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Cobb-Lewis D, George A, Hu S, Packard K, Song M, Nikitah I, Nguyen-Lopez O, Tesone E, Rowden J, Wang J, Opendak M. The lateral habenula integrates age and experience to promote social transitions in developing rats. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114556. [PMID: 39096491 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114556] [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: 01/20/2024] [Revised: 05/29/2024] [Accepted: 07/13/2024] [Indexed: 08/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Early caregiving adversity (ECA) is associated with social behavior deficits and later development of psychopathology. However, the infant neural substrates of ECA are poorly understood. The lateral habenula (LHb), a highly conserved brain region with consistent links to adult psychopathology, is understudied in development, when the brain is most vulnerable to environmental impacts. Here, we describe the structural and functional ontogeny of the LHb and its behavioral role in infant and juvenile rat pups. We show that the LHb promotes a developmental transition in social approach behavior under threat as typically reared infants mature. By contrast, we show that ECA disrupts habenular ontogeny, including volume, protein expression, firing properties, and corticohabenular connectivity. Furthermore, inhibiting a specific corticohabenular projection rescues infant social approach deficits following ECA. Together, these results identify immediate biomarkers of ECA in the LHb and highlight this region as a site of early social processing and behavior control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana Cobb-Lewis
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Anne George
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Shannon Hu
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | | | - Mingyuan Song
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | | | - Oliver Nguyen-Lopez
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Emily Tesone
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Jhanay Rowden
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Julie Wang
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Maya Opendak
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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2
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Abramson L, Callaghan BL, Silvers JA, Choy T, VanTieghem M, Vannucci A, Fields A, Tottenham N. The effects of parental presence on amygdala and mPFC activation during fear conditioning: An exploratory study. Dev Sci 2024:e13505. [PMID: 38549194 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13505] [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: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/30/2024]
Abstract
Learning safe versus dangerous cues is crucial for survival. During development, parents can influence fear learning by buffering their children's stress response and increasing exploration of potentially aversive stimuli. Rodent findings suggest that these behavioral effects are mediated through parental presence modulation of the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Here, we investigated whether similar parental modulation of amygdala and mPFC during fear learning occurs in humans. Using a within-subjects design, behavioral (final N = 48, 6-17 years, mean = 11.61, SD = 2.84, 60% females/40% males) and neuroimaging data (final N = 39, 6-17 years, mean = 12.03, SD = 2.98, 59% females/41% males) were acquired during a classical fear conditioning task, which included a CS+ followed by an aversive noise (US; 75% reinforcement rate) and a CS-. Conditioning occurred once in physical contact with the participant's parent and once alone (order counterbalanced). Region of interest analyses examined the unconditioned stress response by BOLD activation to the US (vs. implicit baseline) and learning by activation to the CS+ (vs. CS-). Results showed that during US presentation, parental presence reduced the centromedial amygdala activity, suggesting buffering of the unconditioned stress response. In response to learned stimuli, parental presence reduced mPFC activity to the CS+ (relative to the CS-), although this result did not survive multiple comparisons' correction. These preliminary findings indicate that parents modulate amygdala and mPFC activity during exposure to unconditioned and conditioned fear stimuli, potentially providing insight into the neural mechanisms by which parents act as a social buffer during fear learning. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: (1)This study used a within-participant experimental design to investigate how parental presence (vs. absence) affects youth's neural responses in a classical fear conditioning task. (2)Parental presence reduced the youth's centromedial amygdala activation to the unconditioned stimulus (US), suggesting parental buffering of the neural unconditioned response (UR). (3)Parental presence reduced the youth's mPFC activation to a conditioned threat cue (CS+) compared to a safety cue (CS-), suggesting possible parental modulation of fear learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lior Abramson
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Bridget L Callaghan
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Jennifer A Silvers
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Tricia Choy
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Michelle VanTieghem
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Anna Vannucci
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Andrea Fields
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Nim Tottenham
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, New York, USA
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3
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Cobb-Lewis D, George A, Hu S, Packard K, Song M, Nguyen-Lopez O, Tesone E, Rowden J, Wang J, Opendak M. The lateral habenula integrates age and experience to promote social transitions in developing rats. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.12.575446. [PMID: 38260652 PMCID: PMC10802604 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.12.575446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Social behavior deficits are an early-emerging marker of psychopathology and are linked with early caregiving quality. However, the infant neural substrates linking early care to social development are poorly understood. Here, we focused on the infant lateral habenula (LHb), a highly-conserved brain region at the nexus between forebrain and monoaminergic circuits. Despite its consistent links to adult psychopathology, this brain region has been understudied in development when the brain is most vulnerable to environmental impacts. In a task combining social and threat cues, suppressing LHb principal neurons had opposing effects in infants versus juveniles, suggesting the LHb promotes a developmental switch in social approach behavior under threat. We observed that early caregiving adversity (ECA) disrupts typical growth curves of LHb baseline structure and function, including volume, firing patterns, neuromodulatory receptor expression, and functional connectivity with cortical regions. Further, we observed that suppressing cortical projections to the LHb rescued social approach deficits following ECA, identifying this microcircuit as a substrate for disrupted social behavior. Together, these results identify immediate biomarkers of ECA in the LHb and highlight this region as a site of early social processing and behavior control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana Cobb-Lewis
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore MD USA 21205
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore MD USA 21205
| | - Anne George
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore MD USA 21205
| | - Shannon Hu
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore MD USA 21205
| | | | - Mingyuan Song
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore MD USA 21205
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore MD USA 21205
| | - Oliver Nguyen-Lopez
