods of detecting depression in adolescents using voice and video data, and are conducting controlled trials of innovative intervention techniques, such as Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and sleep improvement interventions. This work is conducted with a network of collaborators across Australia and internationally (see lab we page for details).
Research Interests:
- Developmental Psychology
- Developmental psychopathology
- Adolescent brain and behavioural development
- Family processes in adolescent development and risk for depression and substance abuse
- Behavioural Neuroscience
- Developmental affective and social neuroscience
- Psychophysiology and neurobiology of emotion, attention and temperament
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychological and biological models of affective and substance use disorders
- Causes of the emergence of affective and substance use disorders during adolescence
- Early intervention and prevention of affective and substance use disorders
- Evolutionary bases of emotion and psychopathology
- Cognitive and behavioural therapies
Professional Associations, Memberships & Awards:
- American Psychological Association
- Association for Psychological Science
- Australian Clinical Psychology Association
- Society for Psychophysiological Research
- Society for Research in Child Development
- Society for Research in Psychopathology
- International Society for Research on Emotions
- International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
Editorial Roles:
- Associate Editor
Early Intervention in Psychiatry - Editorial Board
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Child Development Perspectives
Current Funded Research:
| Project: | Can better sleep prevent depression and improve cardiac health in at risk adolescents? |
| Year: | 2012-2016 |
| Funded by: | National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grant |
| Project: | Early puberty and brain development: Exploring the neurobiology of adolescent mental health |
| Year: | 2012-2014 |
| Funded by: | Australian Research Council Discovery Grant |
| Project: | A brain –based measure of anxiety sensitivity |
| Year: | 2012-2013 |
| Funded by: | National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grant |
| Project: | Pubertal transitions in mental health and behaviour: The PHASE-A study of social role and lifestyle transitions. |
| Year: | 2011-2015 |
| Funded by: | National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grant |
| Project: | The role of anhedonia in recovery from opiate addiction |
| Year: | 2011-2013 |
| Funded by: | National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grant |
| Project: | Predicting problem gambling: A prospective study of the influence of adolescent risk taking and mental health on gambling during emerging adulthood |
| Year: | 2011-2012 |
| Funded by: | Department of Justice, Victorian State Government |
| Project: | Genes, neuroanatomy and family process: Predicting adolescent anxiety and depression |
| Year: | 2010-2011 |
| Funded by: | Australian Research Council Discovery Grant |
| Project: | Brain development during adolescence and the emergence of depression: A longitudinal MRI study. |
| Year: | 2008-2012 |
| Funded by: | Australian Research Council Discovery Grant |
Representative Publications:
For full publication list on Google Scholar click here.
Books:
Allen, N.B. & Sheeber, L.B. (2008). Adolescent emotional development and the emergence of depressive disorders. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Woods, S., Allen, N.B., & Pantelis, C. (2009). The neuropsychology of mental illness. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Jorm, A.F., Allen, N.B., Purcell, R., Hetrick, S., & Morgan, A. (2009). A guide to what works for depression. Melbourne, Australia: Beyondblue.
Book chapters:
Allen, N.B., Whittle, S., Yap, M.B.H., & Sheeber, L.B. (2010). Der einfluss von erfahrungen in der familie auf die entwicklung des gehirns und aggressive verhaltensstorungen bei jugendlichen. In K.Brisch (Ed.) Bindung, Angst und Aggression. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart.
Sheeber, L., Allen, N.B., & Davis, B. (2009). Childhood Depression: Family Context. In R. E. Ingram (Ed.), International encyclopaedia of depression (pp. 123-125). New York: Springer.
Allen, N.B., Barrett, A., Sheeber, L., & Davis, B. (2006). Pubertal development and the emergence of the gender gap in mood disorders: A developmental and evolutionary synthesis. In D. Castle, J. Kulkarni & K. Abel (Eds.) Mood and anxiety disorders in women. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Refereed Journal Articles:
Whittle, S., Yap, M.B.H., Sheeber, L., Dudgeon, P., Yücel, M., Pantelis, C., Simmons, J.G., & Allen, N.B. (2011). Hippocampal volume and sensitivity to maternal aggressive behavior: A prospective study of adolescent depressive symptoms. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 115-129.
Schwartz, O.S., Dudgeon, P., Sheeber, L.B., Yap, M.B.H., Simmons, J.G., & Allen, N.B. (2011). Observed maternal responses to adolescent behaviour predict the onset of major depression. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49, 331-338.
Simmons, J.G., Nathan, P., Berger, G. & Allen, N.B. (2011). Chronic modulation of serotonergic neurotransmission with sertraline attenuates the loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential in healthy participants. Psychopharmacology, 217, 101-110.
Kuppens, P., Allen, N.B. & Sheeber, L. (2010). Emotional inertia and psychological maladjustment. Psychological Science, 21, 984-991.
Davey, C. G., Allen, N.B., Harrison, B.J., Dwyer, D.B., & Yücel, M. (2010). Being liked activates primary reward- and midline self-related regions. Human Brain Mapping, 31, 660-668.
Lubman, D.I., Yücel, M., Kettle, J., Scaffidi, A., MacKenzie, T., Simmons, J.G., & Allen, N.B. (2009). Anhedonia in opiate addiction predicts later heroin use. Archives of General Psychiatry, 66(2), 205-212.
Yap, M.B.H., Whittle, S., Yücel, M., Sheeber, L., Pantelis, C., Simmons, J., & Allen, N.B. (2008). Interaction of parenting experiences and brain structure in the prediction of depressive symptoms in adolescents. Archives of General Psychiatry, 65, 1377-1385.
Whittle, S., Yücel, M., Fornito, A., Barrett, A., Wood, S., Lubman, D., Simmons, J., Pantelis, C., & Allen, N.B. (2008). Neuroanatomical correlates of temperament in early adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 47 (6), 682-693.
Yap, M., Allen. N.B., & Ladouceur, C. (2008). Maternal socialization of positive affect: The impact of “dampening” on adolescent emotion regulation and depressive symptomatology. Child Development, 79, 1415-1431.
Whittle, S., Yap, M.B.H., Yücel, M., Fornito, A., Barrett, A., Sheeber, L., & Allen, N.B. (2008). Prefrontal and amygdala volumes are related to adolescents’ affective behaviors during parent adolescent interactions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), 105 (9), 3652-3657.
Davey,C.D., Yücel, M. & Allen, N.B. (2008). The emergence of depression in adolescence: Development of the prefrontal cortex and the representation of reward. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 32, 1-19.
Allen, N.B., & Badcock, P.B.T. (2003). The social risk hypothesis of depressed mood: Evolutionary, psychosocial, and neurobiological perspectives. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 887-913.
Research Students:
See lab website for full list of current research students