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Olave L, Momeñe J, Macía L, Macía P, Chávez-Vera MD, Herrero M, Estévez A, Iruarrizaga I. Substance Use and Its Relationship With Attachment and Early Maladaptive Schemes in Adolescents in Ecuador. Dev Psychobiol 2024; 66:e22532. [PMID: 39106347 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2024] [Accepted: 07/16/2024] [Indexed: 08/09/2024]
Abstract
Given the scarcity of studies addressing substance consumption and its relationship with attachment styles and early maladaptive schemas in adolescents, the present study is proposed. Aims of this study are to analyze the relationship among attachment styles, early maladaptive schemas, and substance use; test the predictive role of attachment styles on substance use; and observe the mediating role of early maladaptive schemas in the relationship between attachment and substance use. The sample consisted of 1533 adolescents from Ecuador (53.9% males) aged between 14 and 18 years (M = 15.76; SD = 1.25). The attachment styles of security, value to parental authority, parental permissiveness, parental interference, self-sufficiency and resentment against parents, childhood trauma, and family concern predict substance use (tobacco, alcohol, tranquilizers/sedatives or sleeping pills, hashish or marijuana, cocaine, GHB or liquid ecstasy, ecstasy, amphetamines/speed, hallucinogens, heroin, inhalants/volatiles), and the mediating role of early maladaptive schemas is confirmed (explained variance up to 33.33%). Identifying risk or vulnerability factors, such as attachment and early maladaptive schemas related to substance consumption, is especially relevant for designing and implementing preventive interventions in the adolescent population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leticia Olave
- Faculty of Health Sciences, International University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Janire Momeñe
- Department of Personality, Evaluation and Treatments, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Laura Macía
- Department of Personality, Evaluation and Treatments, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Patricia Macía
- Department of Basic Psychological Processes and their Development, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - María Dolores Chávez-Vera
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Technical University of Manabí, Portoviejo, Ecuador
| | - Marta Herrero
- Department of Personality, Evaluation and Treatments, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Ana Estévez
- Department of Personality, Evaluation and Treatments, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Itziar Iruarrizaga
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Processes and Speech Therapy, Faculty of Social Work, Complutense University of Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas, Madrid, Spain
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Lyons-Ruth K, Chasson M, Khoury J, Ahtam B. Reconsidering the nature of threat in infancy: Integrating animal and human studies on neurobiological effects of infant stress. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 163:105746. [PMID: 38838878 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 05/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/01/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
Early life stress has been associated with elevated risk for later psychopathology. One mechanism that may contribute to such long-term risk is alterations in amygdala development, a brain region critical to stress responsivity. Yet effects of stress on the amygdala during human infancy, a period of particularly rapid brain development, remain largely unstudied. In order to model how early stressors may affect infant amygdala development, several discrepancies across the existing literatures on early life stress among rodents and early threat versus deprivation among older human children and adults need to be reconciled. We briefly review the key findings of each of these literatures. We then consider them in light of emerging findings from studies of human infants regarding relations among maternal caregiving, infant cortisol response, and infant amygdala volume. Finally, we advance a developmental salience model of how early threat may impact the rapidly developing infant brain, a model with the potential to integrate across these divergent literatures. Future work to assess the value of this model is also proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karlen Lyons-Ruth
- Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1493 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02468, USA.
| | - Miriam Chasson
- Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1493 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02468, USA.
| | - Jennifer Khoury
- Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1493 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02468, USA.
| | - Banu Ahtam
- Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging & Developmental Science Center, Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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3
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Foster JC, Hodges HR, Beloborodova A, Cohodes EM, Phillips MQ, Anderson E, Fagbenro B, Gee DG. Integrating developmental neuroscience with community-engaged approaches to address mental health outcomes for housing-insecure youth: Implications for research, practice, and policy. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 68:101399. [PMID: 38875770 PMCID: PMC11225708 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024] Open
Abstract
One in three children in the United States is exposed to insecure housing conditions, including unaffordable, inconsistent, and unsafe housing. These exposures have detrimental impacts on youth mental health. Delineating the neurobehavioral pathways linking exposure to housing insecurity with children's mental health has the potential to inform interventions and policy. However, in approaching this work, carefully considering the lived experiences of youth and families is essential to translating scientific discovery to improve health outcomes in an equitable and representative way. In the current paper, we provide an introduction to the range of stressful experiences that children may face when exposed to insecure housing conditions. Next, we highlight findings from the early-life stress literature regarding the potential neurobehavioral consequences of insecure housing, focusing on how unpredictability is associated with the neural circuitry supporting cognitive and emotional development. We then delineate how community-engaged research (CEnR) approaches have been leveraged to understand the effects of housing insecurity on mental health, and we propose future research directions that integrate developmental neuroscience research and CEnR approaches to maximize the impact of this work. We conclude by outlining practice and policy recommendations that aim to improve the mental health of children exposed to insecure housing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan C Foster
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, New Haven, CT, United States.
| | - H R Hodges
- University of Minnesota, Institute of Child Development, Minneapolis, MN, United States
| | - Anna Beloborodova
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Emily M Cohodes
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, New Haven, CT, United States
| | | | | | | | - Dylan G Gee
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, New Haven, CT, United States.
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4
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Ye C, Ye B, Zhang Z. The relationship between unpredictability in childhood and depression among college students: the mediating roles of coping style and resilience. BMC Psychol 2024; 12:333. [PMID: 38845034 PMCID: PMC11157934 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-01812-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND According to previous studies, unpredictability in childhood could significantly increase the risk of depression in adulthood. Only a few studies have explored the relationship between these two variables in China. This paper aims to explore the relationship between unpredictability in childhood and depression and examine the mediating roles of coping styles and resilience. METHODS We investigated 601 college students, who had an average age of 19.09 (SD = 2.78) years. Participants completed questionnaires regarding unpredictability in childhood, coping style, resilience, and depression. We analyzed survey data using the bias-corrected bootstrap method. RESULTS The findings revealed a significant positive association between unpredictability in childhood and depression among college students. Mature coping style, immature coping style, and resilience were found to mediate this relationship independently. Furthermore, the study unveiled a serial mediation process, wherein both mature and immature coping styles, followed by resilience, sequentially mediate the relationship between unpredictability in childhood and depression, underscoring the complex interplay between these variables. CONCLUSIONS The results indicated that the risk of depression among college students who have experienced unpredictable childhood should be valued. Attention to coping styles and resilience should be paid to decrease depression among college students who have experienced unpredictable childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengxiu Ye
- School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
- Department of Applied Psychology, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Baojuan Ye
- School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China.
- School of Physical Education, School of Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China.
| | - Zheng Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Center for Mental Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
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5
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Hunt C, Vinograd M, Glynn LM, Davis EP, Baram TZ, Stern H, Nievergelt C, Cuccurazzu B, Napan C, Delmar D, Baker DG, Risborough VB. Childhood unpredictability is associated with increased risk for long- and short-term depression and anhedonia symptoms following combat deployment. JOURNAL OF MOOD AND ANXIETY DISORDERS 2024; 6:100045. [PMID: 38911511 PMCID: PMC11192232 DOI: 10.1016/j.xjmad.2023.100045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/25/2024]
Abstract
High unpredictability has emerged as a dimension of early-life adversity that may contribute to a host of deleterious consequences later in life. Early-life unpredictability affects development of limbic and reward circuits in both rodents and humans, with a potential to increase sensitivity to stressors and mood symptoms later in life. Here, we examined the extent to which unpredictability during childhood was associated with changes in mood symptoms (anhedonia and general depression) after two adult life stressors, combat deployment and civilian reintegration, which were assessed ten years apart. We also examined how perceived stress and social support mediated and /or moderated links between childhood unpredictability and mood symptoms. To test these hypotheses, we leveraged the Marine Resiliency Study, a prospective longitudinal study of the effects of combat deployment on mental health in Active-Duty Marines and Navy Corpsman. Participants (N = 273) were assessed for depression and anhedonia before (pre-deployment) and 3-6 months after (acute post-deployment) a combat deployment. Additional assessment of depression and childhood unpredictability were collected 10 years post-deployment (chronic post-deployment). Higher childhood unpredictability was associated with higher anhedonia and general depression at both acute and chronic post-deployment timepoints (βs ≥ 0.16, ps ≤.007). The relationship between childhood unpredictability and subsequent depression at acute post-deployment was partially mediated by lower social support (b = 0.07, 95% CI [0.03, 0.15]) while depression at chronic post-deployment was fully mediated by a combination of lower social support (b = 0.14, 95% CI [0.07, 0.23]) and higher perceived stress (b = 0.09, 95% CI [0.05, 0.15]). These findings implicate childhood unpredictability as a potential risk factor for depression in adulthood and suggest that increasing the structure and predictability of childhood routines and developing social support interventions after life stressors could be helpful for preventing adult depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Hunt
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA
| | - Meghan Vinograd
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA
| | - Laura M Glynn
- Department of Psychology, Chapman University, Orange, CA
| | - Elysia Poggi Davis
- Psychology Department, University of Denver, Denver, CO
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA
- Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA
| | - Hal Stern
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA
| | - Caroline Nievergelt
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA
| | - Bruna Cuccurazzu
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA
| | - Cindy Napan
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA
| | - Dylan Delmar
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA
| | - Dewleen G Baker
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA
| | - Victoria B Risborough
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA
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6
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Hanson JL, Kahhalé I, Sen S. Integrating data science and neuroscience in developmental psychopathology: Formative examples and future directions. Dev Psychopathol 2024:1-8. [PMID: 38769837 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579424001056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