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore MD USA 21205
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore MD USA 21205
| | - Emily Tesone
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore MD USA 21205
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore MD USA 21205
| | - Jhanay Rowden
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore MD USA 21205
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore MD USA 21205
| | - Julie Wang
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore MD USA 21205
| | - Maya Opendak
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore MD USA 21205
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore MD USA 21205
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Gee DG, Cohodes EM. Leveraging the developmental neuroscience of caregiving to promote resilience among youth exposed to adversity. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:2168-2185. [PMID: 37929292 PMCID: PMC10872788 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579423001128] [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] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Early adversity is a major risk factor for the emergence of psychopathology across development. Identifying mechanisms that support resilience, or favorable mental health outcomes despite exposure to adversity, is critical for informing clinical intervention and guiding policy to promote youth mental health. Here we propose that caregivers play a central role in fostering resilience among children exposed to adversity via caregiving influences on children's corticolimbic circuitry and emotional functioning. We first delineate the numerous ways that caregivers support youth emotional learning and regulation and describe how early attachment lays the foundation for optimal caregiver support of youth emotional functioning in a developmental stage-specific manner. Second, we outline neural mechanisms by which caregivers foster resilience-namely, by modulating offspring corticolimbic circuitry to support emotion regulation and buffer stress reactivity. Next, we highlight the importance of developmental timing and sensitive periods in understanding caregiving-related mechanisms of resilience. Finally, we discuss clinical implications of this line of research and how findings can be translated to guide policy that promotes the well-being of youth and families.
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Barr GA, Opendak M, Perry RE, Sarro E, Sullivan RM. Infant pain vs. pain with parental suppression: Immediate and enduring impact on brain, pain and affect. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0290871. [PMID: 37972112 PMCID: PMC10653509 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the short term, parental presence while a human infant is in pain buffers the immediate pain responses, although emerging evidence suggests repeated social buffering of pain may have untoward long-term effects. METHODS/FINDING To explore the short- and long-term impacts of social buffering of pain, we first measured the infant rat pup's [postnatal day (PN) 8, or 12] response to mild tail shock with the mother present compared to shock alone or no shock. Shock with the mother reduced pain-related behavioral activation and USVs of pups at both ages and reduced Fos expression in the periaqueductal gray, hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, and the amygdala at PN12 only. At PN12, shock with the mother compared to shock alone differentially regulated expression of several hundred genes related to G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and neural development, whereas PN8 pups showed a less robust and less coherent expression pattern. In a second set of experiments, pups were exposed to daily repeated Shock-mother pairings (or controls) at PN5-9 or PN10-14 (during and after pain sensitive period, respectively) and long-term outcome assessed in adults. Shock+mother pairing at PN5-9 reduced adult carrageenan-induced thermal hyperalgesia and reduced Fos expression, but PN10-14 pairings had minimal impact. The effect of infant treatment on adult affective behavior showed a complex treatment by age dependent effect. Adult social behavior was decreased following Shock+mother pairings at both PN5-9 and PN10-14, whereas shock alone had no effect. Adult fear responses to a predator odor were decreased only by PN10-14 treatment and the infant Shock alone and Shock+mother did not differ. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Overall, integrating these results into our understanding of long-term programming by repeated infant pain experiences, the data suggest that pain experienced within a social context impacts infant neurobehavioral responses and initiates an altered developmental trajectory of pain and affect processing that diverges from experiencing pain alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gordon A. Barr
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Maya Opendak
- Child Study Center, Center for Early Childhood Health & Development, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, United States of America
| | - Rosemarie E. Perry
- Child Study Center, Center for Early Childhood Health & Development, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, United States of America
| | - Emma Sarro
- Child Study Center, Center for Early Childhood Health & Development, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, United States of America
| | - Regina M. Sullivan
- Child Study Center, Center for Early Childhood Health & Development, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, United States of America
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6
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Ferrara NC, Che A, Briones B, Padilla-Coreano N, Lovett-Barron M, Opendak M. Neural Circuit Transitions Supporting Developmentally Specific Social Behavior. J Neurosci 2023; 43:7456-7462. [PMID: 37940586 PMCID: PMC10634550 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1377-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Environmentally appropriate social behavior is critical for survival across the lifespan. To support this flexible behavior, the brain must rapidly perform numerous computations taking into account sensation, memory, motor-control, and many other systems. Further complicating this process, individuals must perform distinct social behaviors adapted to the unique demands of each developmental stage; indeed, the social behaviors of the newborn would not be appropriate in adulthood and vice versa. However, our understanding of the neural circuit transitions supporting these behavioral transitions has been limited. Recent advances in neural circuit dissection tools, as well as adaptation of these tools for use at early time points, has helped uncover several novel mechanisms supporting developmentally appropriate social behavior. This review, and associated Minisymposium, bring together social neuroscience research across numerous model organisms and ages. Together, this work highlights developmentally regulated neural mechanisms and functional transitions in the roles of the sensory cortex, prefrontal cortex, amygdala, habenula, and the thalamus to support social interaction from infancy to adulthood. These studies underscore the need for synthesis across varied model organisms and across ages to advance our understanding of flexible social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole C Ferrara
- Discipline of Physiology and Biophysics, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, Illinois 60064
- Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, Illinois 60064
| | - Alicia Che
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
| | - Brandy Briones
- Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
| | - Nancy Padilla-Coreano
- Evelyn F. & William McKnight Brain Institute and Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610
| | - Matthew Lovett-Barron
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093
| | - Maya Opendak
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
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7
