Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Early Developmental Trajectories of Brain Development: New Directions in the Search for Early Determinants of Health and Longevity

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Adaptive and Maladaptive Aspects of Developmental Stress

Part of the book series: Current Topics in Neurotoxicity ((Current Topics Neurotoxicity,volume 3))

  • 1174 Accesses

Abstract

Conditions experienced early in life can have enduring consequences. Results from epidemiological studies and basic research agree that individual differences in both physical and mental health (cognitive, social, and emotional development as well as metabolic asset) can be determined by the early environment. Both prenatal life and the early postnatal periods are crucial times when adverse experiences including psychological or toxic stress can have major impact on developing systems. The next step in research is to identify the mechanisms underlying such programming. Changes in the effectors of stress responses during critical developmental stages may favor vulnerability to obesity, mental health, and neurodegeneration. Such broad spectrum of effects may explain the comorbidity often found between different pathologies, which can greatly affect longevity and the quality of life during aging. In addition to genetic susceptibility, epigenetic processes—which rely upon permanent changes in gene expression—could underlie such long-term effects and offer promise for environmental or pharmacological interventions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alonso SJ etal (1991) Effects of maternal stress during pregnancy on forced swimming test behavior of the offspring. Physiol Behav 50:511–517

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Altar CA (1999) Neurotrophins and depression. Trends Pharmacol Sci 20:59–61

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Anda RF etal (2006) The enduring effects of abuse and related adverse experiences in childhood. A convergence of evidence from neurobiology and epidemiology. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 256:174–186

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baird J etal (2001) Testing the fetal origins hypothesis in twins: the Birmingham twin study. Diabetologia 44:33–39

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bale TL etal (2010) Early life programming and neurodevelopmental disorders. Biol Psychiatry 68:314–319

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barker DJ (1998) In utero programming of chronic disease. Clin Sci (Lond) 95:115–128

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barker DJ, Osmond C (1986) Infant mortality, childhood nutrition, and ischaemic heart disease in England and Wales. Lancet 1:1077–1081

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barker DJ etal (1989) Weight in infancy and death from ischaemic heart disease. Lancet 2:577–580

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barker DJ etal (1993) Fetal nutrition and cardiovascular disease in adult life. Lancet 341:938–941

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bateson P (2001) Fetal experience and good adult design. Int J Epidemiol 30:928–934

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bateson P etal (2004) Developmental plasticity and human health. Nature 430:419–421

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benediktsson R etal (1997) Placental 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase: a key regulator of fetal glucocorticoid exposure. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 46:161–166

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Berton O etal (2006) Essential role of BDNF in the mesolimbic dopamine pathway in social defeat stress. Science 311:864–868

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bertram C etal (2001) The maternal diet during pregnancy programs altered expression of the glucocorticoid receptor and type 2 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase: potential molecular mechanisms underlying the programming of hypertension in utero. Endocrinology 142:2841–2853

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bilbo SD, Tsang V (2010) Enduring consequences of maternal obesity for brain inflammation and behavior of offspring. FASEB J 24:2104–2115

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Branchi I etal (2006) Early social enrichment augments adult hippocampal BDNF levels and survival of BrdU-positive cells while increasing anxiety- and “depression”-like behavior. J Neurosci Res 83:965–973

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bremner JD etal (1997) Magnetic resonance imaging-based measurement of hippocampal volume in posttraumatic stress disorder related to childhood physical and sexual abuse–a preliminary report. Biol Psychiatry 41:23–32

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Callinan PA, Feinberg AP (2006) The emerging science of epigenomics. Hum Mol Genet 15(1):R95–R101

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carrion VG etal (2001) Attenuation of frontal asymmetry in pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder. Biol Psychiatry 50:943–951

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Castren E (2005) Is mood chemistry? Nat Rev Neurosci 6:241–246

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Castren E etal (2007) Role of neurotrophic factors in depression. Curr Opin Pharmacol 7:18–21

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Charmandari E etal (2003) Pediatric stress: hormonal mediators and human development. Horm Res 59:161–179

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cirulli F, Alleva E (2009) The NGF saga: from animal models of psychosocial stress to stress-related psychopathology. Front Neuroendocrinol 30:379–395

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cirulli F etal (1998) Early maternal separation increases NGF expression in the developing rat hippocampus. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 59:853–858