This commentary discusses opportunities for advancing the field of developmental psychopathology through the integration of data science and neuroscience approaches. We first review elements of our research program investigating how early life adversity shapes neurodevelopment and may convey risk for psychopathology. We then illustrate three ways that data science techniques (e.g., machine learning) can support developmental psychopathology research, such as by distinguishing between common and diverse developmental outcomes after stress exposure. Finally, we discuss logistical and conceptual refinements that may aid the field moving forward. Throughout the piece, we underscore the profound impact of Dr Dante Cicchetti, reflecting on how his work influenced our own, and gave rise to the field of developmental psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie L Hanson
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Learning Research & Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Isabella Kahhalé
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Learning Research & Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sriparna Sen
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Learning Research & Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Melo LM, de Barros WA, de Fátima Â, Giusti FCV, Giusti-Paiva A. Exposure to the psychedelic substance 25 H-NBOMe disrupts maternal care in lactating rats and subsequently impairs the social play behavior of the offspring. Behav Brain Res 2024; 465:114924. [PMID: 38423256 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Given the critical role of maternal care in the neurodevelopment of offspring, this study aimed to investigate the effects of the psychedelic substance 25 H-NBOMe on maternal behavior in lactating rats and its subsequent impact on the social and neurodevelopmental behavior of the offspring. We administered two different dosages of 25 H-NBOMe (0.3 mg/kg and 1.0 mg/kg; i,p,) to lactating rats and observed changes in maternal behaviors, such as nest-building and pup retrieval, and in offspring behaviors, including social play. Behavioral assessments were complemented by physiological measurements to rule out general health or nutritional decline. 25 H-NBOMe significantly disrupted maternal behaviors, including nest-building and pup retrieval, without affecting the weight of dams or offspring. Offspring of exposed dams exhibited reduced social play behavior. Higher doses led to more pronounced disruptions, while lower doses, despite not visibly affecting maternal behavior, still impacted offspring behavior, suggesting potential direct effects of 25 H-NBOMe. The study highlights the potential risks associated with the use of 25 H-NBOMe during lactation, emphasizing its detrimental impact on maternal care and offspring development. These findings contribute to understanding the neurobiological effects of psychedelic substances during critical developmental periods and underscore the importance of avoiding their use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lidia M Melo
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Multicêntrico em Ciências Fisiológicas, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas (Unifal-MG), Alfenas, MG, Brazil
| | - Wellington A de Barros
- Departamento de Química, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Ângelo de Fátima
- Departamento de Química, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | | | - Alexandre Giusti-Paiva
- Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
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Brieant A, Sisk LM, Keding TJ, Cohodes EM, Gee DG. Leveraging multivariate approaches to advance the science of early-life adversity. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2024:106754. [PMID: 38521731 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Revised: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
Since the landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study, adversity research has expanded to more precisely account for the multifaceted nature of adverse experiences. The complex data structures and interrelated nature of adversity data require robust multivariate statistical methods, and recent methodological and statistical innovations have facilitated advancements in research on childhood adversity. Here, we provide an overview of a subset of multivariate methods that we believe hold particular promise for advancing the field's understanding of early-life adversity, and discuss how these approaches can be practically applied to explore different research questions. This review covers data-driven or unsupervised approaches (including dimensionality reduction and person-centered clustering/subtype identification) as well as supervised/prediction-based approaches (including linear and tree-based models and neural networks). For each, we highlight studies that have effectively applied the method to provide novel insight into early-life adversity. Taken together, we hope this review serves as a resource to adversity researchers looking to expand upon the cumulative approach described in the original ACEs study, thereby advancing the field's understanding of the complexity of adversity and related developmental consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Brieant
- University of Vermont, Department of Psychological Science, 2 Colchester Avenue, Burlington, VT 05402, USA; Yale University, Department of Psychology, 100 College Street, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
| | - Lucinda M Sisk
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, 100 College Street, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Taylor J Keding
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, 100 College Street, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Emily M Cohodes
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, 100 College Street, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Dylan G Gee
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, 100 College Street, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
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Aran Ö, Swales DA, Bailey NA, Korja R, Holmberg E, Eskola E, Nolvi S, Perasto L, Nordenswan E, Karlsson H, Karlsson L, Sandman CA, Stern HS, Baram TZ, Glynn LM, Davis EP. Across ages and places: Unpredictability of maternal sensory signals and child internalizing behaviors. J Affect Disord 2024; 347:557-567. [PMID: 38007106 PMCID: PMC10843791 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.11.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Patterns of sensory inputs early in life play an integral role in shaping the maturation of neural circuits, including those implicated in emotion and cognition. In both experimental animal models and observational human research, unpredictable sensory signals have been linked to aberrant developmental outcomes, including poor memory and effortful control. These findings suggest that sensitivity to unpredictable sensory signals is conserved across species and sculpts the developing brain. The current study provides a novel investigation of unpredictable maternal sensory signals in early life and child internalizing behaviors. We tested these associations in three independent cohorts to probe the generalizability of associations across continents and cultures. METHOD The three prospective longitudinal cohorts were based in Orange, USA (n = 163, 47.2 % female, Mage = 1 year); Turku, Finland (n = 239, 44.8 % female, Mage = 5 years); and Irvine, USA (n = 129, 43.4 % female, Mage = 9.6 years). Unpredictability of maternal sensory signals was quantified during free-play interactions. Child internalizing behaviors were measured via parent report (Orange & Turku) and child self-report (Irvine). RESULTS Early life exposure to unpredictable maternal sensory signals was associated with greater child fearfulness/anxiety in all three cohorts, above and beyond maternal sensitivity and sociodemographic factors. The association between unpredictable maternal sensory signals and child sadness/depression was relatively weaker and did not reach traditional thresholds for statistical significance. LIMITATIONS The correlational design limits our ability to make causal inferences. CONCLUSIONS Findings across the three diverse cohorts suggest that unpredictable maternal signals early in life shape the development of internalizing behaviors, particularly fearfulness and anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Özlü Aran
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA.
| | - Danielle A Swales
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| | - Natasha A Bailey
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Riikka Korja
- University of Turku, Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku, Finland; University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland; Centre of Excellence in Learning Dynamics and Intervention Research (InterLearn), University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Eeva Holmberg
- University of Turku, Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku, Finland; University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland
| | - Eeva Eskola
- University of Turku, Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku, Finland; University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland
| | - Saara Nolvi
- University of Turku, Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku, Finland; University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland
| | - Laura Perasto
- University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland; Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Elisabeth Nordenswan
- University of Turku, Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku, Finland; University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland
| | - Hasse Karlsson
- University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland; Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Linnea Karlsson
- University of Turku, Department of Clinical Medicine, Turku Brain and Mind Center, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku, Finland; Centre of Excellence in Learning Dynamics and Intervention Research (InterLearn), University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Clinical Medicine, Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku
| | - Curt A Sandman
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Hal S Stern
- Department of Statistics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA; Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA; Department of Neurology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Laura M Glynn
- Department of Psychology, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA
| | - Elysia Poggi Davis
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
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10
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Jirsaraie RJ, Palma AM, Small SL, Sandman CA, Davis EP, Baram TZ, Stern H, Glynn LM, Yassa MA. Prenatal Exposure to Maternal Mood Entropy Is Associated With a Weakened and Inflexible Salience Network in Adolescence. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024; 9:207-216. [PMID: 37611745 PMCID: PMC10881896 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fetal exposure to maternal mood dysregulation influences child cognitive and emotional development, which may have long-lasting implications for mental health. However, the neurobiological alterations associated with this dimension of adversity have yet to be explored. Here, we tested the hypothesis that fetal exposure to entropy, a novel index of dysregulated maternal mood, would predict the integrity of the salience network, which is involved in emotional processing. METHODS A sample of 138 child-mother pairs (70 females) participated in this prospective longitudinal study. Maternal negative mood level and entropy (an index of variable and unpredictable mood) were assessed 5 times during pregnancy. Adolescents engaged in a functional magnetic resonance imaging task that was acquired between 2 resting-state scans. Changes in network integrity were analyzed using mixed-effect and latent growth curve models. The amplitude of low frequency fluctuations was analyzed to corroborate findings. RESULTS Prenatal maternal mood entropy, but not mood level, was associated with salience network integrity. Both prenatal negative mood level and entropy were associated with the amplitude of low frequency fluctuations of the salience network. Latent class analysis yielded 2 profiles based on changes in network integrity across all functional magnetic resonance imaging sequences. The profile that exhibited little variation in network connectivity (i.e., inflexibility) consisted of adolescents who were exposed to higher negative maternal mood levels and more entropy. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that fetal exposure to maternal mood dysregulation is associated with a weakened and inflexible salience network. More broadly, they identify maternal mood entropy as a novel marker of early adversity that exhibits long-lasting associations with offspring brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Jirsaraie
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Anton M Palma
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Steven L Small
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas
| | - Curt A Sandman
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Elysia Poggi Davis
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado; Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California; Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Hal Stern
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
| | - Laura M Glynn
- Department of Psychology, Chapman University, Orange, California.
| | - Michael A Yassa
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California; Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California.