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Meyer HC, Fields A, Vannucci A, Gerhard DM, Bloom PA, Heleniak C, Opendak M, Sullivan R, Tottenham N, Callaghan BL, Lee FS. The Added Value of Crosstalk Between Developmental Circuit Neuroscience and Clinical Practice to Inform the Treatment of Adolescent Anxiety. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 3:169-178. [PMID: 37124361 PMCID: PMC10140450 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2022.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Significant advances have been made in recent years regarding the developmental trajectories of brain circuits and networks, revealing links between brain structure and function. Emerging evidence highlights the importance of developmental trajectories in determining early psychiatric outcomes. However, efforts to encourage crosstalk between basic developmental neuroscience and clinical practice are limited. Here, we focus on the potential advantage of considering features of neural circuit development when optimizing treatments for adolescent patient populations. Drawing on characteristics of adolescent neurodevelopment, we highlight two examples, safety cues and incentives, that leverage insights from neural circuit development and may have great promise for augmenting existing behavioral treatments for anxiety disorders during adolescence. This commentary seeks to serve as a framework to maximize the translational potential of basic research in developmental populations for strengthening psychiatric treatments. In turn, input from clinical practice including the identification of age-specific clinically relevant phenotypes will continue to guide future basic research in the same neural circuits to better reflect clinical practices. Encouraging reciprocal communication to bridge the gap between basic developmental neuroscience research and clinical implementation is an important step toward advancing both research and practice in this domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi C. Meyer
- Department of Psychiatry, Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Andrea Fields
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Anna Vannucci
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Danielle M. Gerhard
- Department of Psychiatry, Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York
| | - Paul A. Bloom
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | | | - Maya Opendak
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York
- Department of Neuroscience, Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Regina Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York
| | - Nim Tottenham
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Bridget L. Callaghan
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Francis S. Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York
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8
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The lifetime impact of stress on fear regulation and cortical function. Neuropharmacology 2023; 224:109367. [PMID: 36464208 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
A variety of stressful experiences can influence the ability to form and subsequently inhibit fear memory. While nonsocial stress can impact fear learning and memory throughout the lifespan, psychosocial stressors that involve negative social experiences or changes to the social environment have a disproportionately high impact during adolescence. Here, we review converging lines of evidence that suggest that development of prefrontal cortical circuitry necessary for both social experiences and fear learning is altered by stress exposure in a way that impacts both social and fear behaviors throughout the lifespan. Further, we suggest that psychosocial stress, through its impact on the prefrontal cortex, may be especially detrimental during early developmental periods characterized by higher sociability. This article is part of the Special Issue on 'Fear, Anxiety and PTSD'.
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9
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Qiu Y, Dou H, Dai Y, Li H, Lei Y. The influence of being left behind on fear acquisition and academic performance—a study of left-behind children. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03914-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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10
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Packard K, Opendak M. Rodent models of early adversity: Impacts on developing social behavior circuitry and clinical implications. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:918862. [PMID: 35990728 PMCID: PMC9385963 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.918862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Flexible and context-appropriate social functioning is key for survival across species. This flexibility also renders social behavior highly plastic, particularly during early development when attachment to caregiver can provide a template for future social processing. As a result, early caregiving adversity can have unique and lasting impacts on social behavior and even confer vulnerability to psychiatric disorders. However, the neural circuit mechanisms translating experience to outcome remain poorly understood. Here, we consider social behavior scaffolding through the lens of reward and threat processing. We begin by surveying several complementary rodent models of early adversity, which together have highlighted impacts on neural circuits processing social cues. We next explore these circuits underlying perturbed social functioning with focus on dopamine (DA) and its role in regions implicated in social and threat processing such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC), basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the lateral habenula (LHb). Finally, we turn to human populations once more to examine how altered DA signaling and LHb dysfunction may play a role in social anhedonia, a common feature in diagnoses such as schizophrenia and major depressive disorder (MDD). We argue that this translational focus is critical for identifying specific features of adversity that confer heightened vulnerability for clinical outcomes involving social cue processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Packard
- Department of Neuroscience, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Maya Opendak
- Department of Neuroscience, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
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11
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Naeem N, Zanca RM, Weinstein S, Urquieta A, Sosa A, Yu B, Sullivan RM. The Neurobiology of Infant Attachment-Trauma and Disruption of Parent-Infant Interactions. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:882464. [PMID: 35935109 PMCID: PMC9352889 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.882464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Current clinical literature and supporting animal literature have shown that repeated and profound early-life adversity, especially when experienced within the caregiver-infant dyad, disrupts the trajectory of brain development to induce later-life expression of maladaptive behavior and pathology. What is less well understood is the immediate impact of repeated adversity during early life with the caregiver, especially since attachment to the caregiver occurs regardless of the quality of care the infant received including experiences of trauma. The focus of the present manuscript is to review the current literature on infant trauma within attachment, with an emphasis on animal research to define mechanisms and translate developmental child research. Across species, the effects of repeated trauma with the attachment figure, are subtle in early life, but the presence of acute stress can uncover some pathology, as was highlighted by Bowlby and Ainsworth in the 1950s. Through rodent neurobehavioral literature we discuss the important role of repeated elevations in stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) in infancy, especially if paired with the mother (not when pups are alone) as targeting the amygdala and causal in infant pathology. We also show that following induced alterations, at baseline infants appear stable, although acute stress hormone elevation uncovers pathology in brain circuits important in emotion, social behavior, and fear. We suggest that a comprehensive understanding of the role of stress hormones during infant typical development and elevated CORT disruption of this typical development will provide insight into age-specific identification of trauma effects, as well as a better understanding of early markers of later-life pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nimra Naeem