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cirulli F etal (2000) NGF expression in the developing rat brain: effects of maternal separation. Brain Res Dev Brain Res 123:129–134

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cirulli F, Berry A, Alleva E (2003) Early disruption of the mother-infant relationship: effects on brain plasticity and implications for psychopathology. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 27:73–82

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cirulli F etal (2009) Early life stress as a risk factor for mental health: role of neurotrophins from rodents to non-human primates. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 33:573–585

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cirulli F etal (2010) Early life influences on emotional reactivity: evidence that social enrichment has greater effects than handling on anxiety-like behaviors, neuroendocrine responses to stress and central BDNF levels. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 34:808–820

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cole TJ etal (1995) Targeted disruption of the glucocorticoid receptor gene blocks adrenergic chromaffin cell development and severely retards lung maturation. Genes Dev 9:1608–1621

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Darnaudery M, Maccari S (2008) Epigenetic programming of the stress response in male and female rats by prenatal restraint stress. Brain Res Rev 57:571–585

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • De Bellis MD etal (2002) Brain structures in pediatric maltreatment-related posttraumatic stress disorder: a sociodemographically matched study. Biol Psychiatry 52:1066–1078

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • de Kloet ER etal (2005) Stress and the brain: from adaptation to disease. Nat Rev Neurosci 6:463–475

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Driessen M etal (2000) Magnetic resonance imaging volumes of the hippocampus and the amygdala in women with borderline personality disorder and early traumatization. Arch Gen Psychiatry 57:1115–1122

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • D’Udine B, Alleva E (eds) (1983) Early experience and sexual preferences in rodents. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Duman RS, Monteggia LM (2006) A neurotrophic model for stress-related mood disorders. Biol Psychiatry 59:1116–1127

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards CR etal (1993) Dysfunction of placental glucocorticoid barrier: link between fetal environment and adult hypertension? Lancet 341:355–357

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Entringer S etal (2010) Attenuation of maternal psychophysiological stress responses and the maternal cortisol awakening response over the course of human pregnancy. Stress 13:258–268

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Esteller M (2011) Non-coding RNAs in human disease. Nat Rev Genet 12:861–874

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Famularo R, Fenton T (1994) Early developmental history and pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 148:1032–1038

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Felitti VJ etal (1998) Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. Am J Prev Med 14:245–258

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fowden AL etal (2009) Placental efficiency and adaptation: endocrine regulation. J Physiol 587:3459–3472

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Francis DD, Meaney MJ (1999) Maternal care and the development of stress responses. Curr Opin Neurobiol 9:128–134

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fride E etal (1986) Effects of prenatal stress on vulnerability to stress in prepubertal and adult rats. Physiol Behav 37:681–687

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Giachino C etal (2007) Maternal deprivation and early handling affect density of calcium binding protein-containing neurons in selected brain regions and emotional behavior in periadolescent rats. Neuroscience 145:568–578

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gluckman PD, Hanson MA (2004) Developmental origins of disease paradigm: a mechanistic and evolutionary perspective. Pediatr Res 56:311–317

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harris A, Seckl J (2011) Glucocorticoids, prenatal stress and the programming of disease. Horm Behav 59:279–289

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hawdon JM (2011) Babies born after diabetes in pregnancy: what are the short- and long-term risks and how can we minimise them? Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 25:91–104

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Heim C, Nemeroff CB (1999) The impact of early adverse experiences on brain systems involved in the pathophysiology of anxiety and affective disorders. Biol Psychiatry 46:1509–1522

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Heim C, Nemeroff CB (2001) The role of childhood trauma in the neurobiology of mood and anxiety disorders: preclinical and clinical studies. Biol Psychiatry 49:1023–1039

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henry C etal (1994) Prenatal stress increases the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis response in young and adult rats. J Neuroendocrinol 6:341–345

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes MC etal (2006) The mother or the fetus? 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 null mice provide evidence for direct fetal programming of behavior by endogenous glucocorticoids. J Neurosci 26:3840–3844

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holsboer F (2000) The corticosteroid receptor hypothesis of depression. Neuropsychopharmacology 23:477–501

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Horner HC etal (1990) Glucocorticoids inhibit glucose transport in cultured hippocampal neurons and glia. Neuroendocrinology 52:57–64