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11
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Wang Z, Cao X, Zheng X, Chen Y, Zhu J. Abnormalities in brain structure following childhood unpredictability: a mechanism underlying depressive and anxiety symptoms. Psychol Med 2024; 54:299-307. [PMID: 37264828 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723001526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Childhood adversity is associated with abnormalities in brain structure, but this association has not been tested for childhood unpredictability, one form of adversity. We studied whether abnormalities in gray matter volume (GMV) could be a mechanism linking childhood unpredictability and psychopathology, over and above the effect of childhood trauma. METHODS Participants were 158 right-handed healthy young adults (aged 17-28 years, M = 22.07, s.d. = 2.08; 66.46% female) who underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging measurements and provided retrospective reports of childhood unpredictability. The anxiety and depression subscales of the self-report Brief Symptom Inventory-53 were used to index psychopathology. RESULTS Whole-brain voxel-based morphometric analyses showed that after controlling for the effect of childhood trauma, childhood unpredictability was correlated with greater GMV in bilateral frontal pole, bilateral precuneus, bilateral postcentral gyrus, right hemisphere of fusiform, and lingual gyrus, and left hemisphere of ventrolateral prefrontal cortex as well as occipital gyrus. Greater GMV in bilateral frontal pole, bilateral precuneus, and bilateral postcentral gyrus mediated associations between unpredictability and symptoms of depression and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that childhood unpredictability could exact unique effects on neural development, over and above the effect of childhood trauma. These findings are relevant for understanding the occurrence of psychopathology following childhood unpredictability and have implications for intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengxinyue Wang
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders of Affiliated Hospital, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
- Center for Early Environment and Brain Development, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xinyu Cao
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders of Affiliated Hospital, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
- Center for Early Environment and Brain Development, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoyu Zheng
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders of Affiliated Hospital, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
- Center for Early Environment and Brain Development, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuanyuan Chen
- Center for Early Environment and Brain Development, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Psychology, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jianjun Zhu
- Center for Early Environment and Brain Development, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Psychology, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
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12
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Harhen NC, Bornstein AM. Interval Timing as a Computational Pathway From Early Life Adversity to Affective Disorders. Top Cogn Sci 2024; 16:92-112. [PMID: 37824831 PMCID: PMC10842617 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Adverse early life experiences can have remarkably enduring negative consequences on mental health, with numerous, varied psychiatric conditions sharing this developmental origin. Yet, the mechanisms linking adverse experiences to these conditions remain poorly understood. Here, we draw on a principled model of interval timing to propose that statistically optimal adaptation of temporal representations to an unpredictable early life environment can produce key characteristics of anhedonia, a transdiagnostic symptom associated with affective disorders like depression and anxiety. The core observation is that early temporal unpredictability produces broader, more imprecise temporal expectations. As a result, reward anticipation is diminished, and associative learning is slowed. When agents with such representations are later introduced to more stable environments, they demonstrate a negativity bias, responding more to the omission of reward than its receipt. Increased encoding of negative events has been proposed to contribute to disorders with anhedonia as a symptom. We then examined how unpredictability interacts with another form of adversity, low reward availability. We found that unpredictability's effect was most strongly felt in richer environments, potentially leading to categorically different phenotypic expressions. In sum, our formalization suggests a single mechanism can help to link early life adversity to a range of behaviors associated with anhedonia, and offers novel insights into the interactive impacts of multiple adversities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora C. Harhen
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine
| | - Aaron M. Bornstein
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine
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13
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Dias BG. Legacies of salient environmental experiences-insights from chemosensation. Chem Senses 2024; 49:bjae002. [PMID: 38219073 PMCID: PMC10825851 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjae002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Evidence for parental environments profoundly influencing the physiology, biology, and neurobiology of future generations has been accumulating in the literature. Recent efforts to understand this phenomenon and its underlying mechanisms have sought to use species like rodents and insects to model multi-generational legacies of parental experiences like stress and nutritional exposures. From these studies, we have come to appreciate that parental exposure to salient environmental experiences impacts the cadence of brain development, hormonal responses to stress, and the expression of genes that govern cellular responses to stress in offspring. Recent studies using chemosensory exposure have emerged as a powerful tool to shed new light on how future generations come to be influenced by environments to which parents are exposed. With a specific focus on studies that have leveraged such use of salient chemosensory experiences, this review synthesizes our current understanding of the concept, causes, and consequences of the inheritance of chemosensory legacies by future generations and how this field of inquiry informs the larger picture of how parental experiences can influence offspring biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian G Dias
- Developmental Neuroscience and Neurogenetics Program, The Saban Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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14
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Walker CD, Delorme TC, Kiessling S, Long H, Cermakian N. Peripheral clock gene oscillations are perturbed in neonatal and adult rat offspring raised under adverse limited bedding conditions. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22886. [PMID: 38129480 PMCID: PMC10739797 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47968-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Circadian (24-h) rhythms in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) are established in utero in rodents, but rhythmicity of peripheral circadian clocks appears later in postnatal development. Since peripheral oscillators can be influenced by maternal feeding and behavior, we investigated whether exposure to the adverse environmental conditions of limited bedding (LB) during postnatal life would alter rhythmicity in the SCN, adrenal gland and liver in neonatal (postnatal day PND10), juvenile (PND28) and adult rats. We also examined locomotor activity in adults. Limited bedding increased nursing time and slightly increased fragmentation of maternal behavior. Exposure to LB reduced the amplitude of Per2 in the SCN on PND10. Adrenal clock gene expression (Bmal1, Per2, Cry1, Rev-erbα, Dbp) and corticosterone secretion were rhythmic at all ages in NB offspring, whereas rhythmicity of Bmal1, Cry1 and corticosterone was abolished in neonatal LB pups. Circadian gene expression in the adrenal and liver was well established by PND28. In adults, liver expression of several circadian genes was increased at specific daytimes by LB and the microstructure of locomotor behavior was altered. Thus, changes in maternal care and behavior might provide important signals to the maturing peripheral oscillators and modify, in particular their output functions in the long-term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire-Dominique Walker
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, 6875 Lasalle Blvd, Montreal, QC, H4H 1R3, Canada.
- Dept of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| | - Tara C Delorme
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, 6875 Lasalle Blvd, Montreal, QC, H4H 1R3, Canada
| | - Silke Kiessling
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Stag Hill Campus, Guildford, GU27XH, UK
| | - Hong Long
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, 6875 Lasalle Blvd, Montreal, QC, H4H 1R3, Canada
| | - Nicolas Cermakian
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, 6875 Lasalle Blvd, Montreal, QC, H4H 1R3, Canada
- Dept of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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15
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Munakata Y, Placido D, Zhuang W. What's Next? Advances and Challenges in Understanding How Environmental Predictability Shapes the Development of Cognitive Control. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2023; 32:431-438. [PMID: 38993178 PMCID: PMC11238701 DOI: 10.1177/09637214231199102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
Forming predictions about what will happen next in the world happens early in development, without instruction, and across species. Some environments support more accurate predictions. These more predictable environments also support what appear to be positive developmental trajectories, including increases in cognitive control over thoughts and actions. Such consequences of predictable environments have broad-reaching implications for society and have been explained across ecological, psychological, computational, and neural frameworks. However, many challenges remain in understanding the effects of environmental predictability, including adaptive responses to unpredictable environments and the mechanisms underlying the effects of predictable environments on developmental trajectories. Future work addressing different dimensions of predictability -- across time scales, locations, actions, people, and outcomes -- and their interactions will advance the ability to understand, predict, and support developmental trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuko Munakata
- Department of Psychology and Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis
| | - Diego Placido
- Department of Psychology and Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis
| | - Winnie Zhuang
- Department of Psychology and Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis
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16
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Cohodes EM, Sisk LM, Keding TJ, Mandell JD, Notti ME, Gee DG. Characterizing experiential elements of early-life stress to inform resilience: Buffering effects of controllability and predictability and the importance of their timing. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:2288-2301. [PMID: 37496155 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579423000822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
Key theoretical frameworks have proposed that examining the impact of exposure to specific dimensions of stress at specific developmental periods is likely to yield important insight into processes of risk and resilience. Utilizing a sample of N = 549 young adults who provided a detailed retrospective history of their lifetime exposure to numerous dimensions of traumatic stress and ratings of their current trauma-related symptomatology via completion of an online survey, here we test whether an individual's perception of their lifetime stress as either controllable or predictable buffered the impact of exposure on trauma-related symptomatology assessed in adulthood. Further, we tested whether this moderation effect differed when evaluated in the context of early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood stress. Consistent with hypotheses, results highlight both stressor controllability and stressor predictability as buffering the impact of traumatic stress exposure on trauma-related symptomatology and suggest that the potency of this buffering effect varies across unique developmental periods. Leveraging dimensional ratings of lifetime stress exposure to probe heterogeneity in outcomes following stress - and, critically, considering interactions between dimensions of exposure and the developmental period when stress occurred - is likely to yield increased understanding of risk and resilience following traumatic stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily M Cohodes
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Lucinda M Sisk
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Taylor J Keding
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jeffrey D Mandell
- Program in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Dylan G Gee
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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17
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Burrows B, Daniels J, Starks UC, Amso D, Downey G. The Ecological Resilience Framework: The Justice Ambassadors Youth Council as a model for community-based resilience. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:2560-2568. [PMID: 37650247 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579423001001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
We present an 'Ecological Resilience Framework' (ERF) to demonstrate how resilience is created through the Justice Ambassadors Youth Council (JAYC) program. JAYC is a platform in which New York government representatives collaboratively learn and develop policy solutions alongside emerging adults who are criminal legal system impacted and reside in predominantly Black and Hispanic communities characterized by chronically high levels of poverty, violence, and incarceration. We focus our work on the process of developing resilience in the context of structural social inequity and injustice. We argue that resilience can best be understood in the context of the adversity to which it is a response, not as an isolated individual quality. Therefore, resilience science is at its best when it incorporates a multi-disciplinary scientific perspective, one that addresses a continuum from individual- to community- to society-level physical, cognitive, relationship, and mental health variables. To demonstrate how our ERF incorporates this approach, we outline how JAYC not only supports young adult participants in understanding their individual life trajectories and narrative identity, but also actively connects them within a diverse social network of mentors and to various opportunities that support a healthy transition to adult resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Dima Amso
- Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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18
