WorldWideScience

Sample records for early life stress

  1. An adverse early life environment can enhance stress resilience in adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santarelli, Sara; Zimmermann, Christoph; Kalideris, Georgia; Lesuis, Sylvie L; Arloth, Janine; Uribe, Andrés; Dournes, Carine; Balsevich, Georgia; Hartmann, Jakob; Masana, Mercè; Binder, Elisabeth B; Spengler, Dietmar; Schmidt, Mathias V

    2017-04-01

    Chronic stress is a major risk factor for depression. Interestingly, not all individuals develop psychopathology after chronic stress exposure. In contrast to the prevailing view that stress effects are cumulative and increase stress vulnerability throughout life, the match/mismatch hypothesis of psychiatric disorders. The match/mismatch hypothesis proposes that individuals who experience moderate levels of early life psychosocial stress can acquire resilience to renewed stress exposure later in life. Here, we have tested this hypothesis by comparing the developmental effects of 2 opposite early life conditions, when followed by 2 opposite adult environments. Male Balb/c mice were exposed to either adverse early life conditions (limited nesting and bedding material) or a supportive rearing environment (early handling). At adulthood, the animals of each group were either housed with an ovariectomized female (supportive environment) or underwent chronic social defeat stress (socially adverse environment) for 3 weeks. At the end of the adult manipulations, all of the animals were returned to standard housing conditions. Then, we compared the neuroendocrine, behavioral and molecular effects of the interaction between early and adult environment. Our study shows that early life adversity does not necessarily result in increased vulnerability to stress. Specific endophenotypes, like hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, anxiety-related behavior and glucocorticoid receptor expression levels in the hippocampus were not significantly altered when adversity is experienced during early life and in adulthood, and are mainly affected by either early life or adult life adversity alone. Overall our data support the notion that being raised in a stressful environment prepares the offspring to better cope with a challenging adult environment and emphasize the role of early life experiences in shaping adult responsiveness to stress. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

  2. Forebrain CRF1 Modulates Early-Life Stress-Programmed Cognitive Deficits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiao-Dong; Rammes, Gerhard; Kraev, Igor; Wolf, Miriam; Liebl, Claudia; Scharf, Sebastian H.; Rice, Courtney J.; Wurst, Wolfgang; Holsboer, Florian; Deussing, Jan M.; Baram, Tallie Z.; Stewart, Michael G.; Müller, Marianne B.; Schmidt, Mathias V.

    2012-01-01

    Childhood traumatic events hamper the development of the hippocampus and impair declarative memory in susceptible individuals. Persistent elevations of hippocampal corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), acting through CRF receptor 1 (CRF1), in experimental models of early-life stress have suggested a role for this endogenous stress hormone in the resulting structural modifications and cognitive dysfunction. However, direct testing of this possibility has been difficult. In the current study, we subjected conditional forebrain CRF1 knock-out (CRF1-CKO) mice to an impoverished postnatal environment and examined the role of forebrain CRF1 in the long-lasting effects of early-life stress on learning and memory. Early-life stress impaired spatial learning and memory in wild-type mice, and postnatal forebrain CRF overexpression reproduced these deleterious effects. Cognitive deficits in stressed wild-type mice were associated with disrupted long-term potentiation (LTP) and a reduced number of dendritic spines in area CA3 but not in CA1. Forebrain CRF1 deficiency restored cognitive function, LTP and spine density in area CA3, and augmented CA1 LTP and spine density in stressed mice. In addition, early-life stress differentially regulated the amount of hippocampal excitatory and inhibitory synapses in wild-type and CRF1-CKO mice, accompanied by alterations in the neurexin-neuroligin complex. These data suggest that the functional, structural and molecular changes evoked by early-life stress are at least partly dependent on persistent forebrain CRF1 signaling, providing a molecular target for the prevention of cognitive deficits in adults with a history of early-life adversity. PMID:21940453

  3. Early Life Stress, Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors and Alcohol Use Disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joan Y. Holgate

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Stress is a major driving force in alcohol use disorders (AUDs. It influences how much one consumes, craving intensity and whether an abstinent individual will return to harmful alcohol consumption. We are most vulnerable to the effects of stress during early development, and exposure to multiple traumatic early life events dramatically increases the risk for AUDs. However, not everyone exposed to early life stress will develop an AUD. The mechanisms determining whether an individual’s brain adapts and becomes resilient to the effects of stress or succumbs and is unable to cope with stress remain elusive. Emerging evidence suggests that neuroplastic changes in the nucleus accumbens (NAc following early life stress underlie the development of AUDs. This review discusses the impact of early life stress on NAc structure and function, how these changes affect cholinergic signaling within the mesolimbic reward pathway and the role nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs play in this process. Understanding the neural pathways and mechanism determining stress resilience or susceptibility will improve our ability to identify individuals susceptible to developing AUDs, formulate cognitive interventions to prevent AUDs in susceptible individuals and to elucidate and enhance potential therapeutic targets, such as the nAChRs, for those struggling to overcome an AUD.

  4. Early life stress, HPA axis adaptation and mechanisms contributing to later health outcomes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jayanthi eManiam

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Stress activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA axis, which then modulates the degree of adaptation and response to a later stressor. It is known that early life stress can impact on later health but less is known about how early life stress impairs HPA axis activity, contributing to maladaptation of the stress response system. Early life stress exposure (either prenatally or in the early postnatal period can impact developmental pathways resulting in lasting structural and regulatory changes that predispose to adulthood disease. Epidemiological, clinical and experimental studies have demonstrated that early life stress produces long-term hyper responsiveness to stress with exaggerated circulating glucocorticoids, and enhanced anxiety and depression-like behaviours. Recently, evidence has emerged on early life stress induced metabolic derangements, for example hyperinsulinemia and altered insulin sensitivity on exposure to a high energy diet later in life. This draws our attention to the contribution of later environment to disease vulnerability. Early life stress can alter the expression of genes in peripheral tissues, such as the glucocorticoid receptor and 11-beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD1. We propose that interactions between altered HPA axis activity and liver 11β-HSD1 modulates both tissue and circulating glucocorticoid availability, with adverse metabolic consequences. This review discusses the potential mechanisms underlying early life stress induced maladaptation of the HPA axis, and its subsequent effects on energy utilisation and expenditure. The effects of positive later environments as a means of ameliorating early life stress induced health deficits, and proposed mechanisms underpinning the interaction between early life stress and subsequent detrimental environmental exposures on metabolic risk will be outlined. Limitations in current methodology linking early life stress and later health outcomes will also

  5. Early-Life Stress, HPA Axis Adaptation, and Mechanisms Contributing to Later Health Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maniam, Jayanthi; Antoniadis, Christopher; Morris, Margaret J.

    2014-01-01

    Stress activates the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, which then modulates the degree of adaptation and response to a later stressor. It is known that early-life stress can impact on later health but less is known about how early-life stress impairs HPA axis activity, contributing to maladaptation of the stress–response system. Early-life stress exposure (either prenatally or in the early postnatal period) can impact developmental pathways resulting in lasting structural and regulatory changes that predispose to adulthood disease. Epidemiological, clinical, and experimental studies have demonstrated that early-life stress produces long term hyper-responsiveness to stress with exaggerated circulating glucocorticoids, and enhanced anxiety and depression-like behaviors. Recently, evidence has emerged on early-life stress-induced metabolic derangements, for example hyperinsulinemia and altered insulin sensitivity on exposure to a high energy diet later in life. This draws our attention to the contribution of later environment to disease vulnerability. Early-life stress can alter the expression of genes in peripheral tissues, such as the glucocorticoid receptor and 11-beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD1). We propose that interactions between altered HPA axis activity and liver 11β-HSD1 modulates both tissue and circulating glucocorticoid availability, with adverse metabolic consequences. This review discusses the potential mechanisms underlying early-life stress-induced maladaptation of the HPA axis, and its subsequent effects on energy utilization and expenditure. The effects of positive later environments as a means of ameliorating early-life stress-induced health deficits, and proposed mechanisms underpinning the interaction between early-life stress and subsequent detrimental environmental exposures on metabolic risk will be outlined. Limitations in current methodology linking early-life stress and later health outcomes will also be

  6. Resistance to early-life stress in mice: effects of genetic background and stress duration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helene M. Savignac

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Early-life stress can induce marked behavioural and physiological impairments in adulthood including cognitive deficits, depression, anxiety and gastrointestinal dysfunction. Although robust rat models of early-life stress exist there are few established effective paradigms in the mouse. Genetic background and protocol parameters used are two critical variables in such model development.Thus we investigated the impact of two different early-life stress protocols in two commonly used inbred mouse strains. C57BL/6 and innately anxious BALB/c male mice were maternally deprived 3 hrs daily, either from postnatal day 1 to 14 (Protocol 1 or 6 to 10 (Protocol 2. Animals were assessed in adulthood for cognitive performance (spontaneous alternation behaviour test, anxiety (open field, light/dark box and elevated plus maze tests and depression-related behaviours (forced swim test in addition to stress-sensitive physiological changes. Overall, the results showed that early-life stressed mice from both strains displayed good cognitive ability and no elevations in anxiety. However, paradoxical changes occurred in C57BL/6 mice as the longer protocol (protocol 1 decreased anxiety in the light-dark box and increased exploration in the elevated plus maze. In BALB/c mice there were also limited effects of maternal separation with both separation protocols inducing reductions in stress-induced defecation and protocol 1 reducing the colon length. These data suggest that, independent of stress duration, mice from both strains were on the whole resilient to the maladaptive effects of early-life stress. Thus maternal-separation models of brain-gut axis dysfunction should rely on either different stressor protocols or other strains of mice.

  7. Effects of early life stress: Opportunities for pharmacological intervention

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loi, M

    2016-01-01

    Moderate acute activation of the body’s stress response system is considered an adaptive mechanism that increases the chance of survival, but severe stressors early in life may disturb brain development. In agreement, epidemiological data suggest that adverse experiences early in life, such as

  8. Early-life stress origins of gastrointestinal disease: animal models, intestinal pathophysiology, and translational implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pohl, Calvin S.; Medland, Julia E.

    2015-01-01

    Early-life stress and adversity are major risk factors in the onset and severity of gastrointestinal (GI) disease in humans later in life. The mechanisms by which early-life stress leads to increased GI disease susceptibility in adult life remain poorly understood. Animal models of early-life stress have provided a foundation from which to gain a more fundamental understanding of this important GI disease paradigm. This review focuses on animal models of early-life stress-induced GI disease, with a specific emphasis on translational aspects of each model to specific human GI disease states. Early postnatal development of major GI systems and the consequences of stress on their development are discussed in detail. Relevant translational differences between species and models are highlighted. PMID:26451004

  9. Early-life stress origins of gastrointestinal disease: animal models, intestinal pathophysiology, and translational implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pohl, Calvin S; Medland, Julia E; Moeser, Adam J

    2015-12-15

    Early-life stress and adversity are major risk factors in the onset and severity of gastrointestinal (GI) disease in humans later in life. The mechanisms by which early-life stress leads to increased GI disease susceptibility in adult life remain poorly understood. Animal models of early-life stress have provided a foundation from which to gain a more fundamental understanding of this important GI disease paradigm. This review focuses on animal models of early-life stress-induced GI disease, with a specific emphasis on translational aspects of each model to specific human GI disease states. Early postnatal development of major GI systems and the consequences of stress on their development are discussed in detail. Relevant translational differences between species and models are highlighted. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

  10. Early life stress determines the effects of glucocorticoids and stress on hippocampal function: Electrophysiological and behavioral evidence respectively.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pillai, Anup G; Arp, Marit; Velzing, Els; Lesuis, Sylvie L; Schmidt, Mathias V; Holsboer, Florian; Joëls, Marian; Krugers, Harm J

    2018-05-01

    Exposure to early-life adversity may program brain function to prepare individuals for adaptation to matching environmental contexts. In this study we tested this hypothesis in more detail by examining the effects of early-life stress - induced by raising offspring with limited nesting and bedding material from postnatal days 2-9 - in various behavioral tasks and on synaptic function in adult mice. Early-life stress impaired adult performance in the hippocampal dependent low-arousing object-in-context recognition memory task. This effect was absent when animals were exposed to a single stressor before training. Early-life stress did not alter high-arousing context and auditory fear conditioning. Early-life stress-induced behavioral modifications were not associated with alterations in the dendritic architecture of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons or principal neurons of the basolateral amygdala. However, early-life stress reduced the ratio of NMDA to AMPA receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents and glutamate release probability specifically in hippocampal CA1 neurons, but not in the basolateral amygdala. These ex vivo effects in the hippocampus were abolished by acute glucocorticoid treatment. Our findings support that early-life stress can hamper object-in-context learning via pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms that affect hippocampal function but these effects are counteracted by acute stress or elevated glucocorticoid levels. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  11. Age- and sex-dependent effects of early life stress on hippocampal neurogenesis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loi, M.; Koricka, S.; Lucassen, P.J.; Joëls, M.