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hunnerkopf R etal (2007) Interaction between BDNF Val66Met and dopamine transporter gene variation influences anxiety-related traits. Neuropsychopharmacology 32(12):2552–2560

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter RG (2012) Epigenetic effects of stress and corticosteroids in the brain. Front Cell Neurosci 6:18

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ivy AS etal (2008) Dysfunctional nurturing behavior in rat dams with limited access to nesting material: a clinically relevant model for early-life stress. Neuroscience 154:1132–1142

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kadekaro M etal (1988) Local cerebral glucose utilization is increased in acutely adrenalectomized rats. Neuroendocrinology 47:329–334

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khashan AS etal (2008) Higher risk of offspring schizophrenia following antenatal maternal exposure to severe adverse life events. Arch Gen Psychiatry 65:146–152

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koehl M etal (1999) Prenatal stress alters circadian activity of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis and hippocampal corticosteroid receptors in adult rats of both gender. J Neurobiol 40:302–315

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kotelevtsev Y etal (1999) Hypertension in mice lacking 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2. J Clin Invest 103:683–689

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Langley-Evans SC (1997) Hypertension induced by foetal exposure to a maternal low-protein diet, in the rat, is prevented by pharmacological blockade of maternal glucocorticoid synthesis. J Hypertens 15:537–544

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Leon DA etal (1996) Failure to realise growth potential in utero and adult obesity in relation to blood pressure in 50 year old Swedish men. BMJ 312:401–406

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Levine S (1957) Infantile experience and resistance to physiological stress. Science 126:405

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Levine RS etal (1994) Blood pressure in prospective population based cohort of newborn and infant twins. BMJ 308:298–302

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu D etal (1997) Maternal care, hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal responses to stress. Science 277:1659–1662

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Long C etal (1940) The adrenal cortex and carbohydrate metabolism. Endocrinology 26:309–344

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Louvart H etal (2005) Prenatal stress affects behavioral reactivity to an intense stress in adult female rats. Brain Res 1031:67–73

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lucassen PJ etal (2009) Prenatal stress reduces postnatal neurogenesis in rats selectively bred for high, but not low, anxiety: possible key role of placental 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2. Eur J Neurosci 29:97–103

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lupien SJ etal (1998) Cortisol levels during human aging predict hippocampal atrophy and memory deficits. Nat Neurosci 1:69–73

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maccari S, Morley-Fletcher S (2007) Effects of prenatal restraint stress on the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and related behavioural and neurobiological alterations. Psychoneuroendocrinology 32(suppl 1):S10–S15

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maccari S etal (1995) Adoption reverses the long-term impairment in glucocorticoid feedback induced by prenatal stress. J Neurosci 15:110–116

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mairesse J etal (2007) Maternal stress alters endocrine function of the feto-placental unit in rats. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 292:E1526–E1533

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martinowich K etal (2003) DNA methylation-related chromatin remodeling in activity-dependent BDNF gene regulation. Science 302:890–893

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maynard TM etal (2001) Neural development, cell-cell signaling, and the “two-hit” hypothesis of schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 27:457–476

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McEwen BS (1998) Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. N Engl J Med 338:171–179

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McEwen BS etal (1988) Glucocorticoid receptors and behavior: implications for the stress response. Adv Exp Med Biol 245:35–45

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McEwen BS etal (1992) Paradoxical effects of adrenal steroids on the brain: protection versus degeneration. Biol Psychiatry 31:177–199

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McGowan PO etal (2008) Promoter-wide hypermethylation of the ribosomal RNA gene promoter in the suicide brain. PLoS One 3:e2085

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McGowan PO etal (2009) Epigenetic regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor in human brain associates with childhood abuse. Nat Neurosci 12:342–348

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McMahon M etal (1988) Effects of glucocorticoids on carbohydrate metabolism. Diabetes Metab Rev 4:17–30

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meaney MJ (2001) Maternal care, gene expression, and the transmission of individual differences in stress reactivity across generations. Annu Rev Neurosci 24:1161–1192

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meaney MJ, Szyf M (2005) Maternal care as a model for experience-dependent chromatin plasticity? Trends Neurosci 28:456–463

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meaney MJ etal (1989) Neonatal handling alters adrenocortical negative feedback sensitivity and hippocampal type II glucocorticoid receptor binding in the rat. Neuroendocrinology 50:597–604