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Rinne GR, Somers JA, Ramos IF, Ross KM, Coussons-Read M, Schetter CD. Increases in maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy and infant cortisol reactivity: Mediation by placental corticotropin-releasing hormone. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:1997-2010. [PMID: 35983792 PMCID: PMC9938842 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579422000621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Maternal depressive symptoms in pregnancy may affect offspring health through prenatal programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The biological mechanisms that explain the associations between maternal prenatal depressive symptoms and offspring HPA axis regulation are not yet clear. This pre-registered investigation examines whether patterns of maternal depressive symptoms in pregnancy are associated with infant cortisol reactivity and whether this association is mediated by changes in placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (pCRH). METHOD A sample of 174 pregnant women completed assessments in early, mid, and late pregnancy that included standardized measures of depressive symptoms and blood samples for pCRH. Infant cortisol reactivity was assessed at 1 and 6 months of age. RESULTS Greater increases in maternal depressive symptoms in pregnancy were associated with higher cortisol infant cortisol reactivity at 1 and 6 months. Greater increases in maternal depressive symptoms in pregnancy were associated with greater increases in pCRH from early to late pregnancy which in turn were associated with higher infant cortisol reactivity. CONCLUSIONS Increases in maternal depressive symptoms and pCRH over pregnancy may contribute to higher infant cortisol reactivity. These findings help to elucidate the prenatal biopsychosocial processes contributing to offspring HPA axis regulation early in development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Isabel F. Ramos
- Department of Chicano/Latino Studies. University of California, Irvine
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19
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Jin Y, Song D, Yan Y, Quan Z, Qing H. The Role of Oxytocin in Early-Life-Stress-Related Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:10430. [PMID: 37445607 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241310430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Early-life stress during critical periods of brain development can have long-term effects on physical and mental health. Oxytocin is a critical social regulator and anti-inflammatory hormone that modulates stress-related functions and social behaviors and alleviates diseases. Oxytocin-related neural systems show high plasticity in early postpartum and adolescent periods. Early-life stress can influence the oxytocin system long term by altering the expression and signaling of oxytocin receptors. Deficits in social behavior, emotional control, and stress responses may result, thus increasing the risk of anxiety, depression, and other stress-related neuropsychiatric diseases. Oxytocin is regarded as an important target for the treatment of stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we describe the history of oxytocin and its role in neural circuits and related behaviors. We then review abnormalities in the oxytocin system in early-life stress and the functions of oxytocin in treating stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Jin
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Da Song
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Yan Yan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Zhenzhen Quan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Hong Qing
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
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20
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Cohodes EM, McCauley S, Pierre JC, Hodges HR, Haberman JT, Santiuste I, Rogers MK, Wang J, Mandell JD, Gee DG. Development and validation of the Dimensional Inventory of Stress and Trauma Across the Lifespan (DISTAL): A novel assessment tool to facilitate the dimensional study of psychobiological sequelae of exposure to adversity. Dev Psychobiol 2023; 65:e22372. [PMID: 37073593 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/20/2023]
Abstract
Decades of research underscore the profound impact of adversity on brain and behavioral development. Recent theoretical models have highlighted the importance of considering specific features of adversity that may have dissociable effects at distinct developmental timepoints. However, existing measures do not query these dimensions in sufficient detail to support the proliferation of this approach. The Dimensional Inventory of Stress and Trauma Across the Lifespan (DISTAL) was developed with the aim to thoroughly and retrospectively assess the timing, severity (of exposure and reaction), type, persons involved, controllability, predictability, threat, deprivation, proximity, betrayal, and discrimination inherent in an individual's exposure to adversity. Here, we introduce this instrument, present descriptive statistics drawn from a sample of N = 187 adults who completed the DISTAL, and provide initial information about its psychometric properties. This novel measure facilitates the expansion of research focused on assessing the relative impact of exposure to key dimensions of adversity on the brain and behavior across development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily M Cohodes
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Sarah McCauley
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Jasmyne C Pierre
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - H R Hodges
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Jason T Haberman
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Isabel Santiuste
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Marisa K Rogers
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Jenny Wang
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Jeffrey D Mandell
- Program in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Dylan G Gee
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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21
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de Carvalho G, Khoja S, Haile MT, Chen LY. Early life adversity impaired dorsal striatal synaptic transmission and behavioral adaptability to appropriate action selection in a sex-dependent manner. Front Synaptic Neurosci 2023; 15:1128640. [PMID: 37091877 PMCID: PMC10116150 DOI: 10.3389/fnsyn.2023.1128640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA) is a major health burden in the United States, with 62% of adults reporting at least one adverse childhood experience. These experiences during critical stages of brain development can perturb the development of neural circuits that mediate sensory cue processing and behavioral regulation. Recent studies have reported that ELA impaired the maturation of dendritic spines on neurons in the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) but not in the dorsomedial striatum (DMS). The DMS and DLS are part of two distinct corticostriatal circuits that have been extensively implicated in behavioral flexibility by regulating and integrating action selection with the reward value of those actions. To date, no studies have investigated the multifaceted effects of ELA on aspects of behavioral flexibility that require alternating between different action selection strategies or higher-order cognitive processes, and the underlying synaptic transmission in corticostriatal circuitries. To address this, we employed whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology to assess the effects of ELA on synaptic transmission in the DMS and DLS. We also investigated the effects of ELA on the ability to update action control in response to outcome devaluation in an instrumental learning paradigm and reversal of action-outcome contingency in a water T-maze paradigm. At the circuit level, ELA decreased corticostriatal glutamate transmission in male but not in female mice. Interestingly, in DMS, glutamate transmission is decreased in male ELA mice, but increased in female ELA mice. ELA impaired the ability to update action control in response to reward devaluation in a context that promotes goal-directedness in male mice and induced deficits in reversal learning. Overall, our findings demonstrate the sex- and region-dependent effects of ELA on behavioral flexibility and underlying corticostriatal glutamate transmission. By establishing a link between ELA and circuit mechanisms underlying behavioral flexibility, our findings will begin to identify novel molecular mechanisms that can represent strategies for treating behavioral inflexibility in individuals who experienced early life traumatic incidents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory de Carvalho
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Sheraz Khoja
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Mulatwa T Haile
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Lulu Y Chen
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- UCI-Conte Center, UCI-NIMH, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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22
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Holmberg E, Kataja EL, Davis EP, Pajulo M, Nolvi S, Lahtela H, Nordenswan E, Karlsson L, Karlsson H, Korja R. Unpredictable maternal sensory signals in caregiving behavior are associated with child effortful control. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0279384. [PMID: 36538558 PMCID: PMC9767348 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Emerging evidence suggests that exposure to unpredictable patterns of maternal sensory signals during infancy is associated with child neurodevelopment, including poorer effortful control. However, longitudinal effects on child development and possible sex differences are understudied. The aims of the present study were to explore whether exposure to unpredictable maternal sensory signals during infancy is related to child effortful control at 5 years of age and whether child sex moderates these associations. In addition, we examined how exposure to very high vs. low/moderate unpredictability using categorical cut-offs is related to child effortful control. Participants (133 mother-child pairs, all Caucasian) were drawn from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study in Finland. Maternal sensory signals (auditory, visual, tactile) were coded from the 10-min free-play episode on a moment-on-moment basis using Observer XT 11 (Noldus), and the unpredictability of maternal sensory signals was characterized as the entropy rate when the infant was 8 months of age. Child effortful control was assessed via mother reports using the Child Behavior Questionnaire very short form (CBQ-VSF) when the child was 5 years old. Correlational analyses showed that higher unpredictability of maternal sensory signals had a modest association with children's poorer effortful control at 5 years of age. Notably, the linear regression model showed that child sex moderated these associations, as higher exposure to unpredictable maternal sensory signals was related to poorer effortful control among males, but not among females. Moreover, the general linear model showed that exposure to very high unpredictability was associated with poorer child effortful control at 5 years of age and remained significant when adjusted for possible confounding factors. These results are in line with previous findings and suggest that the unpredictability of maternal sensory signals is potentially an important aspect of early caregiving behavior associated with the development of child effortful control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eeva Holmberg
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- * E-mail:
| | - Eeva-Leena Kataja
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Elysia Poggi Davis
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - Marjukka Pajulo
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Saara Nolvi
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Hetti Lahtela
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Elisabeth Nordenswan
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Linnea Karlsson
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Hospital District of Southwest Finland, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University of Turku and Hospital District of Southwest Finland, Turku, Finland
| | - Hasse Karlsson
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Hospital District of Southwest Finland, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Riikka Korja
- Department of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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23
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Gee DG. Neurodevelopmental mechanisms linking early experiences and mental health: Translating science to promote well-being among youth. AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST 2022; 77:1033-1045. [PMID: 36595400 PMCID: PMC9875304 DOI: 10.1037/amp0001107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Early experiences can have profound and lasting effects on mental health. Delineating neurodevelopmental pathways related to risk and resilience following adversity exposure is critical for promoting well-being and targeting interventions. A rapidly growing cross-species literature has facilitated advances in identifying neural and behavioral mechanisms linking early experiences with mental health, highlighting a central role of corticolimbic circuitry involved in learning and emotion regulation. Building upon knowledge of corticolimbic development related to stress and buffering factors, we describe the importance of the developmental timing and experiential elements of adversity in mental health outcomes. Finally, we discuss opportunities to translate knowledge of the developing brain and early experiences to optimize interventions for youth with psychopathology and to inform policy that promotes healthy development at the societal level. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
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The role of childhood unpredictability in adult health. J Behav Med 2022:10.1007/s10865-022-00373-8. [DOI: 10.1007/s10865-022-00373-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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25
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Lindert NG, Maxwell MY, Liu SR, Stern HS, Baram TZ, Poggi Davis E, Risbrough VB, Baker DG, Nievergelt CM, Glynn LM. Exposure to unpredictability and mental health: Validation of the brief version of the Questionnaire of Unpredictability in Childhood (QUIC-5) in English and Spanish. Front Psychol 2022; 13:971350. [PMID: 36438371 PMCID: PMC9682115 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.971350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Unpredictability is increasingly recognized as a primary dimension of early life adversity affecting lifespan mental health trajectories; screening for these experiences is therefore vital. The Questionnaire of Unpredictability in Childhood (QUIC) is a 38-item tool that measures unpredictability in childhood in social, emotional and physical domains. The available evidence indicates that exposure to unpredictable experiences measured with the QUIC predicts internalizing symptoms including depression and anxiety. The purpose of the present study was to validate English and Spanish brief versions (QUIC-5) suitable for administration in time-limited settings (e.g., clinical care settings, large-scale epidemiological studies). Five representative items were identified from the QUIC and their psychometric properties examined. The predictive validity of the QUIC-5 was then compared to the QUIC by examining mental health in four cohorts: (1) English-speaking adult women assessed at 6-months postpartum (N = 116), (2) English-speaking male veterans (N = 95), (3) English-speaking male and female adolescents (N = 155), and (4) Spanish-speaking male and female adults (N = 285). The QUIC-5 demonstrated substantial variance in distributions in each of the cohorts and is correlated on average 0.84 (r's = 0.81-0.87) with the full 38-item version. Furthermore, the QUIC-5 predicted internalizing symptoms (anxiety and depression) in all cohorts with similar effect sizes (r's = 0.16-0.39; all p's < 0.05) to the full versions (r's = 0.19-0.42; all p's < 0.05). In sum, the QUIC-5 exhibits good psychometric properties and is a valid alternative to the full QUIC. These findings support the future use of the QUIC-5 in clinical and research settings as a concise way to measure unpredictability, identify risk of psychopathology, and intervene accordingly.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Megan Y. Maxwell