    2014-01-01

    Early life stress is a well-documented risk factor for the development of psychopathology in genetically predisposed individuals. As it is hard to study how early life stress impacts human brain structure and function, various animal models have been developed to address this issue. The models

  12. Alcohol, psychomotor-stimulants and behaviour: methodological considerations in preclinical models of early-life stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonnell-Dowling, Kate; Miczek, Klaus A

    2018-04-01

    In order to assess the risk associated with early-life stress, there has been an increase in the amount of preclinical studies investigating early-life stress. There are many challenges associated with investigating early-life stress in animal models and ensuring that such models are appropriate and clinically relevant. The purpose of this review is to highlight the methodological considerations in the design of preclinical studies investigating the effects of early-life stress on alcohol and psychomotor-stimulant intake and behaviour. The protocols employed for exploring early-life stress were investigated and summarised. Experimental variables include animals, stress models, and endpoints employed. The findings in this paper suggest that there is little consistency among these studies and so the interpretation of these results may not be as clinically relevant as previously thought. The standardisation of these simple stress procedures means that results will be more comparable between studies and that results generated will give us a more robust understanding of what can and may be happening in the human and veterinary clinic.

  13. Toward Understanding How Early-Life Stress Reprograms Cognitive and Emotional Brain Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yuncai; Baram, Tallie Z

    2016-01-01

    Vulnerability to emotional disorders including depression derives from interactions between genes and environment, especially during sensitive developmental periods. Adverse early-life experiences provoke the release and modify the expression of several stress mediators and neurotransmitters within specific brain regions. The interaction of these mediators with developing neurons and neuronal networks may lead to long-lasting structural and functional alterations associated with cognitive and emotional consequences. Although a vast body of work has linked quantitative and qualitative aspects of stress to adolescent and adult outcomes, a number of questions are unclear. What distinguishes 'normal' from pathologic or toxic stress? How are the effects of stress transformed into structural and functional changes in individual neurons and neuronal networks? Which ones are affected? We review these questions in the context of established and emerging studies. We introduce a novel concept regarding the origin of toxic early-life stress, stating that it may derive from specific patterns of environmental signals, especially those derived from the mother or caretaker. Fragmented and unpredictable patterns of maternal care behaviors induce a profound chronic stress. The aberrant patterns and rhythms of early-life sensory input might also directly and adversely influence the maturation of cognitive and emotional brain circuits, in analogy to visual and auditory brain systems. Thus, unpredictable, stress-provoking early-life experiences may influence adolescent cognitive and emotional outcomes by disrupting the maturation of the underlying brain networks. Comprehensive approaches and multiple levels of analysis are required to probe the protean consequences of early-life adversity on the developing brain. These involve integrated human and animal-model studies, and approaches ranging from in vivo imaging to novel neuroanatomical, molecular, epigenomic, and computational

  14. Toward Understanding How Early-Life Stress Reprograms Cognitive and Emotional Brain Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yuncai; Baram, Tallie Z

    2016-01-01

    Vulnerability to emotional disorders including depression derives from interactions between genes and environment, especially during sensitive developmental periods. Adverse early-life experiences provoke the release and modify the expression of several stress mediators and neurotransmitters within specific brain regions. The interaction of these mediators with developing neurons and neuronal networks may lead to long-lasting structural and functional alterations associated with cognitive and emotional consequences. Although a vast body of work has linked quantitative and qualitative aspects of stress to adolescent and adult outcomes, a number of questions are unclear. What distinguishes ‘normal' from pathologic or toxic stress? How are the effects of stress transformed into structural and functional changes in individual neurons and neuronal networks? Which ones are affected? We review these questions in the context of established and emerging studies. We introduce a novel concept regarding the origin of toxic early-life stress, stating that it may derive from specific patterns of environmental signals, especially those derived from the mother or caretaker. Fragmented and unpredictable patterns of maternal care behaviors induce a profound chronic stress. The aberrant patterns and rhythms of early-life sensory input might also directly and adversely influence the maturation of cognitive and emotional brain circuits, in analogy to visual and auditory brain systems. Thus, unpredictable, stress-provoking early-life experiences may influence adolescent cognitive and emotional outcomes by disrupting the maturation of the underlying brain networks. Comprehensive approaches and multiple levels of analysis are required to probe the protean consequences of early-life adversity on the developing brain. These involve integrated human and animal-model studies, and approaches ranging from in vivo imaging to novel neuroanatomical, molecular, epigenomic, and computational

  15. The serotonin transporter and early life stress : Translational perspectives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Houwing, Danielle J; Buwalda, Bauke; Zee, van der Eddy; de Boer, Sietse F; Olivier, Jocelien D A

    2017-01-01

    The interaction between the serotonin transporter (SERT) linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) and adverse early life stressing (ELS) events is associated with enhanced stress susceptibility and risk to develop mental disorders like major depression, anxiety, and aggressiveness. In particular, human

  16. Early life stress as an influence on limbic epilepsy: an hypothesis whose time has come?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amelia S Koe

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available The pathogenesis of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE, the most prevalent form of refractory focal epilepsy in adults, is thought to begin in early life, even though seizures may not commence until adolescence or adulthood. Amongst the range of early life factors implicated in MTLE causation (febrile seizures, traumatic brain injury, etc., stress may be one important contributor. Early life stress is an a priori agent deserving study because of the large amount of neuroscientific data showing enduring effects on structure and function in hippocampus and amygdala, the key structures involved in MTLE. An emerging body of evidence directly tests hypotheses concerning early life stress and limbic epilepsy: early life stressors, such as maternal separation, have been shown to aggravate epileptogenesis in both status epilepticus and kindling models of limbic epilepsy. In addition to elucidating its influence on limbic epileptogenesis itself, the study of early life stress has the potential to shed light on the psychiatric disorder that accompanies MTLE. For many years, psychiatric comorbidity was viewed as an effect of epilepsy, mediated psychologically and/or neurobiologically. An alternative – or complementary – perspective is that of shared causation. Early life stress, implicated in the pathogenesis of several psychiatric disorders, may be one such causal factor. This paper aims to critically review the body of experimental evidence linking early life stress and epilepsy; to discuss the direct studies examining early life stress effects in current models of limbic seizures/epilepsy; and to suggest priorities for future research.

  17. Attentional avoidance of fearful facial expressions following early life stress is associated with impaired social functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humphreys, Kathryn L; Kircanski, Katharina; Colich, Natalie L; Gotlib, Ian H

    2016-10-01

    Early life stress is associated with poorer social functioning. Attentional biases in response to threat-related cues, linked to both early experience and psychopathology, may explain this association. To date, however, no study has examined attentional biases to fearful facial expressions as a function of early life stress or examined these biases as a potential mediator of the relation between early life stress and social problems. In a sample of 154 children (ages 9-13 years) we examined the associations among interpersonal early life stressors (i.e., birth through age 6 years), attentional biases to emotional facial expressions using a dot-probe task, and social functioning on the Child Behavior Checklist. High levels of early life stress were associated with both greater levels of social problems and an attentional bias away from fearful facial expressions, even after accounting for stressors occurring in later childhood. No biases were found for happy or sad facial expressions as a function of early life stress. Finally, attentional biases to fearful faces mediated the association between early life stress and social problems. Attentional avoidance of fearful facial expressions, evidenced by a bias away from these stimuli, may be a developmental response to early adversity and link the experience of early life stress to poorer social functioning. © 2016 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  18. Coping with a changing environment: The effects of early life stress

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vindas, Marco A.; Madaro, Angelico; Fraser, Thomas W.K.

    2016-01-01

    to environmental changes is particularly evident at early life stages. We investigated the performance of salmon, previously subjected to an unpredictable chronic stress (UCS) treatment at an early age (10 month old parr), over several months and life stages. The UCS fish showed overall higher specific growth...... rates compared with unstressed controls after smoltification, a particularly challenging life stage, and after seawater transfer. Furthermore, subjecting fish to acute stress at the end of the experiment, we found that UCS groups had an overall lower hypothalamic catecholaminergic and brain stem...... serotonergic response to stress compared with control groups. In addition, serotonergic activity was negatively correlated with final growth rates,which implies that serotonin responsive individuals have growth disadvantages. Altogether, our results may imply that a subduedmonoaminergic response in stressful...

  19. Life Event Stress and Binge Eating Among Adolescents: The Roles of Early Maladaptive Schemas and Impulsivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Hong; Luo, Xingwei; Cai, Taisheng; He, Jinbo; Lu, Yao; Wu, Siyao

    2016-10-01

    This study examined the relationships between life event stress, early maladaptive schemas, impulsivity and binge eating among adolescents and investigated the effects of early maladaptive schemas and impulsivity on the relationship between life event stress and binge eating. Specifically, we examined a moderated mediation model in which early maladaptive schemas mediated this relationship and impulsivity moderated the mediation effect. Life event stress, early maladaptive schemas, impulsivity and binge eating were investigated in a sample of 2172 seventh-, eighth- and tenth-grade middle and high school students (mean age = 14.55 years, standard deviation = 1.29). The results indicated that adolescents with greater life event stress, more early maladaptive schemas and higher levels of impulsivity displayed more severe binge eating. In addition, early maladaptive schemas mediated the relationship between life event stress and binge eating, while impulsivity moderated this relationship. Furthermore, impulsivity also moderated the mediation effect of early maladaptive schemas; as impulsivity levels increased, the strength of the association between life event stress and early maladaptive schemas increased. This study illustrates the importance of understanding individual differences and their effects on the relationship between life event stress and binge eating. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Psychoneuroimmunology of Early-Life Stress: The Hidden Wounds of Childhood Trauma?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danese, Andrea; J Lewis, Stephanie

    2017-01-01

    The brain and the immune system are not fully formed at birth, but rather continue to mature in response to the postnatal environment. The two-way interaction between the brain and the immune system makes it possible for childhood psychosocial stressors to affect immune system development, which in turn can affect brain development and its long-term functioning. Drawing from experimental animal models and observational human studies, we propose that the psychoneuroimmunology of early-life stress can offer an innovative framework to understand and treat psychopathology linked to childhood trauma. Early-life stress predicts later inflammation, and there are striking analogies between the neurobiological correlates of early-life stress and of inflammation. Furthermore, there are overlapping trans-diagnostic patterns of association of childhood trauma and inflammation with clinical outcomes. These findings suggest new strategies to remediate the effect of childhood trauma before the onset of clinical symptoms, such as anti-inflammatory interventions and potentiation of adaptive immunity. Similar strategies might be used to ameliorate the unfavorable treatment response described in psychiatric patients with a history of childhood trauma. PMID:27629365

  1. Transgenerational transmission of a stress-coping phenotype programmed by early-life stress in the Japanese quail

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmer, Cédric; Larriva, Maria; Boogert, Neeltje J.; Spencer, Karen A.