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meaney MJ etal (1991) The effects of neonatal handling on the development of the adrenocortical response to stress: implications for neuropathology and cognitive deficits in later life. Psychoneuroendocrinology 16:85–103

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meaney MJ etal (1996) Early environmental regulation of forebrain glucocorticoid receptor gene expression: implications for adrenocortical responses to stress. Dev Neurosci 18:49–72

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meaney MJ etal (2007) Epigenetic mechanisms of perinatal programming of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function and health. Trends Mol Med 13:269–277

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer JS (1983) Early adrenalectomy stimulates subsequent growth and development of the rat brain. Exp Neurol 82:432–446

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morley-Fletcher S etal (2003) Prenatal stress in rats predicts immobility behavior in the forced swim test. Effects of a chronic treatment with tianeptine. Brain Res 989:246–251

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morley-Fletcher S etal (2004) Chronic treatment with imipramine reverses immobility behaviour, hippocampal corticosteroid receptors and cortical 5-HT(1A) receptor mRNA in prenatally stressed rats. Neuropharmacology 47:841–847

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Munck A (1971) Glucocorticoid inhibition of glucose uptake by peripheral tissues: old and new evidence, molecular mechanisms, and physiological significance. Perspect Biol Med 14:265–269

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murgatroyd C etal (2009) Dynamic DNA methylation programs persistent adverse effects of early-life stress. Nat Neurosci 12:1559–1566

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Norman RM, Malla AK (1993) Stressful life events and schizophrenia II: conceptual and methodological issues. Br J Psychiatry 162:166–174

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Osmond C etal (1993) Early growth and death from cardiovascular disease in women. BMJ 307:1519–1524

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pani L etal (2000) The role of stress in the pathophysiology of the dopaminergic system. Mol Psychiatry 5:14–21

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pervanidou P, Chrousos GP (2007) Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in children and adolescents: from Sigmund Freud’s “trauma” to psychopathology and the (Dys)metabolic syndrome. Horm Metab Res 39:413–419

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pervanidou P, Chrousos GP (2011) Metabolic consequences of stress during childhood and adolescence. Metabolism 61:611–619

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Plotsky PM, Meaney MJ (1993) Early, postnatal experience alters hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA, median eminence CRF content and stress-induced release in adult rats. Brain Res Mol Brain Res 18:195–200

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Poltyrev T etal (1996) Role of experimental conditions in determining differences in exploratory behavior of prenatally stressed rats. Dev Psychobiol 29:453–462

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raikkonen K, Pesonen AK (2009) Early life origins of psychological development and mental health. Scand J Psychol 50:583–591

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raikkonen K etal (2008) Depression in young adults with very low birth weight: the Helsinki study of very low-birth-weight adults. Arch Gen Psychiatry 65:290–296

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roceri M etal (2004) Postnatal repeated maternal deprivation produces age-dependent changes of brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in selected rat brain regions. Biol Psychiatry 55:708–714

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roth TL, Sullivan RM (2005) Memory of early maltreatment: neonatal behavioral and neural correlates of maternal maltreatment within the context of classical conditioning. Biol Psychiatry 57:823–831

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roth TL etal (2009) Epigenetic mechanisms in schizophrenia. Biochim Biophys Acta 1790:869–877

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sairanen M etal (2005) Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and antidepressant drugs have different but coordinated effects on neuronal turnover, proliferation, and survival in the adult dentate gyrus. J Neurosci 25:1089–1094

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sale A etal (2004) Enriched environment and acceleration of visual system development. Neuropharmacology 47:649–660

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez MM etal (2001) Early adverse experience as a developmental risk factor for later psychopathology: evidence from rodent and primate models. Dev Psychopathol 13:419–449

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sapolsky RM etal (1986) The neuroendocrinology of stress and aging: the glucocorticoid cascade hypothesis. Endocr Rev 7:284–301

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schilling EA etal (2007) Adverse childhood experiences and mental health in young adults: a longitudinal survey. BMC Public Health 7:30

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schore AN (2000) Attachment and the regulation of the right brain. Attach Hum Dev 2:23–47

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seckl JR (1998) Physiologic programming of the fetus. Clin Perinatol 25:939–962; vii

    Google Scholar 

  • Seckl JR (2004) Prenatal glucocorticoids and long-term programming. Eur J Endocrinol 151(suppl 3):U49–U62