- Department of Psychology, Chapman University, Orange, CA, United States
| | - Sabrina R. Liu
- Department of Psychology, Chapman University, Orange, CA, United States
| | - Hal S. Stern
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Tallie Z. Baram
- Department of Anatomy/Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Elysia Poggi Davis
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Victoria B. Risbrough
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, Veterans Affairs, San Diego, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Dewleen G. Baker
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, Veterans Affairs, San Diego, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Caroline M. Nievergelt
- Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, Veterans Affairs, San Diego, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Laura M. Glynn
- Department of Psychology, Chapman University, Orange, CA, United States
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26
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[What Works for Whom? Differential Effects of Predictive Validity of Parenting Behaviours: Externalizing Versus Internalizing Behaviour Problems]. Prax Kinderpsychol Kinderpsychiatr 2022; 71:722-740. [PMID: 36511588 DOI: 10.13109/prkk.2022.71.8.722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
A variety of instruments are available for assessing parental and child behaviour in the context of interaction observation. This study investigated whether the Laboratory Parenting Assessment Battery (Lab-PAB) can be used to make predictive statements about the therapeutic success of child psychiatric treatment. The success of therapy was measured through pre- and post-intervention assessments using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Parent-Infant Relationship Global Assessment Scale (PIR-GAS). A particular focus was placed on discriminating between externalizing and internalizing problems of the child. It was observed that positive items of the interaction offer a greater resource for the therapeutic success of children with externalizing problems than stopping negative behaviour of the parents. In the case of internalizing problems, the elimination of negative interaction items seems to be essential for a good therapy success.
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27
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Davis EP, McCormack K, Arora H, Sharpe D, Short AK, Bachevalier J, Glynn LM, Sandman CA, Stern HS, Sanchez M, Baram TZ. Early life exposure to unpredictable parental sensory signals shapes cognitive development across three species. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:960262. [PMID: 36338881 PMCID: PMC9630745 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.960262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 08/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Exposure to early life adversity has long term consequences on cognitive function. Most research has focused on understanding components of early life adversities that contribute to later risk, including poverty, trauma, maltreatment, and neglect. Whereas these factors, in the aggregate, explain a significant proportion of emotional and cognitive problems, there are serious gaps in our ability to identify potential mechanisms by which early life adversities might promote vulnerability or resilience. Here we discuss early life exposure to unpredictable signals from the caretaker as an understudied type of adversity that is amenable to prevention and intervention. We employ a translational approach to discover underlying neurobiological mechanisms by which early life exposure to unpredictable signals sculpts the developing brain. First, we review evidence that exposure to unpredictable signals from the parent during sensitive periods impacts development of neural circuits. Second, we describe a method for characterizing early life patterns of sensory signals across species. Third, we present published and original data illustrating that patterns of maternal care predict memory function in humans, non-human primates, and rodents. Finally, implications are discussed for identifying individuals at risk so that early preventive-intervention can be provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elysia Poggi Davis
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Kai McCormack
- Department of Psychology, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Hina Arora
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Desiree Sharpe
- Mary Frances Early College of Education (MFECOE) Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Annabel K. Short
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Jocelyne Bachevalier
- Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Laura M. Glynn
- Department of Psychology, Chapman University, Orange, CA, United States
| | - Curt A. Sandman
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Hal S. Stern
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Mar Sanchez
- Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Tallie Z. Baram
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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28
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Garvin MM, Bolton JL. Sex-specific behavioral outcomes of early-life adversity and emerging microglia-dependent mechanisms. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:1013865. [PMID: 36268470 PMCID: PMC9577368 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.1013865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Early-life adversity (ELA) is known to alter brain circuit maturation as well as increase vulnerability to cognitive and emotional disorders. However, the importance of examining sex as a biological variable when researching the effects of ELA has not been considered until recently. This perspective discusses the sex-specific behavioral outcomes of ELA in both humans and animal models, then proposes microglia-mediated mechanisms as a potential underlying cause. Recent work in rodent models suggests that ELA provokes cognitive deficits, anhedonia, and alcohol abuse primarily in males, whereas females exhibit greater risk-taking and opioid addiction-related behaviors. In addition, emerging evidence identifies microglia as a key target of ELA. For example, we have recently shown that ELA inhibits microglial synapse engulfment and process dynamics in male mice, leading to an increase in excitatory synapse number onto corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH)-expressing neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) and aberrant stress responses later in life. However, ELA-induced synaptic rewiring of neural circuits differs in females during development, resulting in divergent behavioral outcomes. Thus, examining the role of microglia in the sex-specific mechanisms underlying ELA-induced neuropsychiatric disorders is an important topic for future research.
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29
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Demaestri C, Gallo M, Mazenod E, Hong AT, Arora H, Short AK, Stern H, Baram TZ, Bath KG. Resource scarcity but not maternal separation provokes unpredictable maternal care sequences in mice and both upregulate Crh-associated gene expression in the amygdala. Neurobiol Stress 2022; 20:100484. [PMID: 36120094 PMCID: PMC9475315 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA) is a major risk factor for the development of pathology, including anxiety disorders. Neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes following ELA are multifaceted and are influenced heavily by the type of adversity experienced and sex of the individual experiencing ELA. It remains unclear what properties of ELA portend differential neurobiological risk and the basis of sex-differences for negative outcomes. Predictability of the postnatal environment has emerged as being a core feature supporting development, with the most salient signals deriving from parental care. Predictability of parental care may be a distinguishing feature of different forms of ELA, and the degree of predictability afforded by these manipulations may contribute to the diversity of outcomes observed across models. Further, questions remain as to whether differing levels of predictability may contribute to differential effects on neurodevelopment and expression of genes associated with risk for pathology. Here, we tested the hypothesis that changes in maternal behavior in mice would be contingent on the type of ELA experienced, directly comparing predictability of care in the limited bedding and nesting (LBN) and maternal separation (MS) paradigms. We then tested whether the predictability of the ELA environment altered the expression of corticotropin-releasing hormone (Crh), a sexually-dimorphic neuropeptide that regulates threat-related learning, in the amygdala of male and female mice. The LBN manipulation reliably increased the entropy of maternal care, a measure that indicates lower predictability between sequences of dam behavior. LBN and MS rearing similarly increased the frequency of nest sorties and licking of pups but had mixed effects on other aspects of dam-, pup-, and nest-related behaviors. Increased expression of Crh-related genes was observed in pups that experienced ELA, with gene expression measures showing a significant interaction with sex and type of ELA manipulation. Specifically, MS was associated with increased expression of Crh-related genes in males, but not females, and LBN primarily increased expression of these genes in females, but not males. The present study provides evidence for predictability as a distinguishing feature of models of ELA and demonstrates robust consequences of these differing experience on sex-differences in gene expression critically associated with stress responding and sex differences in risk for pathology. Type of early life adversity differentially altered quantity of maternal behavior. Limited bedding and nesting increased unpredictable dam behavior. Amygdalar Crh expression in male and female pups were dependent on the type rearing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camila Demaestri
- Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Meghan Gallo
- Doctoral Program in Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.,Division of Developmental Neuroscience, Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc./ New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Elisa Mazenod
- Doctoral Program in Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Alexander T Hong
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Hina Arora
- Department of Statistics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Annabel K Short
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Hal Stern
- Department of Statistics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.,Department of Neurology, University of California-Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Kevin G Bath
- Division of Developmental Neuroscience, Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc./ New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
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30
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Unroe KA, Maltman JL, Shupe EA, Clinton SM. Disrupted serotonin system development via early life antidepressant exposure impairs maternal care and increases serotonin receptor expression in adult female offspring. Dev Psychobiol 2022; 64:e22292. [PMID: 35748633 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Manipulating serotonin (5-HT) levels in the developing brain elicits a range of effects on brain function and behavior. For example, early-life exposure to selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants disrupts dorsal raphe function and triggers aberrant adult behaviors such as increased passive stress coping and anhedonia. However, much less is understood about how alterations in 5-HT signaling in early life impact outcomes in female offspring, including critical social functions such as maternal care. The present study shows that early-life SSRI exposure disrupts adult female offspring's maternal behavior. Pregnant/postpartum female Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with the SSRI citalopram in drinking water or provided regular tap water as control. Female offspring were raised to adulthood and mated with treatment-naïve males. Following parturition, we observed maternal behavior during portions of the light and dark phases of postnatal days (P)1-14. Relative to controls, dams with a history of early-life SSRI exposure exhibited decreased maternal care, including diminished arched-back nursing, reduced licking and grooming of pups, and increased behavioral inconsistency. Brains were collected from dams with and without a history of early-life SSRI exposure to measure relative mRNA expression of select 5-HT receptor transcripts (5HTR1A, -1B, -2A, -2C) in regions involved in maternal care. Early-life SSRI exposure augmented expression of 5-HTR1A in the medial preoptic area and 5-HTR1B, 5-HTR2A, and 5-HTR2C in the prefrontal cortex. These results demonstrate that early alterations to 5-HT signaling through SSRI exposure may disrupt nurturing parental behaviors and 5-HT receptor expression in affected female rat offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keaton A Unroe
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.,Graduate Program in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Jessica L Maltman
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Shupe
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.,Neuroscience Graduate Program, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Sarah M Clinton
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
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31
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Liu S, Zalewski M, Lengua L, Gunnar MR, Giuliani N, Fisher PA. Material hardship level and unpredictability in relation to U.S. households' family interactions and emotional well-being: Insights from the COVID-19 pandemic. Soc Sci Med 2022; 307:115173. [PMID: 35785642 PMCID: PMC9242702 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has been recognized to provide rare insight to advance the scientific understanding of early life adversity, such as material hardship. During the COVID-19 pandemic, material hardship (i.e., difficulty paying for basic needs) in families of young children has had detrimental effects on caregivers' and children's well-being. In addition to the degree of material hardship, the week-to-week and month-to-month unpredictability of hardship status may add to families' stress and worsen well-being. This study examined the magnitude of and mechanisms underlying the effects of material hardship level and unpredictability on the well-being of U.S. households with young children during the pandemic. METHODS Data were drawn from the RAPID project, a large ongoing national study that used weekly/biweekly online surveys to investigate the pandemic impact on U.S. households with young children. The current study leveraged data from 4621 families who provided at least three responses between April 2020 and October 2021. RESULTS Findings indicated that racial/ethnic minorities and lower-income households experienced higher levels of material hardship and unpredictability during the pandemic, compared to their White or higher-income counterparts. Levels of pandemic-related material hardship and hardship unpredictability were both significantly associated with worsened well-being among caregivers and children. Finally, the effects of hardship level and unpredictability on well-being outcomes were partially mediated through disrupted family routines. CONCLUSIONS The findings from this study highlight that ensuring equal and adequate access to financial resources, as well as promoting financial stability for households with young children are both critical for maintaining functional family dynamics and promoting caregivers' and children's optimal well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sihong Liu
- Stanford Center on Early Childhood, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, USA.