    2017-01-01

    An interesting aspect of developmental programming is the existence of transgenerational effects that influence offspring characteristics and performance later in life. These transgenerational effects have been hypothesized to allow individuals to cope better with predictable environmental fluctuations and thus facilitate adaptation to changing environments. Here, we test for the first time how early-life stress drives developmental programming and transgenerational effects of maternal exposure to early-life stress on several phenotypic traits in their offspring in a functionally relevant context using a fully factorial design. We manipulated pre- and/or post-natal stress in both Japanese quail mothers and offspring and examined the consequences for several stress-related traits in the offspring generation. We show that pre-natal stress experienced by the mother did not simply affect offspring phenotype but resulted in the inheritance of the same stress-coping traits in the offspring across all phenotypic levels that we investigated, shaping neuroendocrine, physiological and behavioural traits. This may serve mothers to better prepare their offspring to cope with later environments where the same stressors are experienced. PMID:28387355

  2. The interplay of early-life stress, nutrition, and immune activation programs adult hippocampal structure and function

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoeijmakers, Lianne; Lucassen, Paul J.; Korosi, Aniko

    2015-01-01

    Early-life adversity increases the vulnerability to develop psychopathologies and cognitive decline later in life. This association is supported by clinical and preclinical studies. Remarkably, experiences of stress during this sensitive period, in the form of abuse or neglect but also early malnutrition or an early immune challenge elicit very similar long-term effects on brain structure and function. During early-life, both exogenous factors like nutrition and maternal care, as well as endogenous modulators, including stress hormones and mediator of immunological activity affect brain development. The interplay of these key elements and their underlying molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. We discuss here the hypothesis that exposure to early-life adversity (specifically stress, under/malnutrition and infection) leads to life-long alterations in hippocampal-related cognitive functions, at least partly via changes in hippocampal neurogenesis. We further discuss how these different key elements of the early-life environment interact and affect one another and suggest that it is a synergistic action of these elements that shapes cognition throughout life. Finally, we consider different intervention studies aiming to prevent these early-life adversity induced consequences. The emerging evidence for the intriguing interplay of stress, nutrition, and immune activity in the early-life programming calls for a more in depth understanding of the interaction of these elements and the underlying mechanisms. This knowledge will help to develop intervention strategies that will converge on a more complete set of changes induced by early-life adversity. PMID:25620909

  3. Early-life stress impacts the developing hippocampus and primes seizure occurrence: cellular, molecular, and epigenetic mechanisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Li-Tung

    2014-01-01

    Early-life stress includes prenatal, postnatal, and adolescence stress. Early-life stress can affect the development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and cause cellular and molecular changes in the developing hippocampus that can result in neurobehavioral changes later in life. Epidemiological data implicate stress as a cause of seizures in both children and adults. Emerging evidence indicates that both prenatal and postnatal stress can prime the developing brain for seizures and an increase in epileptogenesis. This article reviews the cellular and molecular changes encountered during prenatal and postnatal stress, and assesses the possible link between these changes and increases in seizure occurrence and epileptogenesis in the developing hippocampus. In addititon, the priming effect of prenatal and postnatal stress for seizures and epileptogenesis is discussed. Finally, the roles of epigenetic modifications in hippocampus and HPA axis programming, early-life stress, and epilepsy are discussed. PMID:24574961

  4. Early life adversity influences stress response association with smoking relapse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    al'Absi, Mustafa; Lemieux, Andrine; Westra, Ruth; Allen, Sharon

    2017-11-01

    We examined the hypothesis that stress-related blunting of cortisol in smokers is particularly pronounced in those with a history of severe life adversity. The two aims of this study were first to examine hormonal, craving, and withdrawal symptoms during ad libitum smoking and after the first 24 h of abstinence in smokers who experienced high or low levels of adversity. Second, we sought to examine the relationship between adversity and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) hormones to predict relapse during the first month of a smoking cessation attempt. Hormonal and self-report measures were collected from 103 smokers (49 women) during ad libitum smoking and after the first 24 h of abstinence. HPA hormones were measured during baseline rest and in response to acute stress in both conditions. All smokers were interested in smoking cessation, and we prospectively used stress response measures to predict relapse during the first 4 weeks of the smoking cessation attempt. The results showed that high adversity was associated with higher distress and smoking withdrawal symptoms. High level of early life adversity was associated with elevated HPA activity, which was found in both salivary and plasma cortisol. Enhanced adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stress response was evident in high-adversity but not in low-adversity relapsers. This study demonstrated that early life adversity is associated with stress-related HPA responses. The study also demonstrated that, among smokers who experienced a high level of life adversity, heightened ACTH and cortisol responses were linked with increased risk for smoking relapse.

  5. Early life trauma exposure and stress sensitivity in young children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grasso, Damion J; Ford, Julian D; Briggs-Gowan, Margaret J

    2013-01-01

    The current study replicates and extends work with adults that highlights the relationship between trauma exposure and distress in response to subsequent, nontraumatic life stressors. The sample included 213 2-4-year-old children in which 64.3% had a history of potential trauma exposure. Children were categorized into 4 groups based on trauma history and current life stress. In a multivariate analysis of variance, trauma-exposed children with current life stressors had elevated internalizing and externalizing problems compared with trauma-exposed children without current stress and nontrauma-exposed children with and without current stressors. The trauma-exposed groups with or without current stressors did not differ on posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity. Accounting for number of traumatic events did not change these results. These findings suggest that early life trauma exposure may sensitize young children and place them at risk for internalizing or externalizing problems when exposed to subsequent, nontraumatic life stressors.

  6. Increased amygdala reactivity following early life stress: a potential resilience enhancer role.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Tetsuya; Toki, Shigeru; Siegle, Greg J; Takamura, Masahiro; Takaishi, Yoshiyuki; Yoshimura, Shinpei; Okada, Go; Matsumoto, Tomoya; Nakao, Takashi; Muranaka, Hiroyuki; Kaseda, Yumiko; Murakami, Tsuneji; Okamoto, Yasumasa; Yamawaki, Shigeto

    2017-01-18

    Amygdala hyper-reactivity is sometimes assumed to be a vulnerability factor that predates depression; however, in healthy people, who experience early life stress but do not become depressed, it may represent a resilience mechanism. We aimed to test these hypothesis examining whether increased amygdala activity in association with a history of early life stress (ELS) was negatively or positively associated with depressive symptoms and impact of negative life event stress in never-depressed adults. Twenty-four healthy participants completed an individually tailored negative mood induction task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assessment along with evaluation of ELS. Mood change and amygdala reactivity were increased in never-depressed participants who reported ELS compared to participants who reported no ELS. Yet, increased amygdala reactivity lowered effects of ELS on depressive symptoms and negative life events stress. Amygdala reactivity also had positive functional connectivity with the bilateral DLPFC, motor cortex and striatum in people with ELS during sad memory recall. Increased amygdala activity in those with ELS was associated with decreased symptoms and increased neural features, consistent with emotion regulation, suggesting that preservation of robust amygdala reactions may reflect a stress buffering or resilience enhancing factor against depression and negative stressful events.

  7. Sugar consumption produces effects similar to early life stress exposure on hippocampal markers of neurogenesis and stress response

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jayanthi eManiam

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Adverse early life experience is a known risk factor for psychiatric disorders. It is also known that stress influences food preference. We were interested in exploring whether the choice of diet following early life stress exerts long-lasting molecular changes in the brain, particularly the hippocampus, a region critically involved in stress regulation and behavioural outcomes. Here, we examined the impact of early life stress induced by limited nesting material (LN and chronic sucrose availability post-weaning on an array of hippocampal genes related to plasticity, neurogenesis, stress and inflammatory responses and mitochondrial biogenesis. To examine mechanisms underlying the impact of LN and sugar intake on hippocampal gene expression, we investigated the role of DNA methylation. As females are more likely to experience adverse life events, we studied female Sprague-Dawley rats. After mating LN was imposed from days 2-9 postpartum. From 3-15 weeks of age, female Control and LN siblings had unlimited to access to either chow and water, or chow, water and 25% sucrose solution. LN markedly reduced glucocorticoid receptor (GR and neurogenic differentiation 1 (Neurod1 mRNA, markers involved in stress and hippocampal plasticity respectively, by more than 40%, with a similar effect of sugar intake in control rats. However, no further impact was observed in LN rats consuming sugar. Hippocampal Akt3 mRNA expression was similarly affected by LN and sucrose consumption. Interestingly, DNA methylation across 4 CpG sites of the GR and Neurod1 promoters was similar in LN and control rats. In summary, early life stress and post-weaning sugar intake produced long-term effects on hippocampal GR and Neurod1 expression. Moreover we found no evidence of altered promoter DNA methylation. We demonstrate for the first time that chronic sucrose consumption alone produces similar detrimental effects on the expression of hippocampal genes as LN exposure.

  8. Differential impact of Met receptor gene interaction with early-life stress on neuronal morphology and behavior in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heun-Johnson, Hanke; Levitt, Pat

    2018-02-01

    Early adversity in childhood increases the risk of anxiety, mood, and post-traumatic stress disorders in adulthood, and specific gene-by-environment interactions may increase risk further. A common functional variant in the promoter region of the gene encoding the human MET receptor tyrosine kinase (rs1858830 ' C' allele) reduces expression of MET and is associated with altered cortical circuit function and structural connectivity. Mice with reduced Met expression exhibit changes in anxiety-like and conditioned fear behavior, precocious synaptic maturation in the hippocampus, and reduced neuronal arbor complexity and synaptogenesis. These phenotypes also can be produced independently by early adversity in wild-type mice. The present study addresses the outcome of combining early-life stress and genetic influences that alter timing of maturation on enduring functional and structural phenotypes. Using a model of reduced Met expression ( Met +/- ) and early-life stress from postnatal day 2-9, social, anxiety-like, and contextual fear behaviors in later life were measured. Mice that experienced early-life stress exhibited impairments in social interaction, whereas alterations in anxiety-like behavior and fear learning were driven by Met haploinsufficiency, independent of rearing condition. Early-life stress or reduced Met expression decreased arbor complexity of ventral hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons projecting to basolateral amygdala. Paradoxically, arbor complexity in Met +/- mice was increased following early-life stress, and thus not different from arbors in wild-type mice raised in control conditions. The changes in dendritic morphology are consistent with the hypothesis that the physiological state of maturation of CA1 neurons in Met +/- mice influences their responsiveness to early-life stress. The dissociation of behavioral and structural changes suggests that there may be phenotype-specific sensitivities to early-life stress.

  9. Early parental loss and depression history: associations with recent life stress in major depressive disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slavich, George M; Monroe, Scott M; Gotlib, Ian H

    2011-09-01

    Although exposure to early adversity and prior experiences with depression have both been associated with lower levels of precipitating life stress in depression, it is unclear whether these stress sensitization effects are similar for all types of stress or whether they are specific to stressors that may be particularly depressogenic, such as those involving interpersonal loss. To investigate this issue, we administered structured, interview-based measures of early adversity, depression history, and recent life stress to one hundred adults who were diagnosed with major depressive disorder. As predicted, individuals who experienced early parental loss or prolonged separation (i.e., lasting one year or longer) and persons with more lifetime episodes of depression became depressed following lower levels of life stress occurring in the etiologically-central time period of three months prior to onset of depression. Importantly, however, additional analyses revealed that these effects were unique to stressors involving interpersonal loss. These data highlight potential stressor-specific effects in stress sensitization and demonstrate for the first time that individuals exposed to early parental loss or separation, and persons with greater histories of MDD, may be selectively sensitized to stressors involving interpersonal loss. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Perceived early-life maternal care and the cortisol response to repeated psychosocial stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engert, Veronika; Efanov, Simona I; Dedovic, Katarina; Duchesne, Annie; Dagher, Alain; Pruessner, Jens C

    2010-11-01

    In the past decade, a body of animal and human research has revealed a profound influence of early-life experiences, ranging from variations in parenting behaviour to severe adversity, on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation in adulthood. In our own previous studies, we have shown how variations in early-life parental care influence the development of the hippocampus and modify the cortisol awakening response. In the present study, we investigated the influence of early-life maternal care on cortisol, heart rate and subjective psychological responses to the repeated administration of a psychosocial laboratory stressor in a population of 63 healthy young adults. Low, medium and high early-life maternal care groups were identified using the Parental Bonding Instrument. Controlling for the effect of sex, we found an inverted u-shaped relation between increasing levels of maternal care and cortisol stress responsivity. Specifically, overall and stress-induced cortisol levels went from below normal in the low maternal care, to normal in the medium care, back to below normal in the high maternal care groups. We found no group differences with respect to heart rate and subjective psychological stress measures. Whereas low and high maternal care groups exhibited similarly low endocrine stress responses, their psychological profiles were opposed with increased levels of depression and anxiety and decreased self-esteem in the low care group. Sex was unequally distributed among maternal care groups, whereby the number of men with low maternal care was too small to allow introducing sex as a second between-group variable. We discuss the potential significance of this dissociation between endocrine and psychological parameters with respect to stress vulnerability and resistance for each maternal care group.