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seckl JR, Meaney MJ (2004) Glucocorticoid programming. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1032:63–84

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sen S etal (2008) Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor, depression, and antidepressant medications: meta-analyses and implications. Biol Psychiatry 64:527–532

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shonkoff JP etal (2009) Neuroscience, molecular biology, and the childhood roots of health disparities: building a new framework for health promotion and disease prevention. JAMA 301:2252–2259

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stein MB etal (1997) Hippocampal volume in women victimized by childhood sexual abuse. Psychol Med 27:951–959

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Szyf M (2012) The early-life social environment and DNA methylation. Clin Genet 81:341–349

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Teicher MH etal (2004) Childhood neglect is associated with reduced corpus callosum area. Biol Psychiatry 56:80–85

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thoenen H (1995) Neurotrophins and neuronal plasticity. Science 270:593–598

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson WR (1957) Influence of prenatal maternal anxiety on emotionality in young rats. Science 125:698–699

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tronick E, Reck C (2009) Infants of depressed mothers. Harv Rev Psychiatry 17:147–156

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vallee M etal (1996) Long-term effects of prenatal stress and handling on metabolic parameters: relationship to corticosterone secretion response. Brain Res 712:287–292

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vallee M etal (1997) Prenatal stress induces high anxiety and postnatal handling induces low anxiety in adult offspring: correlation with stress-induced corticosterone secretion. J Neurosci 17:2626–2636

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vallee M etal (1999) Long-term effects of prenatal stress and postnatal handling on age-related glucocorticoid secretion and cognitive performance: a longitudinal study in the rat. Eur J Neurosci 11:2906–2916

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • van Os J etal (2012) The environment and schizophrenia. Nature 468:203–212

    Google Scholar 

  • Viltart O etal (2006) Prenatal stress alters Fos protein expression in hippocampus and locus coeruleus stress-related brain structures. Psychoneuroendocrinology 31:769–780

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wakshlak A, Weinstock M (1990) Neonatal handling reverses behavioral abnormalities induced in rats by prenatal stress. Physiol Behav 48:289–292

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ward RM (1994) Pharmacologic enhancement of fetal lung maturation. Clin Perinatol 21:523–542

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weaver IC etal (2004) Epigenetic programming by maternal behavior. Nat Neurosci 7:847–854

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wust S etal (2005) Birth weight is associated with salivary cortisol responses to psychosocial stress in adult life. Psychoneuroendocrinology 30:591–598

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yehuda R etal (1989) Enhanced brain cell proliferation following early adrenalectomy in rats. J Neurochem 53:241–248

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zagron G, Weinstock M (2006) Maternal adrenal hormone secretion mediates behavioural alterations induced by prenatal stress in male and female rats. Behav Brain Res 175:323–328

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zammit S etal (2009) Investigating whether adverse prenatal and perinatal events are associated with non-clinical psychotic symptoms at age 12 years in the ALSPAC birth cohort. Psychol Med 39:1457–1467

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zeltser LM, Leibel RL (2011) Roles of the placenta in fetal brain development. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108:15667–15668

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zubin J, Spring B (1977) Vulnerability—a new view of schizophrenia. J Abnorm Psychol 86:103–126

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by EU (FP7) Project DORIAN “Developmental Origin of Healthy and Unhealthy Aging: The Role of Maternal Obesity” (grant n. 278603) and by ERA net-NEURON “Poseidon” and RF-2009-1498890. The authors are grateful to Sara Capoccia e Veronica Bellisario for their skillful help in retrieving and selecting bibliographic entries.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioural Neuroscience Section, Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy

    F. Cirulli PhD & A. Berry

Authors
  1. F. Cirulli PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. Berry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to F. Cirulli PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 299 Viale Regina Elena, Rome, 00161, Italy

    Giovanni Laviola

  2. Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 299 Viale Regina Elena, Rome, 00161, Italy

    Simone Macrì

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Cirulli, F., Berry, A. (2013). Early Developmental Trajectories of Brain Development: New Directions in the Search for Early Determinants of Health and Longevity. In: Laviola, G., Macrì, S. (eds) Adaptive and Maladaptive Aspects of Developmental Stress. Current Topics in Neurotoxicity, vol 3. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5605-6_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation