Zou R, Tiemeier H, van der Ende J, et al. - Researchers investigated how child brain development, including volumetrics and white matter microstructure, is affected by exposure to maternal depressive symptoms at different developmental stages from fetal life to preadolescence. Utilizing a longitudinal birth cohort in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, they assessed data from 3,469 mother-child pairs on maternal depressive symptoms and child neuroimaging at age 10. As per single-time-point analyses, maternal depressive symptoms at child age 2 months were associated with smaller total gray matter volume and lower global fractional anisotropy (FA). Exposure to persistently high levels of maternal depressive symptoms across the perinatal period had resulted in smaller gray and white matter volumes as well as alterations (ie, lower FA) in white matter microstructure among exposed children vs nonexposed children. Moreover, the association between postnatal maternal depressive symptoms and child attention problems was identified mediating the gray matter volume differences. Results thus indicated that the postnatal phase is a window of vulnerability for adversities such as maternal depressive symptoms.