  11. Neighborhood Disadvantage, Stressful Life Events, and Adjustment among Mexican American Early Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roosa, Mark W.; Burrell, Ginger L.; Nair, Rajni L.; Coxe, Stefany; Tein, Jenn-Yun; Knight, George P.

    2010-01-01

    This study examined a stress process model in which stressful life events and association with delinquent peers mediated the relationship of neighborhood disadvantage to Mexican American early adolescents' mental health. The authors also proposed that child gender, child generation, and neighborhood informal social control would moderate the…

  12. Early life stress paradigms in rodents: potential animal models of depression?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Mathias V; Wang, Xiao-Dong; Meijer, Onno C

    2011-03-01

    While human depressive illness is indeed uniquely human, many of its symptoms may be modeled in rodents. Based on human etiology, the assumption has been made that depression-like behavior in rats and mice can be modulated by some of the powerful early life programming effects that are known to occur after manipulations in the first weeks of life. Here we review the evidence that is available in literature for early life manipulation as risk factors for the development of depression-like symptoms such as anhedonia, passive coping strategies, and neuroendocrine changes. Early life paradigms that were evaluated include early handling, separation, and deprivation protocols, as well as enriched and impoverished environments. We have also included a small number of stress-related pharmacological models. We find that for most early life paradigms per se, the actual validity for depression is limited. A number of models have not been tested with respect to classical depression-like behaviors, while in many cases, the outcome of such experiments is variable and depends on strain and additional factors. Because programming effects confer vulnerability rather than disease, a number of paradigms hold promise for usefulness in depression research, in combination with the proper genetic background and adult life challenges.

  13. Early life trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and allostatic load in a sample of American Indian adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thayer, Zaneta; Barbosa-Leiker, Celestina; McDonell, Michael; Nelson, Lonnie; Buchwald, Dedra; Manson, Spero

    2017-05-06

    Among American Indians, prior research has found associations between early life trauma and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adulthood. Given the physiological changes associated with PTSD, early life trauma could indirectly contribute to chronic disease risk. However, the impact of early life trauma on adult physical health in this population has not been previously investigated. We evaluated associations among early life trauma, PTSD, and 13 physiological biomarkers that index cardiovascular, metabolic, neuroendocrine, anthropometric, and immune function in adulthood by conducting correlation and structural equation modeling path analyses (N = 197). Physiological systems were analyzed individually as well as in a composite measure of allostatic load. We found early life trauma was related to PTSD, which in turn was related to elevated allostatic load in adulthood. Among the various components of allostatic load, the neuroendocrine system was the only one significantly related to early life stress and subsequent PTSD development. Changes in allostatic load might reflect adaptive adjustments that maximize short-term survival by enhancing stress reactivity, but at a cost to later health. Interventions should focus on improving access to resources for children who experience early life trauma in order to avoid PTSD and other harmful sequelae. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Work-related social support modulates effects of early life stress on limbic reactivity during stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leicht-Deobald, Ulrich; Bruch, Heike; Bönke, Luisa; Stevense, Amie; Fan, Yan; Bajbouj, Malek; Grimm, Simone

    2017-12-15

    Early life stress (ELS) affects stress- reactivity via limbic brain regions implicated such as hippocampus and amygdala. Social support is a major protective factor against ELS effects, while subjects with ELS experience reportedly perceive less of it in their daily life. The workplace, where most adults spend a substantial amount of time in their daily lives, might serve as a major resource for social support. Since previous data demonstrated that social support attenuates stress reactivity, we here used a psychosocial stress task to test the hypothesis that work-related social support modulates the effects of ELS. Results show decreased amygdala reactivity during stress in ELS subjects who report high levels of work- related social support, thereby indicating a signature for reduced stress reactivity. However, this effect was only observable on the neural, but not on the behavioral level, since social support had no buffering effect regarding the subjective experience of stress in daily life as well as regarding feelings of uncontrollability induced by the stress task. Accordingly, our data suggest that subjects with ELS experiences might benefit from interventions targeted at lowering their subjective stress levels by helping them to better perceive the availability of social support in their daily lives.

  15. Evidence of an IFN-γ by early life stress interaction in the regulation of amygdala reactivity to emotional stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redlich, Ronny; Stacey, David; Opel, Nils; Grotegerd, Dominik; Dohm, Katharina; Kugel, Harald; Heindel, Walter; Arolt, Volker; Baune, Bernhard T; Dannlowski, Udo

    2015-12-01

    Since numerous studies have found that exposure to early life stress leads to increased peripheral inflammation and psychiatric disease, it is thought that peripheral immune activation precedes and possibly mediates the onset of stress-associated psychiatric disease. Despite early studies, IFNγ has received little attention relative to other inflammatory cytokines in the context of the pathophysiology of affective disorders. Neuroimaging endophenotypes have emerged recently as a promising means of elucidating these types of complex relationships including the modeling of the interaction between environmental factors and genetic predisposition. Here we investigate the GxE relationship between early-life stress and genetic variants of IFNγ on emotion processing. To investigate the impact of the relationship between genetic variants of IFNγ (rs1861494, rs2069718, rs2430561) and early life stress on emotion processing, a sample of healthy adults (n=409) undergoing an emotional faces paradigm in an fMRI study were genotyped and analysed. Information on early life stress was obtained via Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). A positive association between early life stress and amygdala reactivity was found. Specifically, the main effect of genotype of rs1861494 on amygdala reactivity indicates a higher neural response in C allele carriers compared to T homozygotes, while we did not find main effects of rs2069718 and rs2430561. Importantly, interaction analyses revealed a specific interaction between IFNγ genotype (rs1861494) and early life stress affecting amygdala reactivity to emotional faces, resulting from a positive association between CTQ scores and amygdala reactivity in C allele carriers while this association was absent in T homozygotes. Our findings indicate that firstly the genetic variant of IFNγ (rs1861494) is involved with the regulation of amygdala reactivity to emotional stimuli and secondly, that this genetic variant moderates effects of early life

  16. The Effects of Early-Life Predator Stress on Anxiety- and Depression-Like Behaviors of Adult Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lu-jing Chen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Childhood emotional trauma contributes significantly to certain psychopathologies, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. In experimental animals, however, whether or not early-life stress results in behavioral abnormalities in adult animals still remains controversial. Here, we investigated both short-term and long-term changes of anxiety- and depression-like behaviors of Wistar rats after being exposed to chronic feral cat stress in juvenile ages. The 2-week predator stress decreased spontaneous activities immediately following stress but did not increase depression- or anxiety-like behaviors 4 weeks after the stimulation in adulthood. Instead, juvenile predator stress had some protective effects, though not very obvious, in adulthood. We also exposed genetic depression model rats, Wistar Kyoto (WKY rats, to the same predator stress. In WKY rats, the same early-life predator stress did not enhance anxiety- or depression-like behaviors in both the short-term and long-term. However, the stressed WKY rats showed slightly reduced depression-like behaviors in adulthood. These results indicate that in both normal Wistar rats and WKY rats, early-life predator stress led to protective, rather than negative, effects in adulthood.

  17. The Effects of Early-Life Predator Stress on Anxiety- and Depression-Like Behaviors of Adult Rats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Lu-jing; Shen, Bing-qing; Liu, Dan-dan; Li, Sheng-tian

    2014-01-01

    Childhood emotional trauma contributes significantly to certain psychopathologies, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. In experimental animals, however, whether or not early-life stress results in behavioral abnormalities in adult animals still remains controversial. Here, we investigated both short-term and long-term changes of anxiety- and depression-like behaviors of Wistar rats after being exposed to chronic feral cat stress in juvenile ages. The 2-week predator stress decreased spontaneous activities immediately following stress but did not increase depression- or anxiety-like behaviors 4 weeks after the stimulation in adulthood. Instead, juvenile predator stress had some protective effects, though not very obvious, in adulthood. We also exposed genetic depression model rats, Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats, to the same predator stress. In WKY rats, the same early-life predator stress did not enhance anxiety- or depression-like behaviors in both the short-term and long-term. However, the stressed WKY rats showed slightly reduced depression-like behaviors in adulthood. These results indicate that in both normal Wistar rats and WKY rats, early-life predator stress led to protective, rather than negative, effects in adulthood. PMID:24839560

  18. Development of the cortisol circadian rhythm in the light of stress early in life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simons, Sterre S H; Beijers, Roseriet; Cillessen, Antonius H N; de Weerth, Carolina

    2015-12-01

    The secretion of the stress hormone cortisol follows a diurnal circadian rhythm. There are indications that this rhythm is affected by stress early in life. This paper addresses the development of the cortisol circadian rhythm between 1 and 6 years of age, and the role of maternal stress and anxiety early in the child's life on this (developing) rhythm. Participants were 193 healthy mother-child dyads from a community sample. Self-reported maternal stress and anxiety and physiological stress (saliva cortisol), were assessed prenatally (gestational week 37). Postnatally, self-reported maternal stress and anxiety were measured at 3, 6, 12, 30, and 72 months. Saliva cortisol samples from the children were collected on two days (four times each day) at 12, 30, and 72 months of age. The total amount of cortisol during the day and the cortisol decline over the day were determined to indicate children's cortisol circadian rhythm. Multilevel analyses showed that the total amount of cortisol decreased between 1 and 6 years. Furthermore, more maternal pregnancy-specific stress was related to higher total amounts of cortisol in the child. Higher levels of early postnatal maternal anxiety were associated with flatter cortisol declines in children. Higher levels of early postnatal maternal daily hassles were associated with steeper child cortisol declines over the day. These results indicated developmental change in children's cortisol secretion from 1 to 6 years and associations between maternal stress and anxiety early in children's lives and children's cortisol circadian rhythm in early childhood. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Early-life adversity programs emotional functions and the neuroendocrine stress system: the contribution of nutrition, metabolic hormones and epigenetic mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yam, Kit-Yi; Naninck, Eva F G; Schmidt, Mathias V; Lucassen, Paul J; Korosi, Aniko

    2015-01-01

    Clinical and pre-clinical studies have shown that early-life adversities, such as abuse or neglect, can increase the vulnerability to develop psychopathologies and cognitive decline later in life. Remarkably, the lasting consequences of stress during this sensitive period on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and emotional function closely resemble the long-term effects of early malnutrition and suggest a possible common pathway mediating these effects. During early-life, brain development is affected by both exogenous factors, like nutrition and maternal care as well as by endogenous modulators including stress hormones. These elements, while mostly considered for their independent actions, clearly do not act alone but rather in a synergistic manner. In order to better understand how the programming by early-life stress takes place, it is important to gain further insight into the exact interplay of these key elements, the possible common pathways as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms that mediate their effects. We here review evidence that exposure to both early-life stress and early-life under-/malnutrition similarly lead to life-long alterations on the neuroendocrine stress system and modify emotional functions. We further discuss how the different key elements of the early-life environment interact and affect one another and next suggest a possible role for the early-life adversity induced alterations in metabolic hormones and nutrient availability in shaping later stress responses and emotional function throughout life, possibly via epigenetic mechanisms. Such knowledge will help to develop intervention strategies, which gives the advantage of viewing the synergistic action of a more complete set of changes induced by early-life adversity.