| | - Maureen Zalewski
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, USA
| | | | - Megan R. Gunnar
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, USA
| | - Nicole Giuliani
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, University of Oregon, USA
| | - Philip A. Fisher
- Stanford Center on Early Childhood, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, USA
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32
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Exposome and Trans-syndromal Developmental Trajectories Toward Psychosis. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 2:197-205. [PMID: 36325037 PMCID: PMC9616341 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2022.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The prenatal period, early childhood, and adolescence are considered sensitive periods for brain and behavior development, when environmental exposures may have long-lasting effects on mental health. Psychosis spectrum disorder (PSD) is a developmental disorder that often manifests with nonspecific clinical presentations long before full-blown PSD is diagnosed. Genetic factors only partly explain PSD. Multiple early-life environmental exposures are associated with PSD. In this review, we describe the conceptual framework of the exposome and its relevance to PSD research in developmental cohorts and beyond and discuss key challenges for the field as it attempts to move beyond studying environment (in the sense of "searching under the lamppost because this is where the light is") to a more comprehensive assessment of environment and its contribution to PSD. We then suggest that the field should aspire to studying environmental origins of PSD through a developmental lens focusing on young cohorts and using multilevel phenotyping of environment, adopting an exposome framework that embraces the dynamic complex nature of environment and acknowledges the effect of additive and interactive environmental exposures alongside the genome. Furthermore, we highlight the need for a developmental perspective when studying exposome effects on psychopathology, accepting the nonspecificity of child/adolescent psychopathology and encouraging the study of trans-syndromal manifestations, shifting the research paradigm from categorical outcomes (e.g., schizophrenia) and going beyond clinical settings to investigate trajectories of risk and resilience.
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33
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Berman IS, McLaughlin KA, Tottenham N, Godfrey K, Seeman T, Loucks E, Suomi S, Danese A, Sheridan MA. Measuring early life adversity: A dimensional approach. Dev Psychopathol 2022; 34:499-511. [PMID: 35314009 PMCID: PMC7613038 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421001826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to adversity in childhood is associated with elevations in numerous physical and mental health outcomes across the life course. The biological embedding of early experience during periods of developmental plasticity is one pathway that contributes to these associations. Dimensional models specify mechanistic pathways linking different dimensions of adversity to health and well-being outcomes later in life. While findings from existing studies testing these dimensions have provided promising preliminary support for these models, less agreement exists about how to measure the experiences that comprise each dimension. Here, we review existing approaches to measuring two dimensions of adversity: threat and deprivation. We recommend specific measures for measuring these constructs and, when possible, document when the same measure can be used by different reporters and across the lifespan to maximize the utility with which these recommendations can be applied. Through this approach, we hope to stimulate progress in understanding how particular dimensions of early environmental experience contribute to lifelong health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilana S. Berman
- Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| | | | | | - Keith Godfrey
- MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
| | - Teresa Seeman
- David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles
| | - Eric Loucks
- School of Public Health, Mindfulness Center, Brown University
| | - Stephen Suomi
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development
| | - Andrea Danese
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, King’s College London
| | - Margaret A. Sheridan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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34
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Testing the empirical integration of threat-deprivation and harshness-unpredictability dimensional models of adversity. Dev Psychopathol 2022; 34:513-526. [PMID: 35256038 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579422000013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Recent dimensional models of adversity informed by a neurobiological deficit framework highlights threat and deprivation as core dimensions, whereas models informed by an evolutionary, adaptational and functional framework calls attention to harshness and unpredictability. This report seeks to evaluate an integrative model of threat, deprivation, and unpredictability, drawing on the Fragile Families Study. Confirmatory factor analysis of presumed multiple indicators of each construct reveals an adequate three-factor structure of adversity. Theory-based targeted predictions of the developmental sequelae of each dimension also received empirical support, with deprivation linked to health problems and cognitive ability; threat linked to aggression; and unpredictability to substance use and sexual risk-taking. These findings lend credibility to utility of the three-dimensional integrative framework of adversity. It could thus inform development of dimensional measures of risk assessment and exploration of multidimensional adversity profiles, sensitive to individual differences in lived experiences, supporting patient-centered, strength-based approaches to services.
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35
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Levis SC, Baram TZ, Mahler SV. Neurodevelopmental origins of substance use disorders: Evidence from animal models of early-life adversity and addiction. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 55:2170-2195. [PMID: 33825217 PMCID: PMC8494863 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder with devastating personal, societal, and economic consequences. In humans, early-life adversity (ELA) such as trauma, neglect, and resource scarcity are linked with increased risk of later-life addiction, but the brain mechanisms underlying this link are still poorly understood. Here, we focus on data from rodent models of ELA and addiction, in which causal effects of ELA on later-life responses to drugs and the neurodevelopmental mechanisms by which ELA increases vulnerability to addiction can be determined. We first summarize evidence for a link between ELA and addiction in humans, then describe how ELA is commonly modeled in rodents. Since addiction is a heterogeneous disease with many individually varying behavioral aspects that may be impacted by ELA, we next discuss common rodent assays of addiction-like behaviors. We then summarize the specific addiction-relevant behavioral phenotypes caused by ELA in male and female rodents and discuss some of the underlying changes in brain reward and stress circuits that are likely responsible. By better understanding the behavioral and neural mechanisms by which ELA promotes addiction vulnerability, we hope to facilitate development of new approaches for preventing or treating addiction in those with a history of ELA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia C Levis
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.,Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Stephen V Mahler
- Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
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36
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Heterogeneity in caregiving-related early adversity: Creating stable dimensions and subtypes. Dev Psychopathol 2022; 34:621-634. [PMID: 35314012 PMCID: PMC9492894 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421001668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Early psychosocial adversities exist at many levels, including caregiving-related, extrafamilial, and sociodemographic, which despite their high interrelatedness may have unique impacts on development. In this paper, we focus on caregiving-related early adversities (crEAs) and parse the heterogeneity of crEAs via data reduction techniques that identify experiential cooccurrences. Using network science, we characterized crEA cooccurrences to represent the comorbidity of crEA experiences across a sample of school-age children (n = 258; 6-12 years old) with a history of crEAs. crEA dimensions (variable level) and crEA subtypes (subject level) were identified using parallel factor analysis/principal component analysis and graph-based Louvain community detection. Bagging enhancement with cross-validation provided estimates of robustness. These data-driven dimensions/subtypes showed evidence of stability, transcended traditional sociolegally defined groups, were more homogenous than sociolegally defined groups, and reduced statistical correlations with sociodemographic factors. Finally, random forests showed both unique and common predictive importance of the crEA dimensions/subtypes for childhood mental health symptoms and academic skills. These data-driven outcomes provide additional tools and recommendations for crEA data reduction to inform precision medicine efforts in this area.