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- Emotional Brain Institute, The Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Roseanna M. Zanca
- Emotional Brain Institute, The Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Sylvie Weinstein
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Alejandra Urquieta
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Anna Sosa
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Boyi Yu
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Regina M. Sullivan
- Department of Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- Emotional Brain Institute, The Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
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12
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Hornstein EA, Craske MG, Fanselow MS, Eisenberger NI. Reclassifying the Unique Inhibitory Properties of Social Support Figures: A Roadmap for Exploring Prepared Fear Suppression. Biol Psychiatry 2022; 91:778-785. [PMID: 35063185 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.11.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Recent work has revealed that social support cues are powerful inhibitors of the fear response. They are endowed with a unique combination of inhibitory properties, enabling them to both inhibit fear in the short term and reduce fear in the long term. While these findings had previously been thought to suggest that social support cues belong to a category of prepared safety stimuli, mounting evidence clearly shows that the mechanisms underlying safety signaling cannot account for the unique effects of social support cues. Here, we propose a reclassification of social support cues as members of a prepared fear suppressor category. We present an argument for the prepared fear suppressor classification, discuss potential mechanisms underlying the unique effects of prepared fear suppressors, and outline next steps to build an understanding of this category and its clinical implications. This review is meant to serve as a roadmap for exploring this novel category of prepared fear suppressors, whose never-before-seen range of inhibitory effects makes them an important and impactful discovery with implications for both fear learning theory and clinical application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica A Hornstein
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
| | - Michelle G Craske
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Michael S Fanselow
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
| | - Naomi I Eisenberger
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.
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13
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Graf N, Zanca RM, Song W, Zeldin E, Raj R, Sullivan RM. Neurobiology of Parental Regulation of the Infant and Its Disruption by Trauma Within Attachment. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:806323. [PMID: 35464143 PMCID: PMC9022471 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.806323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The complex process of regulating physiological functions and homeostasis during external and internal disruptions develops slowly in altricial species, with parental care functioning as a co-regulator of infant physiological and emotional homeostasis. Here, we review our current understanding of the infant's use of parental behaviors for neurobehavioral regulation and its disruption with harsh parental care. Taking a cross-species view, we briefly review the human developmental literature that highlights the importance of the caregiver in scaffolding the child's physiological and emotional regulation, especially under threat and stress. We then use emerging corresponding animal literature within the phylogenetically preserved attachment system to help define neural systems supporting caregiver regulation and its supporting causal mechanism to provide translational bridges to inform causation and mechanisms impossible to define in children. Next, we briefly review animal research highlighting the impact of specific sensory stimuli imbedded in parental care as important for infant physiological and emotion regulation. We then highlight the importance of parental sensory stimuli gaining hedonic value to go beyond simple sensory stimuli to further impact neurobehavioral regulation, with poor quality of care compromising the infant's ability to use these cues for regulation. Clinically, parental regulation of the infant is correlated with later-life neurobehavioral outcome and quality of life. We suggest an understanding of this parental regulation of the infant's immediate neurobehavioral functioning within the context of attachment quality, that may provide insights into the complex processes during early life, initiating the pathway to pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Graf
- Psychology Department and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States,*Correspondence: Nina Graf,
| | - Roseanna M. Zanca
- Emotional Brain Institute, The Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States,Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, United States
| | - Wei Song
- Psychology Department and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Elizabeth Zeldin
- Psychology Department and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Roshni Raj
- Psychology Department and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Regina M. Sullivan
- Psychology Department and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, United States,Emotional Brain Institute, The Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States,Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, United States,Regina M. Sullivan,
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14
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Hu S, Packard K, Opendak M. Social Regulation of Negative Valence Systems During Development. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 15:828685. [PMID: 35126064 PMCID: PMC8811468 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.828685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to sense, perceive, and respond appropriately to aversive cues is critical for survival. Conversely, dysfunction in any of these pathway components can lead to heightened avoidance of neutral or rewarding cues, such as social partners. The underlying circuitry mediating both negative valence processing and social behavior is particularly sensitive to early life experience, but mechanisms linking experience to pathology remain elusive. Previous research in humans, rodents, and non-human primates has highlighted the unique neurobiology of the developing infant and the role of the caregiver in mediating the infant’s negative valence circuitry, and the importance of this early social relationship for scaffolding lasting social behavior. In this review, we summarize the current literature on the development of negative valence circuits in the infant and their social regulation by the caregiver following both typical and adversity-rearing. We focus on clinically-relevant research using infant rodents which highlights the amygdala and its interface with the mesolimbic dopamine system through innervation from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) as a locus of dysfunction following early-life adversity. We then describe how these circuits are recruited to perturb life-long social behavior following adversity and propose additional therapeutic targets in these circuits with an eye toward developing age-appropriate interventions.