  20. Early-Life Stress Triggers Juvenile Zebra Finches to Switch Social Learning Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farine, Damien R; Spencer, Karen A; Boogert, Neeltje J

    2015-08-17

    Stress during early life can cause disease and cognitive impairment in humans and non-humans alike. However, stress and other environmental factors can also program developmental pathways. We investigate whether differential exposure to developmental stress can drive divergent social learning strategies between siblings. In many species, juveniles acquire essential foraging skills by copying others: they can copy peers (horizontal social learning), learn from their parents (vertical social learning), or learn from other adults (oblique social learning). However, whether juveniles' learning strategies are condition dependent largely remains a mystery. We found that juvenile zebra finches living in flocks socially learned novel foraging skills exclusively from adults. By experimentally manipulating developmental stress, we further show that social learning targets are phenotypically plastic. While control juveniles learned foraging skills from their parents, their siblings, exposed as nestlings to experimentally elevated stress hormone levels, learned exclusively from unrelated adults. Thus, early-life conditions triggered individuals to switch strategies from vertical to oblique social learning. This switch could arise from stress-induced differences in developmental rate, cognitive and physical state, or the use of stress as an environmental cue. Acquisition of alternative social learning strategies may impact juveniles' fit to their environment and ultimately change their developmental trajectories. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  1. High novelty-seeking rats are resilient to negative physiological effects of the early life stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clinton, Sarah M; Watson, Stanley J; Akil, Huda

    2014-01-01

    Exposure to early life stress dramatically impacts adult behavior, physiology, and neuroendocrine function. Using rats bred for novelty-seeking differences and known to display divergent anxiety, depression, and stress vulnerability, we examined the interaction between early life adversity and genetic predisposition for high- versus low-emotional reactivity. Thus, bred Low Novelty Responder (bLR) rats, which naturally exhibit high anxiety- and depression-like behavior, and bred High Novelty Responder (bHR) rats, which show low anxiety/depression together with elevated aggression, impulsivity, and addictive behavior, were subjected to daily 3 h maternal separation (MS) stress postnatal days 1-14. We hypothesized that MS stress would differentially impact adult bHR/bLR behavior, physiology (stress-induced defecation), and neuroendocrine reactivity. While MS stress did not impact bHR and bLR anxiety-like behavior in the open field test and elevated plus maze, it exacerbated bLRs' already high physiological response to stress - stress-induced defecation. In both tests, MS bLR adult offspring showed exaggerated stress-induced defecation compared to bLR controls while bHR offspring were unaffected. MS also selectively impacted bLRs' (but not bHRs') neuroendocrine stress reactivity, producing an exaggerated corticosterone acute stress response in MS bLR versus control bLR rats. These findings highlight how genetic predisposition shapes individuals' response to early life stress. Future work will explore neural mechanisms underlying the distinct behavioral and neuroendocrine consequences of MS in bHR/bLR animals.

  2. Instrumental learning and cognitive flexibility processes are impaired in children exposed to early life stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harms, Madeline B; Shannon Bowen, Katherine E; Hanson, Jamie L; Pollak, Seth D

    2017-10-19

    Children who experience severe early life stress show persistent deficits in many aspects of cognitive and social adaptation. Early stress might be associated with these broad changes in functioning because it impairs general learning mechanisms. To explore this possibility, we examined whether individuals who experienced abusive caregiving in childhood had difficulties with instrumental learning and/or cognitive flexibility as adolescents. Fifty-three 14-17-year-old adolescents (31 exposed to high levels of childhood stress, 22 control) completed an fMRI task that required them to first learn associations in the environment and then update those pairings. Adolescents with histories of early life stress eventually learned to pair stimuli with both positive and negative outcomes, but did so more slowly than their peers. Furthermore, these stress-exposed adolescents showed markedly impaired cognitive flexibility; they were less able than their peers to update those pairings when the contingencies changed. These learning problems were reflected in abnormal activity in learning- and attention-related brain circuitry. Both altered patterns of learning and neural activation were associated with the severity of lifetime stress that the adolescents had experienced. Taken together, the results of this experiment suggest that basic learning processes are impaired in adolescents exposed to early life stress. These general learning mechanisms may help explain the emergence of social problems observed in these individuals. © 2017 The Authors. Developmental Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Early Life Stress, Depression And Parkinson's Disease: A New Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dallé, Ernest; Mabandla, Musa V

    2018-03-19

    This review aims to shed light on the relationship that involves exposure to early life stress, depression and Parkinson's disease (PD). A systematic literature search was conducted in Pubmed, MEDLINE, EBSCOHost and Google Scholar and relevant data were submitted to a meta-analysis . Early life stress may contribute to the development of depression and patients with depression are at risk of developing PD later in life. Depression is a common non-motor symptom preceding motor symptoms in PD. Stimulation of regions contiguous to the substantia nigra as well as dopamine (DA) agonists have been shown to be able to attenuate depression. Therefore, since PD causes depletion of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, depression, rather than being just a simple mood disorder, may be part of the pathophysiological process that leads to PD. It is plausible that the mesocortical and mesolimbic dopaminergic pathways that mediate mood, emotion, and/or cognitive function may also play a key role in depression associated with PD. Here, we propose that a medication designed to address a deficiency in serotonin is more likely to influence motor symptoms of PD associated with depression. This review highlights the effects of an antidepressant, Fluvoxamine maleate, in an animal model that combines depressive-like symptoms and Parkinsonism.

  4. Evolutionary conserved neural signature of early life stress affects animal social competence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyman, Cecilia; Fischer, Stefan; Aubin-Horth, Nadia; Taborsky, Barbara

    2018-01-31

    In vertebrates, the early social environment can persistently influence behaviour and social competence later in life. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying variation in animal social competence are largely unknown. In rats, high-quality maternal care causes an upregulation of hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors ( gr ) and reduces offspring stress responsiveness. This identifies gr regulation as a candidate mechanism for maintaining variation in animal social competence. We tested this hypothesis in a highly social cichlid fish, Neolamprologus pulcher , reared with or without caring parents. We find that the molecular pathway translating early social experience into later-life alterations of the stress axis is homologous across vertebrates: fish reared with parents expressed the glucocorticoid receptor gr1 more in the telencephalon. Furthermore, expression levels of the transcription factor egr-1 (early growth response 1) were associated with gr1 expression in the telencephalon and hypothalamus. When blocking glucocorticoid receptors (GR) with an antagonist, mifepristone (RU486), parent-reared individuals showed more socially appropriate, submissive behaviour when intruding on a larger conspecific's territory. Remarkably, mifepristone-treated fish were less attacked by territory owners and had a higher likelihood of territory takeover. Our results indicate that early social-environment effects on stress axis programming are mediated by an evolutionary conserved molecular pathway, which is causally involved in environmentally induced variation of animal social competence. © 2018 The Author(s).

  5. Early life stress and trauma and enhanced limbic activation to emotionally valenced faces in depressed and healthy children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Hideo; Luby, Joan L; Botteron, Kelly N; Dietrich, Rachel; McAvoy, Mark P; Barch, Deanna M

    2014-07-01

    Previous studies have examined the relationships between structural brain characteristics and early life stress in adults. However, there is limited evidence for functional brain variation associated with early life stress in children. We hypothesized that early life stress and trauma would be associated with increased functional brain activation response to negative emotional faces in children with and without a history of depression. Psychiatric diagnosis and life events in children (starting at age 3-5 years) were assessed in a longitudinal study. A follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study acquired data (N = 115 at ages 7-12, 51% girls) on functional brain response to fearful, sad, and happy faces relative to neutral faces. We used a region-of-interest mask within cortico-limbic areas and conducted regression analyses and repeated-measures analysis of covariance. Greater activation responses to fearful, sad, and happy faces in the amygdala and its neighboring regions were found in children with greater life stress. Moreover, an association between life stress and left hippocampal and globus pallidus activity depended on children's diagnostic status. Finally, all children with greater life trauma showed greater bilateral amygdala and cingulate activity specific to sad faces but not the other emotional faces, although right amygdala activity was moderated by psychiatric status. These findings suggest that limbic hyperactivity may be a biomarker of early life stress and trauma in children and may have implications in the risk trajectory for depression and other stress-related disorders. However, this pattern varied based on emotion type and history of psychopathology. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Effects of early life stress on amygdala and striatal development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fareri, Dominic S.; Tottenham, Nim

    2016-01-01

    Species-expected caregiving early in life is critical for the normative development and regulation of emotional behavior, the ability to effectively evaluate affective stimuli in the environment, and the ability to sustain social relationships. Severe psychosocial stressors early in life (early life stress; ELS) in the form of the absence of species expected caregiving (i.e., caregiver deprivation), can drastically impact one’s social and emotional success, leading to the onset of internalizing illness later in life. Development of the amygdala and striatum, two key regions supporting affective valuation and learning, is significantly affected by ELS, and their altered developmental trajectories have important implications for cognitive, behavioral and socioemotional development. However, an understanding of the impact of ELS on the development of functional interactions between these regions and subsequent behavioral effects is lacking. In this review, we highlight the roles of the amygdala and striatum in affective valuation and learning in maturity and across development. We discuss their function separately as well as their interaction. We highlight evidence across species characterizing how ELS induced changes in the development of the amygdala and striatum mediate subsequent behavioral changes associated with internalizing illness, positing a particular import of the effect of ELS on their interaction. PMID:27174149

  7. Effects of early life stress on amygdala and striatal development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fareri, Dominic S; Tottenham, Nim

    2016-06-01

    Species-expected caregiving early in life is critical for the normative development and regulation of emotional behavior, the ability to effectively evaluate affective stimuli in the environment, and the ability to sustain social relationships. Severe psychosocial stressors early in life (early life stress; ELS) in the form of the absence of species expected caregiving (i.e., caregiver deprivation), can drastically impact one's social and emotional success, leading to the onset of internalizing illness later in life. Development of the amygdala and striatum, two key regions supporting affective valuation and learning, is significantly affected by ELS, and their altered developmental trajectories have important implications for cognitive, behavioral and socioemotional development. However, an understanding of the impact of ELS on the development of functional interactions between these regions and subsequent behavioral effects is lacking. In this review, we highlight the roles of the amygdala and striatum in affective valuation and learning in maturity and across development. We discuss their function separately as well as their interaction. We highlight evidence across species characterizing how ELS induced changes in the development of the amygdala and striatum mediate subsequent behavioral changes associated with internalizing illness, positing a particular import of the effect of ELS on their interaction. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  8. Effects of early life stress on amygdala and striatal development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dominic S. Fareri

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Species-expected caregiving early in life is critical for the normative development and regulation of emotional behavior, the ability to effectively evaluate affective stimuli in the environment, and the ability to sustain social relationships. Severe psychosocial stressors early in life (early life stress; ELS in the form of the absence of species expected caregiving (i.e., caregiver deprivation, can drastically impact one’s social and emotional success, leading to the onset of internalizing illness later in life. Development of the amygdala and striatum, two key regions supporting affective valuation and learning, is significantly affected by ELS, and their altered developmental trajectories have important implications for cognitive, behavioral and socioemotional development. However, an understanding of the impact of ELS on the development of functional interactions between these regions and subsequent behavioral effects is lacking. In this review, we highlight the roles of the amygdala and striatum in affective valuation and learning in maturity and across development. We discuss their function separately as well as their interaction. We highlight evidence across species characterizing how ELS induced changes in the development of the amygdala and striatum mediate subsequent behavioral changes associated with internalizing illness, positing a particular import of the effect of ELS on their interaction.