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37
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Liu S, Fisher PA. Early experience unpredictability in child development as a model for understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: A translational neuroscience perspective. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 54:101091. [PMID: 35217299 PMCID: PMC8860470 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 02/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Extensive evidence links adverse experiences during childhood to a wide range of negative consequences in biological, socioemotional, and cognitive development. Unpredictability is a core element underlying most forms of early adversity; it has been a focus of developmental research for many years and has been receiving increasing attention recently. In this article, we propose a conceptual model to describe how unpredictable and adverse early experiences affect children's neurobiological, behavioral, and psychological development in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We first highlight the critical role of unpredictability in child development by reviewing existing conceptual models of early adversity as they relate to subsequent development across the lifespan. Then, we employ a translational neuroscience framework to summarize the current animal- and human-based evidence on the neurobiological alterations induced by early experience unpredictability. We further argue that the COVID-19 pandemic serves as a global "natural experiment" that provides rare insight to the investigation of the negative developmental consequences of widespread, clustered, and unpredictable adverse events among children. We discuss how the pandemic helps advance the science of unpredictable early adverse experiences. As unpredictability research continues to grow, we highlight several directions for future studies and implications for policymaking and intervention practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sihong Liu
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States.
| | - Philip A Fisher
- Center for Translational Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States
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38
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Holmberg E, Kataja EL, Davis EP, Pajulo M, Nolvi S, Hakanen H, Karlsson L, Karlsson H, Korja R. The Connection and Development of Unpredictability and Sensitivity in Maternal Care Across Early Childhood. Front Psychol 2022; 13:803047. [PMID: 35330718 PMCID: PMC8940198 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.803047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Both patterns of maternal sensory signals and sensitive care have shown to be crucial elements shaping child development. However, research concerning these aspects of maternal care has focused mainly on maternal sensitivity with fewer studies evaluating the impact of patterns of maternal behaviors and changes in these indices across infancy and childhood. The aims of this study were to explore how maternal unpredictability of sensory signals and sensitivity develop and associate with each other from infancy to toddlerhood and whether elevated maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms relate to maternal unpredictable signals and sensitivity in toddlerhood. The study population consisted of 356 mother–child dyads assessed at 30 months; a subset of 103 mother–child dyads additionally participated in 8 months assessment. Maternal unpredictability and sensitivity were assessed from video-recorded free-play episodes at 8 and 30 months. Maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed with questionnaires at gestational weeks 14, 24, 34 and 3, 6, 12, and 24 months. Mean level of mothers’ unpredictability decreased on average whereas sensitivity did not change between infancy and toddlerhood. Both maternal unpredictability and sensitivity showed moderate level of individual stability from infancy to toddlerhood and these two measures were modestly correlated within each age. Elevated maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms were not related to unpredictability but related to lower maternal sensitivity in toddlerhood. These results identify unpredictable sensory signals as a characteristic of parental care that is independent of standard quality measures and suggest that it may be less influenced by maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eeva Holmberg
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- *Correspondence: Eeva Holmberg,
| | - Eeva-Leena Kataja
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Elysia Poggi Davis
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Marjukka Pajulo
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Saara Nolvi
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Hetti Hakanen
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Linnea Karlsson
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Hospital District of Southwest Finland, Turku, Finland
| | - Hasse Karlsson
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Centre for Population Health Research, Turku University Hospital, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku and Hospital District of Southwest Finland, Turku, Finland
| | - Riikka Korja
- FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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39
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Wass S, Perapoch Amadó M, Ives J. How the ghost learns to drive the machine? Oscillatory entrainment to our early social or physical environment and the emergence of volitional control. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 54:101102. [PMID: 35398645 PMCID: PMC9010552 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
An individual’s early interactions with their environment are thought to be largely passive; through the early years, the capacity for volitional control develops. Here, we consider: how is the emergence of volitional control characterised by changes in the entrainment observed between internal activity (behaviour, physiology and brain activity) and the sights and sounds in our everyday environment (physical and social)? We differentiate between contingent responsiveness (entrainment driven by evoked responses to external events) and oscillatory entrainment (driven by internal oscillators becoming temporally aligned with external oscillators). We conclude that ample evidence suggests that children show behavioural, physiological and neural entrainment to their physical and social environment, irrespective of volitional attention control; however, evidence for oscillatory entrainment beyond contingent responsiveness is currently lacking. Evidence for how oscillatory entrainment changes over developmental time is also lacking. Finally, we suggest a mechanism through which periodic environmental rhythms might facilitate both sensory processing and the development of volitional control even in the absence of oscillatory entrainment.
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Zoubovsky SP, Williams MT, Hoseus S, Tumukuntala S, Riesenberg A, Schulkin J, Vorhees CV, Campbell K, Lim HW, Muglia LJ. Neurobehavioral abnormalities following prenatal psychosocial stress are differentially modulated by maternal environment. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:22. [PMID: 35039487 PMCID: PMC8764031 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-01785-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Prenatal stress (PS) is associated with increased vulnerability to affective disorders. Transplacental glucocorticoid passage and stress-induced maternal environment alterations are recognized as potential routes of transmission that can fundamentally alter neurodevelopment. However, molecular mechanisms underlying aberrant emotional outcomes or the individual contributions intrauterine stress versus maternal environment play in shaping these mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we report anxiogenic behaviors, anhedonia, and female hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hyperactivity as a consequence of psychosocial PS in mice. Evidence of fetal amygdala programming precedes these abnormalities. In adult offspring, we observe amygdalar transcriptional changes demonstrating sex-specific dysfunction in synaptic transmission and neurotransmitter systems. We find these abnormalities are primarily driven by in-utero stress exposure. Importantly, maternal care changes postnatally reverse anxiety-related behaviors and partially rescue gene alterations associated with neurotransmission. Our data demonstrate the influence maternal environment exerts in shaping offspring emotional development despite deleterious effects of intrauterine stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra P. Zoubovsky
- grid.24827.3b0000 0001 2179 9593Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.239573.90000 0000 9025 8099Center for the Prevention of Preterm Birth, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.24827.3b0000 0001 2179 9593Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA
| | - Michael T. Williams
- grid.24827.3b0000 0001 2179 9593Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.24827.3b0000 0001 2179 9593Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.239573.90000 0000 9025 8099Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA
| | - Sarah Hoseus
- grid.239573.90000 0000 9025 8099Center for the Prevention of Preterm Birth, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.239573.90000 0000 9025 8099Division of Human Genetics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA
| | - Shivani Tumukuntala
- grid.239573.90000 0000 9025 8099Center for the Prevention of Preterm Birth, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.239573.90000 0000 9025 8099Division of Human Genetics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA
| | - Amy Riesenberg
- grid.239573.90000 0000 9025 8099Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA
| | - Jay Schulkin
- grid.213910.80000 0001 1955 1644Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University, Washington, DC USA ,grid.34477.330000000122986657Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA USA
| | - Charles V. Vorhees
- grid.24827.3b0000 0001 2179 9593Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.24827.3b0000 0001 2179 9593Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.239573.90000 0000 9025 8099Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA
| | - Kenneth Campbell
- grid.24827.3b0000 0001 2179 9593Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.24827.3b0000 0001 2179 9593Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.239573.90000 0000 9025 8099Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.239573.90000 0000 9025 8099Division of Neurosurgery, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA
| | - Hee-Woong Lim
- grid.24827.3b0000 0001 2179 9593Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.24827.3b0000 0001 2179 9593Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.239573.90000 0000 9025 8099Division of Biomedical Informatics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA
| | - Louis J. Muglia
- grid.24827.3b0000 0001 2179 9593Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.239573.90000 0000 9025 8099Center for the Prevention of Preterm Birth, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.24827.3b0000 0001 2179 9593Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.239573.90000 0000 9025 8099Division of Human Genetics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH USA ,grid.427464.70000 0000 8727 8697Office of the President, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Research Triangle Park, NC USA
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41
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Birnie MT, Levis SC, Mahler SV, Baram TZ. Developmental Trajectories of Anhedonia in Preclinical Models. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2022; 58:23-41. [PMID: 35156184 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2021_299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
This chapter discusses how the complex concept of anhedonia can be operationalized and studied in preclinical models. It provides information about the development of anhedonia in the context of early-life adversity, and the power of preclinical models to tease out the diverse molecular, epigenetic, and network mechanisms that are responsible for anhedonia-like behaviors.Specifically, we first discuss the term anhedonia, reviewing the conceptual components underlying reward-related behaviors and distinguish anhedonia pertaining to deficits in motivational versus consummatory behaviors. We then describe the repertoire of experimental approaches employed to study anhedonia-like behaviors in preclinical models, and the progressive refinement over the past decade of both experimental instruments (e.g., chemogenetics, optogenetics) and conceptual constructs (salience, valence, conflict). We follow with an overview of the state of current knowledge of brain circuits, nodes, and projections that execute distinct aspects of hedonic-like behaviors, as well as neurotransmitters, modulators, and receptors involved in the generation of anhedonia-like behaviors. Finally, we discuss the special case of anhedonia that arises following early-life adversity as an eloquent example enabling the study of causality, mechanisms, and sex dependence of anhedonia.Together, this chapter highlights the power, potential, and limitations of using preclinical models to advance our understanding of the origin and mechanisms of anhedonia and to discover potential targets for its prevention and mitigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew T Birnie
- Departments of Anatomy/Neurobiology and Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Sophia C Levis
- Departments of Anatomy/Neurobiology and Neurobiology/Behavior, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Stephen V Mahler
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Tallie Z Baram
- Departments of Anatomy/Neurobiology and Pediatrics, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
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42
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Doom JR. Advantages of a Developmental Psychopathology Approach to Studying the Antecedents of Physical Health. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2022; 31:e2250. [PMID: 35330610 PMCID: PMC8939899 DOI: 10.1002/icd.2250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Although the field of developmental psychopathology has traditionally focused on mental health, there has been increasing interest in exploring how psychological and developmental factors are associated with physical health. I argue that the principles of developmental psychopathology may be particularly useful for understanding physical health across development. I discuss how researchers can apply the following developmental psychopathology principles to the study of physical health: 1) dimensional measurement of stress exposure, 2) the multifaceted nature of risk and resilience, 3) focus on processes and pathways, and 4) lifespan development and intergenerational effects. I provide several future directions and considerations for work in this area, many of which are consistent with the new goals of Infant and Child Development.