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15
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Milbocker KA, Campbell TS, Collins N, Kim S, Smith IF, Roth TL, Klintsova AY. Glia-Driven Brain Circuit Refinement Is Altered by Early-Life Adversity: Behavioral Outcomes. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:786234. [PMID: 34924972 PMCID: PMC8678604 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.786234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Early-life adversity (ELA), often clinically referred to as "adverse childhood experiences (ACE)," is the exposure to stress-inducing events in childhood that can result in poor health outcomes. ELA negatively affects neurodevelopment in children and adolescents resulting in several behavioral deficits and increasing the risk of developing a myriad of neuropsychiatric disorders later in life. The neurobiological mechanisms by which ELA alters neurodevelopment in childhood have been the focus of numerous reviews. However, a comprehensive review of the mechanisms affecting adolescent neurodevelopment (i.e., synaptic pruning and myelination) is lacking. Synaptic pruning and myelination are glia-driven processes that are imperative for brain circuit refinement during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Failure to optimize brain circuitry between key brain structures involved in learning and memory, such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, leads to the emergence of maladaptive behaviors including increased anxiety or reduced executive function. As such, we review preclinical and clinical literature to explore the immediate and lasting effects of ELA on brain circuit development and refinement. Finally, we describe a number of therapeutic interventions best-suited to support adolescent neurodevelopment in children with a history of ELA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Anna Y. Klintsova
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States
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16
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Meyer HC, Sangha S, Radley JJ, LaLumiere RT, Baratta MV. Environmental certainty influences the neural systems regulating responses to threat and stress. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 131:1037-1055. [PMID: 34673111 PMCID: PMC8642312 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Flexible calibration of threat responding in accordance with the environment is an adaptive process that allows an animal to avoid harm while also maintaining engagement of other goal-directed actions. This calibration process, referred to as threat response regulation, requires an animal to calculate the probability that a given encounter will result in a threat so they can respond accordingly. Here we review the neural correlates of two highly studied forms of threat response suppression: extinction and safety conditioning. We focus on how relative levels of certainty or uncertainty in the surrounding environment alter the acquisition and application of these processes. We also discuss evidence indicating altered threat response regulation following stress exposure, including enhanced fear conditioning, and disrupted extinction and safety conditioning. To conclude, we discuss research using an animal model of coping that examines the impact of stressor controllability on threat responding, highlighting the potential for previous experiences with control, or other forms of coping, to protect against the effects of future adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi C Meyer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
| | - Susan Sangha
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
| | - Jason J Radley
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
| | - Ryan T LaLumiere
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
| | - Michael V Baratta
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80301, USA.
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17
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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: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [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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18
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Opendak M, Raineki C, Perry RE, Rincón-Cortés M, Song SC, Zanca RM, Wood E, Packard K, Hu S, Woo J, Martinez K, Vinod KY, Brown RW, Deehan GA, Froemke RC, Serrano PA, Wilson DA, Sullivan RM. Bidirectional control of infant rat social behavior via dopaminergic innervation of the basolateral amygdala. Neuron 2021; 109:4018-4035.e7. [PMID: 34706218 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.09.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Social interaction deficits seen in psychiatric disorders emerge in early-life and are most closely linked to aberrant neural circuit function. Due to technical limitations, we have limited understanding of how typical versus pathological social behavior circuits develop. Using a suite of invasive procedures in awake, behaving infant rats, including optogenetics, microdialysis, and microinfusions, we dissected the circuits controlling the gradual increase in social behavior deficits following two complementary procedures-naturalistic harsh maternal care and repeated shock alone or with an anesthetized mother. Whether the mother was the source of the adversity (naturalistic Scarcity-Adversity) or merely present during the adversity (repeated shock with mom), both conditions elevated basolateral amygdala (BLA) dopamine, which was necessary and sufficient in initiating social behavior pathology. This did not occur when pups experienced adversity alone. These data highlight the unique impact of social adversity as causal in producing mesolimbic dopamine circuit dysfunction and aberrant social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Opendak
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
| | - Charlis Raineki
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - Rosemarie E Perry
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10012, USA
| | - Millie Rincón-Cortés
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA 15260, USA
| | - Soomin C Song
- Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Neuroscience Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Roseanna M Zanca
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Department of Psychology, CUNY Hunter College, New York, 10016, USA; The Graduate Center of CUNY, New York, 10016, USA
| | - Emma Wood
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA
| | - Katherine Packard
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA
| | - Shannon Hu
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA
| | - Joyce Woo
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA
| | - Krissian Martinez
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - K Yaragudri Vinod
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Analytical Psychopharmacology, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA
| | - Russell W Brown
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA
| | - Gerald A Deehan
- Department of Psychology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA
| | - Robert C Froemke
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Neuroscience Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Peter A Serrano
- Department of Psychology, CUNY Hunter College, New York, 10016, USA; The Graduate Center of CUNY, New York, 10016, USA
| | - Donald A Wilson
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Regina M Sullivan
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
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19
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Gee DG, Cohodes EM. Caregiving Influences on Development: A Sensitive Period for Biological Embedding of Predictability and Safety Cues. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2021; 30:376-383. [PMID: 34675455 DOI: 10.1177/09637214211015673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Across species, caregivers exert a powerful influence on the neural and behavioral development of offspring. Increasingly, both animal and human research has highlighted specific patterns in caregivers' behavior that may be especially important early in life, as well as neurobiological mechanisms linking early caregiving experiences with long-term affective behavior. Here we delineate evidence for an early sensitive period during infancy and toddlerhood when caregiver inputs that are predictable and associated with safety may become biologically embedded via influences on corticolimbic circuitry involved in emotion regulation. We propose that these caregiver signals prime corticolimbic circuitry to be receptive to later stage-specific caregiver influences, such as caregivers' external regulation of children's emotional reactivity. Following caregiving adversity that disrupts predictability and safety associated with caregivers during this sensitive period, accelerated maturation of corticolimbic circuitry may foreshorten the protracted period of plasticity and caregiver influence that is characteristic of humans. This work has implications for both prevention and intervention efforts for children exposed to early life adversity.