  9. Late-Onset Cognitive Impairments after Early-Life Stress Are Shaped by Inherited Differences in Stress Reactivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    McIlwrick, Silja; Pohl, Tobias; Chen, Alon; Touma, Chadi

    2017-01-01

    Early-life stress (ELS) has been associated with lasting cognitive impairments and with an increased risk for affective disorders. A dysregulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the body’s main stress response system, is critically involved in mediating these long-term consequences of adverse early-life experience. It remains unclear to what extent an inherited predisposition for HPA axis sensitivity or resilience influences the relationship between ELS and cognitive impairments, and which neuroendocrine and molecular mechanisms may be involved. To investigate this, we exposed animals of the stress reactivity mouse model, consisting of three independent lines selectively bred for high (HR), intermediate (IR), or low (LR) HPA axis reactivity to a stressor, to ELS and assessed their cognitive performance, neuroendocrine function and hippocampal gene expression in early and in late adulthood. Our results show that HR animals that were exposed to ELS exhibited an HPA axis hyper-reactivity in early and late adulthood, associated with cognitive impairments in hippocampus-dependent tasks, as well as molecular changes in transcript levels involved in the regulation of HPA axis activity (Crh) and in neurotrophic action (Bdnf). In contrast, LR animals showed intact cognitive function across adulthood, with no change in stress reactivity. Intriguingly, LR animals that were exposed to ELS even showed significant signs of enhanced cognitive performance in late adulthood, which may be related to late-onset changes observed in the expression of Crh and Crhr1 in the dorsal hippocampus of these animals. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that the lasting consequences of ELS at the level of cognition differ as a function of inherited predispositions and suggest that an innate tendency for low stress reactivity may be protective against late-onset cognitive impairments after ELS. PMID:28261058

  10. Analgesia for early-life pain prevents deficits in adult anxiety and stress in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Victoria, Nicole C; Karom, Mary C; Murphy, Anne Z

    2015-01-01

    Previous studies in rats have established that inflammatory pain experienced on the day of birth (P0) decreases sensitivity to acute noxious, anxiety- and stress-provoking stimuli. However, to date, the impact of early-life pain on adult responses to chronic stress is not known. Further, the ability of morphine, administered at the time of injury, to mitigate changes in adult behavioral and hormonal responses to acute or chronic stressors has not been examined. P0 male and female Sprague-Dawley rat pups were given an intraplantar injection of 1% carrageenan or handled in an identical manner in the presence or absence of morphine. As adults, rats that experienced early-life pain displayed decreased sensitivity to acute stressors, as indicated by increased time in the inner area of the Open Field, and increased latency to immobility and decreased time immobile in the Forced Swim Test (FST). An accelerated return of corticosterone to baseline was also observed. Morphine administration at the time of injury completely reversed this 'hyporesponsive' phenotype. By contrast, following 7 days of chronic variable stress, injured animals displayed a 'hyperresponsive' phenotype in that they initiated immobility and spent significantly more time immobile in the FST than controls. Responses to chronic stress were also rescued in animals that received morphine at the time of injury. These data suggest that analgesia for early-life pain prevents adult hyposensitivity to acute anxiety- and stress-provoking stimuli and increased vulnerability to chronic stress, and have important clinical implications for the management of pain in infants. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  11. Future Directions in the Study of Early-Life Stress and Physical and Emotional Health: Implications of the Neuroimmune Network Hypothesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hostinar, Camelia E; Nusslock, Robin; Miller, Gregory E

    2018-01-01

    Early-life stress is associated with increased vulnerability to physical and emotional health problems across the lifespan. The recently developed neuroimmune network hypothesis proposes that one of the underlying mechanisms for these associations is that early-life stress amplifies bidirectional crosstalk between the brain and the immune system, contributing to several mental and physical health conditions that have inflammatory underpinnings, such as depression and coronary heart disease. Neuroimmune crosstalk is thought to perpetuate inflammation and neural alterations linked to early-life stress exposure, and also foster behaviors that can further compromise health, such as smoking, drug abuse and consumption of high-fat diets. The goal of the present review is to briefly summarize the neuroimmune network hypothesis and use it as a starting point for generating new questions about the role of early-life stress in establishing a dysregulated relationship between neural and immune signaling, with consequences for lifespan physical and emotional health. Specifically, we aim to discuss implications and future directions for theory and empirical research on early-life stress, as well as for interventions that may improve the health and well-being of children and adolescents living in adverse conditions.

  12. Early life stress shapes female reproductive strategy through eggshell pigmentation in Japanese quail

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Duval, C.; Zimmer, C.; Mikšík, Ivan; Cassey, P.; Spencer, K.A.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 208, Nov 1 (2014), s. 146-153 ISSN 0016-6480 Institutional support: RVO:67985823 Keywords : breeding conditions * early-life stress * eggshell pigmentation * Japanese quail Subject RIV: ED - Physiology Impact factor: 2.470, year: 2014

  13. Kindling of Life Stress in Bipolar Disorder: Effects of Early Adversity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapero, Benjamin G; Weiss, Rachel B; Burke, Taylor A; Boland, Elaine M; Abramson, Lyn Y; Alloy, Lauren B

    2017-05-01

    Most theoretical frameworks regarding the role of life stress in bipolar disorders (BD) do not incorporate the possibility of a changing relationship between psychosocial context and episode initiation across the course of the disorder. The kindling hypothesis theorizes that over the longitudinal course of recurrent affective disorders, the relationship between major life stressors and episode initiation declines (Post, 1992). The present study aimed to test an extension of the kindling hypothesis in BD by examining the effect of early life adversity on the relationship between proximal life events and prospectively assessed mood episodes. Data from 145 bipolar participants (59.3% female, 75.2% Caucasian, and mean age of 20.19 years; SD = 1.75 years) were collected as part of the Temple-Wisconsin Longitudinal Investigation of Bipolar Spectrum Project (112 Bipolar II; 33 Cyclothymic disorder). Participants completed a self-report measure of early adversity at baseline and interview-assessed mood episodes and life events at regular 4-month follow-ups. Results indicate that early childhood adversity sensitized bipolar participants to the effects of recent stressors only for depressive episodes and not hypomanic episodes within BD. This was particularly the case with minor negative events. The current study extends prior research examining the kindling model in BD using a methodologically rigorous assessment of life stressors and mood episode occurrence. Clinicians should assess experiences of early adversity in individuals with BD as it may impact reactivity to developing depressive episodes in response to future stressors. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. An exploration of addiction in adults experiencing early-life stress: a metasynthesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carla Araujo Bastos Teixeira

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: to review and synthesize qualitative research on the links between early-life stress and addiction behaviours in adulthood. Method: metasynthesis to review qualitative research findings based on procedures that outline how to identify themes or constructs across studies in a specific area. Comprehensive searches of multiple electronic databases were performed. The initial search yielded 1050 articles and the titles and abstracts were screened for inclusion based on predetermined criteria. Thirty-eight full text, peer-reviewed articles were retrieved and assessed by three independent reviewers. Twelve articles were eligible for full review and appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP tools. Results: the findings revealed that clear associations exist between early-life stress and addictive behaviours in adulthood, such as between trauma in childhood, violence, and addictive behaviours. A common theme in the findings indicates that participants turn to addictive substances as a way of strategically coping with stressful childhood experiences, regardless of the harmful side effects or detrimental social outcomes. Conclusion: it can be inferred that addiction may be viewed as a way to deal with adversity in childhood and that there is an interrelationship between addiction, domestic violence and crime.

  15. Early life thermal stress: Impact on future thermotolerance, stress response, behavior, and intestinal morphology in piglets exposed to a heat stress challenge during simulated transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Study objectives were to evaluate the impact of early life thermal stress (ELTS) on thermoregulation, stress, and intestinal health of piglets subjected to a future heat stress (HS) challenge during simulated transport. Approximately 7 d after farrowing, 12 first parity gilts and their litters were ...

  16. Early life stress affects mortality rate more than social behavior, gene expression or oxidative damage in honey bee workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rueppell, Olav; Yousefi, Babak; Collazo, Juan; Smith, Daniel

    2017-04-01

    Early life stressors can affect aging and life expectancy in positive or negative ways. Individuals can adjust their behavior and molecular physiology based on early life experiences but relatively few studies have connected such mechanisms to demographic patterns in social organisms. Sociality buffers individuals from environmental influences and it is unclear how much early life stress affects later life history. Workers of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) were exposed to two stressors, Varroa parasitism and Paraquat exposure, early in life. Consequences were measured at the molecular, behavioral, and demographic level. While treatments did not significantly affect levels of oxidative damage, expression of select genes, and titers of the common deformed wing virus, most of these measures were affected by age. Some of the age effects, such as declining levels of deformed wing virus and oxidative damage, were opposite to our predictions but may be explained by demographic selection. Further analyses suggested some influences of worker behavior on mortality and indicated weak treatment effects on behavior. The latter effects were inconsistent among the two experiments. However, mortality rate was consistently reduced by Varroa mite stress during development. Thus, mortality was more responsive to early life stress than our other response variables. The lack of treatment effects on these measures may be due to the social organization of honey bees that buffers the individual from the impact of stressful developmental conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Unhealthy lifestyle in early psychoses: the role of life stress and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manzanares, Núria; Monseny, Rosa; Ortega, Laura; Montalvo, Itziar; Franch, Joan; Gutiérrez-Zotes, Alfonso; Reynolds, Rebecca M; Walker, Brian R; Vilella, Elisabet; Labad, Javier

    2014-01-01

    An unhealthy lifestyle is thought to contribute to the metabolic syndrome in subjects with psychoses. In the present study we aimed to study whether life stress or cortisol measures may influence dietary patterns in subjects with early stages of psychoses. We studied 81 subjects with early psychoses (65 subjects with a psychotic disorder [PD] and food intake (24h recall). Physical activity was assessed by validated questionnaire. Life stress was assessed with Holmes-Rahe Social Readjustment Scale. Fasting morning salivary and plasma cortisol levels were determined. We found that PD and HR reported an unhealthier lifestyle with more smoking, reduced physical activity and poorer dietary habits. HR reported increased intake of calories and saturated fatty acids and reduced protein consumption, when compared to HS. Life stress was a predictor of these adverse behaviours, although we found opposite associations in HR and PD. Life stress was associated with increased intake of refined sugar in PD and decreased intake in HR and HS. Salivary cortisol was related to increased intake of saturated fat only in HR subjects, but cortisol levels in plasma or saliva were not associated with other dietary habits or obesity measures (BMI, waist circumference). Our study suggests that unhealthy diet in early psychoses is influenced by stress, but our data do not support this effect being mediated by hypercortisolism. Future preventive interventions in psychosis may target dietary habits, particularly for those who are at risk for psychosis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Early-life stress is associated with gender-based vulnerability to epileptogenesis in rat pups.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sébastien Desgent

    Full Text Available During development, the risk of developing mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE increases when the developing brain is exposed to more than one insult in early life. Early life insults include abnormalities of cortical development, hypoxic-ischemic injury and prolonged febrile seizures. To study epileptogenesis, we have developed a two-hit model of MTLE characterized by two early-life insults: a freeze lesion-induced cortical malformation at post-natal day 1 (P1, and a prolonged hyperthermic seizure (HS at P10. As early life stressors lead to sexual dimorphism in both acute response and long-term outcome, we hypothesized that our model could lead to gender-based differences in acute stress response and long-term risk of developing MTLE. Male and female pups underwent a freeze-lesion induced cortical microgyrus at P1 and were exposed to HS at P10. Animals were monitored by video-EEG from P90 to P120. Pre and post-procedure plasma corticosterone levels were used to measure stress response at P1 and P10. To confirm the role of sex steroids, androgenized female pups received daily testosterone injections to the mother pre-natally and post-natally for nine days while undergoing both insults. We demonstrated that after both insults females did not develop MTLE while all males did. This correlated with a rise in corticosterone levels at P1 following the lesion in males only. Interestingly, all androgenized females showed a similar rise in corticosterone at P1, and also developed MTLE. Moreover, we found that the cortical lesion significantly decreased the latency to generalized convulsion during hyperthermia at P10 in both genders. The cortical dysplasia volumes at adulthood were also similar between male and female individuals. Our data demonstrate sexual dimorphism in long-term vulnerability to develop epilepsy in the lesion + hyperthermia animal model of MTLE and suggest that the response to early-life stress at P1 contributes significantly to

  19. Sex-specific effects of early life stress on social interaction and prefrontal cortex dendritic morphology in young rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrell, M R; Holland, F H; Shansky, R M; Brenhouse, H C