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43
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Gee DG. Early Adversity and Development: Parsing Heterogeneity and Identifying Pathways of Risk and Resilience. Am J Psychiatry 2021; 178:998-1013. [PMID: 34734741 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.21090944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Adversity early in life is common and is a major risk factor for the onset of psychopathology. Delineating the neurodevelopmental pathways by which early adversity affects mental health is critical for early risk identification and targeted treatment approaches. A rapidly growing cross-species literature has facilitated advances in identifying the mechanisms linking adversity with psychopathology, specific dimensions of adversity and timing-related factors that differentially relate to outcomes, and protective factors that buffer against the effects of adversity. Yet, vast complexity and heterogeneity in early environments and neurodevelopmental trajectories contribute to the challenges of understanding risk and resilience in the context of early adversity. In this overview, the author highlights progress in four major areas-mechanisms, heterogeneity, developmental timing, and protective factors; synthesizes key challenges; and provides recommendations for future research that can facilitate progress in the field. Translation across species and ongoing refinement of conceptual models have strong potential to inform prevention and intervention strategies that can reduce the immense burden of psychopathology associated with early adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan G Gee
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Conn
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44
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Nomkin LG, Gordon I. The relationship between maternal smartphone use, physiological responses, and gaze patterns during breastfeeding and face-to-face interactions with infant. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257956. [PMID: 34624025 PMCID: PMC8500426 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Smartphone use during parent-child interactions is highly prevalent, however, there is a lack of scientific knowledge on how smartphone use during breastfeeding or face-to-face interactions may modulate mothers’ attentive responsiveness towards the infant as well as maternal physiological arousal. In the present study, we provide the first evidence for the influence of the smartphone on maternal physiological responses and her attention towards the infant during breastfeeding and face-to-face interactions. Twenty breastfeeding mothers and their infants participated in this lab study during which electrodermal activity, cardiograph impedance, and gaze patterns were monitored in breastfeeding and face-to-face interactions with three conditions manipulating the level of maternal smartphone involvement. We report that mothers’ gaze toward their infants decreased when breastfeeding while using the smartphone compared to face-to-face interaction. Further, we show that greater maternal electrodermal activity and cardiac output were related to longer maternal gaze fixation toward the smartphone during breastfeeding. Finally, results indicate that mothers’ smartphone addiction levels were negatively correlated with electrodermal activity during breastfeeding. This study provides an initial basis for much required further research that will explore the influence of smartphone use on maternal biobehavioral responses in this digital age and the consequences for infant cognitive, emotional, and social development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ilanit Gordon
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
- Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
- * E-mail:
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45
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Mikulska J, Juszczyk G, Gawrońska-Grzywacz M, Herbet M. HPA Axis in the Pathomechanism of Depression and Schizophrenia: New Therapeutic Strategies Based on Its Participation. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11101298. [PMID: 34679364 PMCID: PMC8533829 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11101298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is involved in the pathophysiology of many neuropsychiatric disorders. Increased HPA axis activity can be observed during chronic stress, which plays a key role in the pathophysiology of depression. Overactivity of the HPA axis occurs in major depressive disorder (MDD), leading to cognitive dysfunction and reduced mood. There is also a correlation between the HPA axis activation and gut microbiota, which has a significant impact on the development of MDD. It is believed that the gut microbiota can influence the HPA axis function through the activity of cytokines, prostaglandins, or bacterial antigens of various microbial species. The activity of the HPA axis in schizophrenia varies and depends mainly on the severity of the disease. This review summarizes the involvement of the HPA axis in the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders, focusing on major depression and schizophrenia, and highlights a possible correlation between these conditions. Although many effective antidepressants are available, a large proportion of patients do not respond to initial treatment. This review also discusses new therapeutic strategies that affect the HPA axis, such as glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonists, vasopressin V1B receptor antagonists and non-psychoactive CB1 receptor agonists in depression and/or schizophrenia.
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46
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Rao N, Fisher PA. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child and adolescent development around the world. Child Dev 2021; 92:e738-e748. [PMID: 34569058 PMCID: PMC8652930 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Nirmala Rao
- Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Philip A Fisher
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
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47
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Vergunst F, Berry HL. Climate Change and Children’s Mental Health: A Developmental Perspective. Clin Psychol Sci 2021; 10:767-785. [PMID: 35846172 PMCID: PMC9280699 DOI: 10.1177/21677026211040787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Climate change is a major global public-health challenge that will have wide-ranging impacts on human psychological health and well-being. Children and adolescents are at particular risk because of their rapidly developing brain, vulnerability to disease, and limited capacity to avoid or adapt to threats and impacts. They are also more likely to worry about climate change than any other age group. Drawing on a developmental life-course perspective, we show that climate-change-related threats can additively, interactively, and cumulatively increase psychopathology risk from conception onward; that these effects are already occurring; and that they constitute an important threat to healthy human development worldwide. We then argue that monitoring, measuring, and mitigating these risks is a matter of social justice and a crucial long-term investment in developmental and mental health sciences. We conclude with a discussion of conceptual and measurement challenges and outline research priorities going forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francis Vergunst
- Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Montreal
- Ste-Justine University Hospital Research Center, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - Helen L. Berry
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney
- Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University
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48
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Korja R, McMahon C. Maternal prenatal mood problems and lower maternal emotional availability associated with lower quality of child's emotional availability and higher negative affect during still-face procedure. INFANCY 2021; 26:901-919. [PMID: 34370394 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2020] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Our aim was to study the effects of maternal perinatal mood and maternal emotional availability on child emotional availability and negative affect during the still-face procedure (SFP). The sample included 214 women who participated in a prospective study. We assessed maternal mood problems using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and PRAQ questionnaire during pregnancy and using STAI and EPDS questionnaires during pregnancy and at 6 months after delivery. Maternal and child emotional availability were studied using the Emotional Availability Scales during the SFP at 6 months. We observed and quantified child's negative affect during SFP episodes. We found that mothers with maternal mood problems (anxiety and/or depression) during pregnancy, but not postnatally, showed less optimal maternal structuring during the SFP, and the children showed lower involvement and responsiveness during interactions with their mothers. Furthermore, lower maternal emotional availability was related to the child's higher negative affect during the SFP. Our findings underline the independent roles of both prenatal stress exposure and maternal caregiving behavior in a child's socioemotional development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riikka Korja
- Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,The Centre for Emotional Health, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Catherine McMahon
- The Centre for Emotional Health, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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49
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Fields A, Bloom PA, VanTieghem M, Harmon C, Choy T, Camacho NL, Gibson L, Umbach R, Heleniak C, Tottenham N. Adaptation in the face of adversity: Decrements and enhancements in children's cognitive control behavior following early caregiving instability. Dev Sci 2021; 24:e13133. [PMID: 34080760 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive control is typically described as disrupted following exposure to early caregiving instability. While much of the work within this field has approached cognitive control broadly, evidence from adults retrospectively reporting early-life instability has shown more nuanced effects on cognitive control, even demonstrating enhancements in certain subdomains. That is, exposure to unstable caregiving may disrupt some areas of cognitive control, yet promote adaptation in others. Here, we investigated three domains of cognitive control in a sample of school-age children (N = 275, Age = 6-12 years) as a function of early caregiving instability, defined as the total number of caregiving switches. Results demonstrated that caregiving instability was associated with reduced response inhibition (Go/No-Go) and attentional control (Flanker), but enhanced cognitive flexibility (Dimensional Change Card Sort Task Switching). Conversely, there were no statistically significant associations with group (i.e., institutional care versus foster care) or maltreatment exposure and these patterns. These findings build on the specialization framework, suggesting that caregiving instability results in both decrements and enhancements in children's cognitive control, consistent with the hypothesis that cognitive control development is scaffolded by early environmental pressures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Fields
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, USA
| | - Paul A Bloom
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, USA
| | | | - Chelsea Harmon
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, USA
| | - Tricia Choy
- Graduate School of Education, University of California, Riverside, California, USA
| | - Nicolas L Camacho
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, North Carolina, USA
| | - Lisa Gibson
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, USA
| | - Rebecca Umbach
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, USA
| | | | - Nim Tottenham
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, USA
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50
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Shupe EA, Clinton SM. Neonatal resource scarcity alters maternal care and impacts offspring core temperature and growth in rats. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:e22144. [PMID: 34053070 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Stressful experiences during childhood, including poverty and inconsistent parental care, can enhance vulnerability for worsened physical and mental health outcomes in adulthood. Using Sprague Dawley rats, the present study explored the impact of limited resource availability on maternal behavior and physiological and emotional behavior outcomes in the offspring. Early life adversity was induced by incorporating aspects of the limited bedding and nesting and scarcity models, wherein limited resource availability has previously been shown to provoke unpredictable or adverse maternal care respectively. In our hands, neonatal limited bedding (NLB) stress during postnatal days (P)2-9 altered maternal care, augmenting pup-directed behaviors and reducing self-directed behaviors, and modestly increased the frequency of transitions between discrete behaviors across consecutive timed observations. NLB-exposed pups had lower core body temperatures immediately following the stressful manipulation and exhibited decreased body weight gain across development. However, NLB exposure did not impact adult offspring's social or emotional behavior outcomes in the three-chamber social interaction, novelty-suppressed feeding, splash, or forced swim tests. These findings add to the literature demonstrating that early life adversity impacts maternal care in rodents and can disrupt certain metabolic and thermoregulatory outcomes in the offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Shupe
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Sarah M Clinton
- School of Neuroscience, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
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