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20
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Packard K, Opendak M, Soper CD, Sardar H, Sullivan RM. Infant Attachment and Social Modification of Stress Neurobiology. Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 15:718198. [PMID: 34483852 PMCID: PMC8415781 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.718198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Decades of research have informed our understanding of how stress impacts the brain to perturb behavior. However, stress during development has received specific attention as this occurs during a sensitive period for scaffolding lifelong socio-emotional behavior. In this review, we focus the developmental neurobiology of stress-related pathology during infancy and focus on one of the many important variables that can switch outcomes from adaptive to maladaptive outcome: caregiver presence during infants' exposure to chronic stress. While this review relies heavily on rodent neuroscience research, we frequently connect this work with the human behavioral and brain literature to facilitate translation. Bowlby's Attachment Theory is used as a guiding framework in order to understand how early care quality impacts caregiver regulation of the infant to produce lasting outcomes on mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Packard
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
| | - Maya Opendak
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Caroline Davis Soper
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Haniyyah Sardar
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Regina M. Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
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21
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Volkova A, Ruggles K, Schulfer A, Gao Z, Ginsberg SD, Blaser MJ. Effects of early-life penicillin exposure on the gut microbiome and frontal cortex and amygdala gene expression. iScience 2021; 24:102797. [PMID: 34355145 PMCID: PMC8324854 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
We have established experimental systems to assess the effects of early-life exposures to antibiotics on the intestinal microbiota and gene expression in the brain. This model system is highly relevant to human exposure and may be developed into a preclinical model of neurodevelopmental disorders in which the gut–brain axis is perturbed, leading to organizational effects that permanently alter the structure and function of the brain. Exposing newborn mice to low-dose penicillin led to substantial changes in intestinal microbiota population structure and composition. Transcriptomic alterations implicate pathways perturbed in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. There also were substantial effects on frontal cortex and amygdala gene expression by bioinformatic interrogation, affecting multiple pathways underlying neurodevelopment. Informatic analyses established linkages between specific intestinal microbial populations and the early-life expression of particular affected genes. These studies provide translational models to explore intestinal microbiome roles in the normal and abnormal maturation of the vulnerable central nervous system. Low-dose antibiotic exposure perturbs the infant gut mouse microbiome to PND10 Frontal cortex and amygdala gene expression were substantially affected Multiple pathways underlying neurodevelopment were affected Specific gut microbial populations were linked with expression of particular genes
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelina Volkova
- Institute for Systems Genetics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Kelly Ruggles
- Institute for Systems Genetics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.,Department of Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Anjelique Schulfer
- Department of Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Zhan Gao
- Department of Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.,Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Stephen D Ginsberg
- Center for Dementia Research. Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA.,Departments of Psychiatry, Neuroscience & Physiology, and NYU Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Martin J Blaser
- Department of Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.,Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
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22
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Arnsten AFT, Condon EM, Dettmer AM, Gee DG, Lee KS, Mayes LC, Stover CS, Tseng WL. The prefrontal cortex in a pandemic: Restoring functions with system-, family-, and individual-focused interventions. AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST 2021; 76:729-743. [PMID: 33983754 PMCID: PMC8589866 DOI: 10.1037/amp0000823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unanticipated and uncontrollable chronic stressor that is detrimental to the mental and behavioral health of children and families, particularly those from disadvantaged and marginalized backgrounds. Chronic stress impairs a myriad of prefrontal cortical functions, important for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, and has consequences on dyadic parent-child functioning. Informed by neuroscience and clinical evidence, sensitive parenting is a vital avenue of intervention that buffers against the toxic effects of COVID-19 on parent-child mental health. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we first discuss the neurobiological, psychological, and behavioral mechanisms behind exacerbated mental health risks in families. We then highlight the role of sensitive parenting as a buffer against stress-related mental health problems, and conclude with recommendations for systemic-, family-, and individual-interventions to most effectively address stress-related mental health problems and their impact on children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy F. T. Arnsten
- Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine
- Kavli Institute of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine
| | | | | | | | - Ka Shu Lee
- Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London
- Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
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23
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Hanson JL, Nacewicz BM. Amygdala Allostasis and Early Life Adversity: Considering Excitotoxicity and Inescapability in the Sequelae of Stress. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:624705. [PMID: 34140882 PMCID: PMC8203824 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.624705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA), such as child maltreatment or child poverty, engenders problems with emotional and behavioral regulation. In the quest to understand the neurobiological sequelae and mechanisms of risk, the amygdala has been of major focus. While the basic functions of this region make it a strong candidate for understanding the multiple mental health issues common after ELA, extant literature is marked by profound inconsistencies, with reports of larger, smaller, and no differences in regional volumes of this area. We believe integrative models of stress neurodevelopment, grounded in "allostatic load," will help resolve inconsistencies in the impact of ELA on the amygdala. In this review, we attempt to connect past research studies to new findings with animal models of cellular and neurotransmitter mediators of stress buffering to extreme fear generalization onto testable research and clinical concepts. Drawing on the greater impact of inescapability over unpredictability in animal models, we propose a mechanism by which ELA aggravates an exhaustive cycle of amygdala expansion and subsequent toxic-metabolic damage. We connect this neurobiological sequela to psychosocial mal/adaptation after ELA, bridging to behavioral studies of attachment, emotion processing, and social functioning. Lastly, we conclude this review by proposing a multitude of future directions in preclinical work and studies of humans that suffered ELA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie L. Hanson