    2016-09-01

    Early life stress has been linked to depression, anxiety, and behavior disorders in adolescence and adulthood. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is implicated in stress-related psychopathology, is a target for stress hormones, and mediates social behavior. The present study investigated sex differences in early-life stress effects on juvenile social interaction and adolescent mPFC dendritic morphology in rats using a maternal separation (MS) paradigm. Half of the rat pups of each sex were separated from their mother for 4h a day between postnatal days 2 and 21, while the other half remained with their mother in the animal facilities and were exposed to minimal handling. At postnatal day 25 (P25; juvenility), rats underwent a social interaction test with an age and sex matched conspecific. Distance from conspecific, approach and avoidance behaviors, nose-to-nose contacts, and general locomotion were measured. Rats were euthanized at postnatal day 40 (P40; adolescence), and randomly selected infralimbic pyramidal neurons were filled with Lucifer yellow using iontophoretic microinjections, imaged in 3D, and then analyzed for dendritic arborization, spine density, and spine morphology. Early-life stress increased the latency to make nose-to-nose contact at P25 in females but not males. At P40, early-life stress increased infralimbic apical dendritic branch number and length and decreased thin spine density in stressed female rats. These results indicate that MS during the postnatal period influenced juvenile social behavior and mPFC dendritic arborization in a sex-specific manner. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Behavioral and cognitive impact of early life stress: Insights from an animal model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hesong; Atrooz, Fatin; Salvi, Ankita; Salim, Samina

    2017-08-01

    Children subjected to traumatic events during childhood are reported to exhibit behavioral and cognitive deficits later in life, often leading to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression. Interestingly, some children continue to remain normal despite being exposed to the same risk factors. These trauma-related behavioral and cognitive profiles across different stages of life are not well understood. Animal studies can offer useful insights. The goal of this study was to determine the impact of early life exposure to traumatic events on behavioral and cognitive profile in rats by tracking the behavior of each rat at different ages. We utilized the single prolonged stress (SPS), a rodent model of PTSD, to study the effects of early life stress. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to SPS on post-natal day (PND) 25. Tests to assess anxiety- and depression-like behavior, as well as learning and memory function were performed at PND32, 60 and 90. Rats exposed to SPS exhibited both anxiety- and depression-like behavior at PND32. And, short-term (STM) but not long-term memory (LTM) was impaired. Rats exposed to SPS at PND60 exhibited anxiety- but not depression-like behavior. STM but not LTM was impaired. Rats exposed to SPS at PND90 exhibited fearful (as indicated by elevated plus maze test) but not an overall anxiety-like behavior (in light and dark test). These rats also displayed significant depression-like behavior with no changes in STM or LTM. Interestingly, when data was further analyzed, two subsets of PND90 rats exposed to SPS were identified, "susceptible": with depression-like behavior and "resilient": without depression-like behavior. Importantly, while resilient group expressed early signs of anxiety- (at PND32 and PND60) and depression-like behavior (at PND32), these behavioral deficits were absent at PND90. On the other hand, susceptible PND90 rats exposed to SPS expressed later onset of anxiety-like behavior (at PND60), while depression

  1. Early stress causes sex-specific, life-long changes in behaviour, levels of gonadal hormones, and gene expression in chickens.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magnus Elfwing

    Full Text Available Early stress can have long-lasting phenotypic effects. Previous research shows that male and female chickens differ in many behavioural aspects, and respond differently to chronic stress. The present experiment aimed to broadly characterize long-term sex differences in responses to brief events of stress experienced during the first weeks of life. Chicks from a commercial egg-laying hybrid were exposed to stress by inducing periods of social isolation during their first three weeks of life, followed by a broad behavioural, physiological and genomic characterization throughout life. Early stressed males, but not females, where more anxious in an open field-test, stayed shorter in tonic immobility and tended to have delayed sexual maturity, as shown by a tendency for lower levels of testosterone compared to controls. While early stressed females did not differ from non-stressed in fear and sexual maturation, they were more socially dominant than controls. The differential gene expression profile in hypothalamus was significantly correlated from 28 to 213 days of age in males, but not in females. In conclusion, early stress had a more pronounced long-term effect on male than on female chickens, as evidenced by behavioral, endocrine and genomic responses. This may either be attributed to inherent sex differences due to evolutionary causes, or possibly to different stress related selection pressures on the two sexes during commercial chicken breeding.

  2. Early and Later Life Stress Alter Brain Activity and Sleep in Rats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mrdalj, Jelena; Pallesen, Ståle; Milde, Anne Marita; Jellestad, Finn Konow; Murison, Robert; Ursin, Reidun; Bjorvatn, Bjørn; Grønli, Janne

    2013-01-01

    Exposure to early life stress may profoundly influence the developing brain in lasting ways. Neuropsychiatric disorders associated with early life adversity may involve neural changes reflected in EEG power as a measure of brain activity and disturbed sleep. The main aim of the present study was for the first time to characterize possible changes in adult EEG power after postnatal maternal separation in rats. Furthermore, in the same animals, we investigated how EEG power and sleep architecture were affected after exposure to a chronic mild stress protocol. During postnatal day 2–14 male rats were exposed to either long maternal separation (180 min) or brief maternal separation (10 min). Long maternally separated offspring showed a sleep-wake nonspecific reduction in adult EEG power at the frontal EEG derivation compared to the brief maternally separated group. The quality of slow wave sleep differed as the long maternally separated group showed lower delta power in the frontal-frontal EEG and a slower reduction of the sleep pressure. Exposure to chronic mild stress led to a lower EEG power in both groups. Chronic exposure to mild stressors affected sleep differently in the two groups of maternal separation. Long maternally separated offspring showed more total sleep time, more episodes of rapid eye movement sleep and higher percentage of non-rapid eye movement episodes ending in rapid eye movement sleep compared to brief maternal separation. Chronic stress affected similarly other sleep parameters and flattened the sleep homeostasis curves in all offspring. The results confirm that early environmental conditions modulate the brain functioning in a long-lasting way. PMID:23922857

  3. Pathways of Association from Stress to Obesity in Early Childhood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Alison L; Lumeng, Julie C

    2018-04-14

    The objective of this study is to critically review the literature on early life stress in relation to obesity in humans, including the multiple biological and behavioral mechanisms through which early life stress exposure (birth to the age of 5 years) may associate with obesity risk during childhood. A review of the literature was conducted to identify studies on associations between early childhood stress and risk for obesity and the mechanisms of association. Multiple databases (PubMed, PsycInfo, Google Scholar) were used in the search as well as a "snowball" search strategy. All study designs were included. Early life stress and adverse childhood experiences are associated with obesity and overweight in adults. Evidence is less consistent in children. Studies vary in the nature of the stress examined (e.g., chronic vs. acute), sample characteristics, and study designs. Longitudinal studies are needed, as the effects of early life stress exposure may not emerge until later in the life-span. Early life stress exposure is associated with biological and behavioral pathways that may increase risk for childhood obesity. There is evidence that early life stress is associated with multiple biological and behavioral pathways in children that may increase risk for later obesity. Little work has detailed the interconnections among these mechanisms across development or identified potential moderators of the association. Mapping the mechanisms connecting early life stress exposure to obesity risk in young children longitudinally should be a priority for obesity researchers. Recommendations for developmentally sensitive approaches to research that can inform obesity prevention strategies are presented. © 2018 The Obesity Society.

  4. Neurobiological Programming of Early Life Stress: Functional Development of Amygdala-Prefrontal Circuitry and Vulnerability for Stress-Related Psychopathology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanTieghem, Michelle R; Tottenham, Nim

    2017-04-25

    Early adverse experiences are associated with heighted vulnerability for stress-related psychopathology across the lifespan. While extensive work has investigated the effects of early adversity on neurobiology in adulthood, developmental approaches can provide further insight on the neurobiological mechanisms that link early experiences and long-term mental health outcomes. In the current review, we discuss the role of emotion regulation circuitry implicated in stress-related psychopathology from a developmental and transdiagnostic perspective. We highlight converging evidence suggesting that multiple forms of early adverse experiences impact the functional development of amygdala-prefrontal circuitry. Next, we discuss how adversity-induced alterations in amygdala-prefrontal development are associated with symptoms of emotion dysregulation and psychopathology. Additionally, we discuss potential mechanisms through which protective factors may buffer the effects of early adversity on amygdala-prefrontal development to confer more adaptive long-term outcomes. Finally, we consider limitations of the existing literature and make suggestions for future longitudinal and translational research that can better elucidate the mechanisms linking early adversity, neurobiology, and emotional phenotypes. Together, these findings may provide further insight into the neuro-developmental mechanisms underlying the emergence of adversity-related emotional disorders and facilitate the development of targeted interventions that can ameliorate risk for psychopathology in youth exposed to early life stress.

  5. Prenatal and early postnatal stress and later life inflammation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Jolene Masters; Mortensen, Erik Lykke; Christensen, Dinne Skjærlund

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that maternal psychological and social stress during the prenatal period and in childhood represent an important condition that may adversely impact the anatomy and physiology of the developing child with implications for a number of health-related conditions...... and postnatal stressor data was collected at year one follow-up. A series of ordinary least square regression models were performed with the stress measures as the exposures and C-reactive protein (CRP), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-10 (IL-10), and Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) separately as the outcomes...... in the first year of life, was associated with higher levels of CRP and IL-6. The accumulation of social stressors in the early postnatal period was associated with higher levels of CRP and IL-6 but not IL-10 and TNF-α. The accumulation of stressors in the prenatal and postnatal periods combined was associated...

  6. Stressful Life Events and Predictors of Post-traumatic Growth among High-Risk Early Emerging Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arpawong, Thalida E; Rohrbach, Louise A; Milam, Joel E; Unger, Jennifer B; Land, Helen; Sun, Ping; Spruijt-Metz, Donna; Sussman, Steve

    2016-01-01

    Stressful life events (SLEs) may elicit positive psychosocial change among youth, referred to as Post-traumatic Growth (PTG). We assessed types of SLEs experienced, degree to which participants reported PTG, and variables predicting PTG across 24 months among a sample of high risk, ethnically diverse early emerging adults. Participants were recruited from alternative high schools ( n = 564; mean age=16.8; 65% Hispanic). Multi-level regression models were constructed to examine the impact of environmental (SLE quantity, severity) and personal factors (hedonic ability, perceived stress, developmental stage, future time orientation) on a composite score of PTG. The majority of participants reported positive changes resulted from their most life-altering SLE of the past two years. Predictors of PTG included fewer SLEs, less general stress, having a future time perspective, and greater identification with the developmental stage of Emerging Adulthood. Findings suggest intervention targets to foster positive adaptation among early emerging adults who experience frequent SLEs.

  7. Secure Infant-Mother Attachment Buffers the Effect of Early-Life Stress on Age of Menarche.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sung, Sooyeon; Simpson, Jeffry A; Griskevicius, Vladas; Kuo, Sally I-Chun; Schlomer, Gabriel L; Belsky, Jay

    2016-05-01

    Prior research indicates that being reared in stressful environments is associated with earlier onset of menarche in girls. In this research, we examined (a) whether these effects are driven by exposure to certain dimensions of stress (harshness or unpredictability) during the first 5 years of life and (b) whether the negative effects of stress on the timing of menarche are buffered by secure infant-mother attachment. Results revealed that (a) exposure to greater harshness (but not unpredictability) during the first 5 years of life predicted earlier menarche and (b) secure infant-mother attachment buffered girls from this effect of harsh environments. By connecting attachment research to its evolutionary foundations, these results illuminate how environmental stressors and relationships early in life jointly affect pubertal timing. © The Author(s) 2016.

  8. Early life stress predicts negative urgency through brooding, depending on 5-HTTLPR genotype: A pilot study with 6-month follow-up examining suicide ideation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valderrama, Jorge; Miranda, Regina

    2017-12-01

    The present study examined the interaction between early life stress and 5-HTT genotypes in predicting two risk factors for suicidal behavior - the brooding subtype of rumination and impulsivity, in the form of negative urgency - over time. Furthermore, we examined early life stress, brooding, and impulsivity as predictors of suicidal ideation over time. Participants with and without a history of early life stress were genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and completed assessments assessing brooding and negative urgency at baseline and 6-month follow up. Early life emotional abuse was associated with negative urgency at follow-up. We found an indirect effect of early life emotional abuse on negative urgency through brooding among individuals with 5-HTT low expressing genotypes but not among individuals with 5-HTT high expressing genotypes. Further, a logistic regression analysis revealed that negative urgency was associated with higher odds (O.R. = 16.2) of reporting suicide ideation (versus no ideation) at follow-up. Our findings suggest that brooding and negative urgency may result from the interaction between early life emotional abuse and 5-HTT low expressing genotypes. Further research is necessary to understand how early life stress interacts with 5-HTT genotypes to confer risk for suicidal behavior through psychological mechanisms. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Early Life Stress Effects on Glucocorticoid—BDNF Interplay in the Hippocampus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daskalakis, Nikolaos P.; De Kloet, Edo Ronald; Yehuda, Rachel; Malaspina, Dolores; Kranz, Thorsten M.