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Brendon M. Nacewicz
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
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24
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Sullivan RM, Opendak M. Neurobiology of Infant Fear and Anxiety: Impacts of Delayed Amygdala Development and Attachment Figure Quality. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 89:641-650. [PMID: 33109337 PMCID: PMC7914291 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.08.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Revised: 08/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental illness and are more likely to emerge during childhood compared with most other psychiatric disorders. While research on children is the gold standard for understanding the behavioral expression of anxiety and its neural circuitry, the ethical and technical limitations in exploring neural underpinnings limit our understanding of the child's developing brain. Instead, we must rely on animal models to build strong methodological bridges for bidirectional translation to child development research. Using the caregiver-infant context, we review the rodent literature on early-life fear development to characterize developmental transitions in amygdala function underlying age-specific behavioral transitions. We then describe how this system can be perturbed by early-life adversity, including reduced efficacy of the caregiver as a safe haven. We suggest that greater integration of clinically informed animal research enhances bidirectional translation to permit new approaches to therapeutics for children with early onset anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Regina M. Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, New York, NY USA,Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Maya Opendak
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, New York, NY USA,Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY USA
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25
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Zanni G, Robinson-Drummer PA, Dougher AA, Deutsch HM, DeSalle MJ, Teplitsky D, Vemulapalli A, Sullivan RM, Eisch AJ, Barr GA. Maternal continuous oral oxycodone self-administration alters pup affective/social communication but not spatial learning or sensory-motor function. Drug Alcohol Depend 2021; 221:108628. [PMID: 33761428 PMCID: PMC10787952 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The broad use/misuse of prescription opioids during pregnancy has resulted in a surge of infants with Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS). Short-term irritability and neurological complications are its hallmarks, but the long-term consequences are unknown. METHODS A newly-developed preclinical model of oxycodone self-administration enables adult female rats to drink oxycodone (∼10/mg/kg/day) before and during pregnancy, and after delivery, and to maintain normal liquid intake, titrate dosing, and avoid withdrawal. RESULTS Oxycodone was detected in the serum of mothers and pups. Growth parameters in dams and pups and litter mass and size were similar to controls. There were no differences in paw retraction latency to a thermal stimulus between Oxycodone and Control pups at postnatal (PN) 2 or PN14. Oxycodone and Control pups had similar motor coordination, cliff avoidance, righting time, pivoting, and olfactory spatial learning from PN3 through PN13. Separation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations at PN8 revealed higher call frequency in Oxycodone pups relative to Control pups (p<0.031; Cohen's d=1.026). Finally, Oxycodone pups displayed withdrawal behaviors (p's<0.029; Cohen's d's>0.806), and Oxycodone males only vocalized more than Control pups in the first minute of testing (p's<0.050; Cohen's d's>.866). Significant effects were corroborated by estimation plots. CONCLUSIONS Our rat model of oral oxycodone self-administration in pregnancy shows exacerbated affect/social communication in pups in a sex-dependent manner but spared cognition and sensory-motor behaviors. This preclinical model reproduces selective aspects of human opioid use during pregnancy, enabling longitudinal analysis of how maternal oxycodone changes emotional behavior in the offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Zanni
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Patrese A Robinson-Drummer
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, United States; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
| | - Ashlee A Dougher
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Hannah M Deutsch
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Matthew J DeSalle
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - David Teplitsky
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Aishwarya Vemulapalli
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Regina M Sullivan
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, United States; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
| | - Amelia J Eisch
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
| | - Gordon A Barr
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
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Neural meaning making, prediction, and prefrontal-subcortical development following early adverse caregiving. Dev Psychopathol 2021; 32:1563-1578. [PMID: 33427163 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579420001169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Early adversities that are caregiving-related (crEAs) are associated with a significantly increased risk for mental health problems. Recent neuroscientific advances have revealed alterations in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-subcortical circuitry following crEAs. While this work has identified alterations in affective operations (e.g., perceiving, reacting, controlling, learning) associated with mPFC-subcortical circuitry, this circuitry has a much broader function extending beyond operations. It plays a primary role in affective meaning making, involving conceptual-level, schematized knowledge to generate predictions about the current environment. This function of mPFC-subcortical circuitry motivates asking whether mPFC-subcortical phenotypes following crEAs support semanticized knowledge content (or the concept-level knowledge) and generate predictive models. I present a hypothesis motivated by research findings across four different lines of work that converge on mPFC-subcortical neuroanatomy, including (a) the neurobiology supporting emotion regulation processes in adulthood, (b) the neurobiology that is activated by caregiving cues during development, (c) the neurobiology that is altered by crEAs, and (d) the neurobiology of semantic-based meaning making. I hypothesize that the affective behaviors following crEAs result in part from affective semantic memory processes supported by mPFC-subcortical circuitry that over the course of development, construct affective schemas that generate meaning making and guide predictions. I use this opportunity to review some of the literature on mPFC-subcortical circuit development following crEAs to illustrate the motivation behind this hypothesis. Long recognized by clinical science and cognitive neuroscience, studying schema-based processes may be particularly helpful for understanding how affective meaning making arises from developmental trajectories of mPFC-subcortical circuitry.
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Gee DG. Caregiving influences on emotional learning and regulation: Applying a sensitive period model. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2020; 36:177-184. [PMID: 33718534 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Early caregiving experiences play a central role in shaping corticolimbic development and emotional learning and regulation. Given dynamic changes in corticolimbic maturation, the effects of caregiving experiences are likely to depend on the developmental timing of exposure. Cross-species evidence has identified timing-related differences in the effects of caregiving adversity. However, the extent to which developmental differences in associations between caregiving adversity and corticolimbic circuitry align with a sensitive period model has remained unclear. Converging evidence from studies of caregiver deprivation points to a sensitive period for caregiving influences on corticolimbic circuitry and emotional development during infancy. By contrast, differential associations between maltreatment and corticolimbic circuitry at specific ages in childhood and adolescence may reflect experience-dependent mechanisms of plasticity. Delineating sensitive periods of development and the precise experience-related mechanisms by which caregiving experiences influence corticolimbic development is essential for refining conceptual models and understanding risk and resilience following early adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan G Gee
- Yale University, Department of Psychology, 2 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511
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28
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Perry RE, Braren SH, Opendak M, Brandes-Aitken A, Chopra D, Woo J, Sullivan R, Blair C. Elevated infant cortisol is necessary but not sufficient for transmission of environmental risk to infant social development: Cross-species evidence of mother-infant physiological social transmission. Dev Psychopathol 2020; 32:1696-1714. [PMID: 33427190 PMCID: PMC8951448 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579420001455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Environmental adversity increases child susceptibility to disrupted developmental outcomes, but the mechanisms by which adversity can shape development remain unclear. A translational cross-species approach was used to examine stress-mediated pathways by which poverty-related adversity can influence infant social development. Findings from a longitudinal sample of low-income mother-infant dyads indicated that infant cortisol (CORT) on its own did not mediate relations between early-life scarcity-adversity exposure and later infant behavior in a mother-child interaction task. However, maternal CORT through infant CORT served as a mediating pathway, even when controlling for parenting behavior. Findings using a rodent "scarcity-adversity" model indicated that pharmacologically blocking pup corticosterone (CORT, rodent equivalent to cortisol) in the presence of a stressed mother causally prevented social transmission of scarcity-adversity effects on pup social behavior. Furthermore, pharmacologically increasing pup CORT without the mother present was not sufficient to disrupt pup social behavior. Integration of our cross-species results suggests that elevated infant CORT may be necessary, but without elevated caregiver CORT, may not be sufficient in mediating the effects of environmental adversity on development. These findings underscore the importance of considering infant stress physiology in relation to the broader social context, including caregiver stress physiology, in research and interventional efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosemarie E. Perry
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Stephen H. Braren
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Maya Opendak
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute & Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Divija Chopra
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Joyce Woo
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute & Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Regina Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute & Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Clancy Blair
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
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During infant maltreatment, stress targets hippocampus, but stress with mother present targets amygdala and social behavior. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:22821-22832. [PMID: 31636210 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1907170116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Infant maltreatment increases vulnerability to physical and mental disorders, yet specific mechanisms embedded within this complex infant experience that induce this vulnerability remain elusive. To define critical features of maltreatment-induced vulnerability, rat pups were reared from postnatal day 8 (PN8) with a maltreating mother, which produced amygdala and hippocampal deficits and decreased social behavior at PN13. Next, we deconstructed the maltreatment experience to reveal sufficient and necessary conditions to induce this phenotype. Social behavior and amygdala deficits (volume, neurogenesis, c-Fos, local field potential) required combined chronic high corticosterone and maternal presence (not maternal behavior). Hippocampal deficits were induced by chronic high corticosterone regardless of social context. Causation was shown by blocking corticosterone during maltreatment and suppressing amygdala activity during social behavior testing. These results highlight (1) that early life maltreatment initiates multiple pathways to pathology, each with distinct causal mechanisms and outcomes, and (2) the importance of social presence on brain development.
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