    2015-01-01

    Early life stress (ELS) is implicated in the etiology of multiple psychiatric disorders. Important biological effects of ELS are manifested in stress-susceptible regions of the hippocampus and are partially mediated by long-term effects on glucocorticoid (GC) and/or neurotrophin signaling pathways. GC-signaling mediates the regulation of stress response to maintain homeostasis, while neurotrophin signaling plays a key role in neuronal outgrowth and is crucial for axonal guidance and synaptic integrity. The neurotrophin and GC-signaling pathways co-exist throughout the central nervous system (CNS), particularly in the hippocampus, which has high expression levels of glucocorticoid-receptors (GR) and mineralocorticoid-receptors (MR) as well as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its receptor, tropomyosin-related kinase receptor B (TrkB). This review addresses the effects of ELS paradigms on GC- and BDNF-dependent mechanisms and their crosstalk in the hippocampus, including potential implications for the pathogenesis of common stress-related disorders. PMID:26635521

  10. Interaction between early-life stress and FKBP5 gene variants in major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qingzhong; Shelton, Richard C; Dwivedi, Yogesh

    2018-01-01

    Gene-environment interaction contributes to the risks of psychiatric disorders. Interactions between FKBP5 gene variants and early-life stress may enhance the risk not only for mood disorder, but also for a number of other behavioral phenotypes. The aim of the present study was to review and conduct a meta-analysis on the results from published studies examining interaction between FKBP5 gene variants and early-life stress and their associations with stress-related disorders such as major depression and PTSD. A literature search was conducted using PsychINFO and PubMed databases until May 2017. A total of 14 studies with a pooled total of 15109 participants met the inclusion criteria, the results of which were combined and a meta-analysis was performed using the differences in correlations as the effect measure. Based on literature, rs1360780, rs3800373, and rs9470080 SNPs were selected within the FKBP5 gene and systematic review was conducted. Based on the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software, no publication bias was detected. Sensitivity analysis and credibility of meta-analysis results also indicated that the analyses were stable. The meta-analysis showed that individuals who carry T allele of rs1360780, C-allele of rs3800373 or T-allele of rs9470080 exposed to early-life trauma had higher risks for depression or PTSD. The effects of ethnicity, age, sex, and different stress measures were not examined due to limited sample size. These results provide strong evidence of interactions between FKBP5 genotypes and early-life stress, which could pose a significant risk factor for stress-associated disorders such as major depression and PTSD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Early life stress and inflammatory mechanisms of fatigue in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Hyong Jin; Bower, Julienne E; Kiefe, Catarina I; Seeman, Teresa E; Irwin, Michael R

    2012-08-01

    Fatigue is highly prevalent and causes serious disruption in quality of life. Although cross-sectional studies suggest childhood adversity is associated with adulthood fatigue, longitudinal evidence of this relationship and its specific biological mechanisms have not been established. This longitudinal study examined the association between early life stress and adulthood fatigue and tested whether this association was mediated by low-grade systemic inflammation as indexed by circulating C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). In the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, a population-based longitudinal study conducted in 4 US cities, early life stress was retrospectively assessed in 2716 African-American and white adults using the Risky Families Questionnaire at Year 15 examination (2000-2001, ages 33-45 years). Fatigue as indexed by a loss of subjective vitality using the Vitality Subscale of the 12-item Short Form Health Survey was assessed at both Years 15 and 20. While CRP was measured at both Years 15 and 20, IL-6 was measured only at Year 20. Early life stress assessed at Year 15 was associated with adulthood fatigue at Year 20 after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, body-mass index, medication use, medical comorbidity, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, current stress, pain, sleep disturbance as well as Year 15 fatigue (adjusted beta 0.047, P=0.007). However, neither CRP nor IL-6 was a significant mediator of this association. In summary, early life stress assessed in adulthood was associated with fatigue 5 years later, but this association was not mediated by low-grade systemic inflammation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Early Maternal Deprivation Enhances Voluntary Alcohol Intake Induced by Exposure to Stressful Events Later in Life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Peñasco

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In the present study, we aimed to assess the impact of early life stress, in the form of early maternal deprivation (MD, 24 h on postnatal day, pnd, 9, on voluntary alcohol intake in adolescent male and female Wistar rats. During adolescence, from pnd 28 to pnd 50, voluntary ethanol intake (20%, v/v was investigated using the two-bottle free choice paradigm. To better understand the relationship between stress and alcohol consumption, voluntary alcohol intake was also evaluated following additional stressful events later in life, that is, a week of alcohol cessation and a week of alcohol cessation combined with exposure to restraint stress. Female animals consumed more alcohol than males only after a second episode of alcohol cessation combined with restraint stress. MD did not affect baseline voluntary alcohol intake but increased voluntary alcohol intake after stress exposure, indicating that MD may render animals more vulnerable to the effects of stress on alcohol intake. During adolescence, when animals had free access to alcohol, MD animals showed lower body weight gain but a higher growth rate than control animals. Moreover, the higher growth rate was accompanied by a decrease in food intake, suggesting an altered metabolic regulation in MD animals that may interact with alcohol intake.

  13. Stress exposure in early post-natal life reduces telomere length: an experimental demonstration in a long-lived seabird

    OpenAIRE

    Herborn, Katherine A.; Heidinger, Britt J.; Boner, Winnie; Noguera, Jose C.; Adam, Aileen; Daunt, Francis; Monaghan, Pat

    2014-01-01

    Exposure to stressors early in life is associated with faster ageing and reduced longevity. One important mechanism that could underlie these late life effects is increased telomere loss. Telomere length in early post-natal life is an important predictor of subsequent lifespan, but the factors underpinning its variability are poorly understood. Recent human studies have linked stress exposure to increased telomere loss. These studies have of necessity been non-experimental and are consequentl...

  14. Psychosocially influenced cancer: diverse early-life stress experiences and links to breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuler, Linda A; Auger, Anthony P

    2010-11-01

    This perspective on Boyd et al. (beginning on page 1398 in this issue of the journal) discusses recent published research examining the interplay between social stress and breast cancer. Cross-disciplinary studies using genetically defined mouse models and established neonatal and peripubertal paradigms of social stress are illuminating biological programming by diverse early-life experiences for the risk of breast cancer. Understanding the mechanisms underlying this programming can lead to the identification of risk factors and sensitive developmental windows, enabling improved prevention and treatment strategies for this devastating disease. ©2010 AACR.

  15. Modifications of glucocorticoid receptors mRNA expression in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in response to early-life stress in female Japanese quail.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmer, C; Spencer, K A

    2014-12-01

    Stress exposure during early-life development can programme individual brain and physiology. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is one of the primary targets of this programming, which is generally associated with a hyperactive HPA axis, indicative of a reduced negative-feedback. This reduced feedback efficiency usually results from a reduced level of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and/or the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) within the HPA axis. However, a few studies have shown that early-life stress exposure results in an attenuated physiological stress response, suggesting an enhance feedback efficiency. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether early-life stress had long-term consequences on GR and MR levels in quail and whether the effects on the physiological response to acute stress observed in prenatally stressed individuals were underpinned by changes in GR and/or MR levels in one or more HPA axis components. We determined GR and MR mRNA expression in the hippocampus, hypothalamus and pituitary gland in quail exposed to elevated corticosterone during prenatal development, postnatal development, or both, and in control individuals exposed to none of the stressors. We showed that prenatal stress increased the GR:MR ratio in the hippocampus, GR and MR expression in the hypothalamus and GR expression in the pituitary gland. Postnatal stress resulted in a reduced MR expression in the hippocampus. Both early-life treatments permanently affected the expression of both receptor types in HPA axis regions. The effects of prenatal stress are in accordance with a more efficient negative-feedback within the HPA axis and thus can explain the attenuated stress response observed in these birds. Therefore, these changes in receptor density or number as a consequence of early-life stress exposure might be the mechanism that allows an adaptive response to later-life stressful conditions. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Neuroendocrinology published by

  16. Blocking glucocorticoid receptors at adolescent age prevents enhanced freezing between repeated cue-exposures after conditioned fear in adult mice raised under chronic early life stress

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marit Arp, J; Ter Horst, Judith P; Loi, Manila; den Blaauwen, Jan; Bangert, Eline; Fernández, Guillén; Joëls, Marian; Oitzl, Melly S; Krugers, Harm

    2016-01-01

    Early life adversity can have long-lasting impact on learning and memory processes and increase the risk to develop stress-related psychopathologies later in life. In this study we investigated i) how chronic early life stress (ELS) - elicited by limited nesting and bedding material from postnatal

  17. The Impact of Early Life Stress on Growth and Cardiovascular Risk: A Possible Example for Autonomic Imprinting?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchhorn, Reiner; Meint, Sebastian; Willaschek, Christian

    2016-01-01

    Early life stress is imprinting regulatory properties with life-long consequences. We investigated heart rate variability in a group of small children with height below the third percentile, who experienced an episode of early life stress due to heart failure or intra uterine growth retardation. These children appear to develop autonomic dysfunction in later life. Compared to the healthy control group heart rate variability (HRV) is reduced on average in a group of 101 children with short stature. Low HRV correlates to groups of children born small for gestational age (SGA), children with cardiac growth failure and children with congenital syndromes, but not to those with constitutional growth delay (CGD), who had normal HRV. Reduced HRV indicated by lower RMSSD and High Frequency (HF)-Power is indicating reduced vagal activity as a sign of autonomic imbalance. It is not short stature itself, but rather the underlying diseases that are the cause for reduced HRV in children with height below the third percentile. These high risk children-allocated in the groups with an adverse autonomic imprinting in utero or infancy (SGA, congenital heart disease and congenital syndromes)-have the highest risk for 'stress diseases' such as cardiovascular disease in later life. The incidence of attention deficit disorder is remarkably high in our group of short children.

  18. Modulation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis by Early Life Stress Exposure

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Bodegom, Miranda; Homberg, Judith R.; Henckens, Marloes J. A. G.

    2017-01-01

    Exposure to stress during critical periods in development can have severe long-term consequences, increasing overall risk on psychopathology. One of the key stress response systems mediating these long-term effects of stress is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis; a cascade of central and peripheral events resulting in the release of corticosteroids from the adrenal glands. Activation of the HPA-axis affects brain functioning to ensure a proper behavioral response to the stressor, but stress-induced (mal)adaptation of the HPA-axis' functional maturation may provide a mechanistic basis for the altered stress susceptibility later in life. Development of the HPA-axis and the brain regions involved in its regulation starts prenatally and continues after birth, and is protected by several mechanisms preventing corticosteroid over-exposure to the maturing brain. Nevertheless, early life stress (ELS) exposure has been reported to have numerous consequences on HPA-axis function in adulthood, affecting both its basal and stress-induced activity. According to the match/mismatch theory, encountering ELS prepares an organism for similar (“matching”) adversities during adulthood, while a mismatching environment results in an increased susceptibility to psychopathology, indicating that ELS can exert either beneficial or disadvantageous effects depending on the environmental context. Here, we review studies investigating the mechanistic underpinnings of the ELS-induced alterations in the structural and functional development of the HPA-axis and its key external regulators (amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex). The effects of ELS appear highly dependent on the developmental time window affected, the sex of the offspring, and the developmental stage at which effects are assessed. Albeit by distinct mechanisms, ELS induced by prenatal stressors, maternal separation, or the limited nesting model inducing fragmented maternal care, typically results in HPA

  19. Early Life Stress Effects on the Glucocorticoid - BDNF interplay in the Hippocampus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolaos P Daskalakis

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Early life stress (ELS is implicated in the etiology of multiple psychiatric disorders. Important biological effects of ELS are manifested in stress-susceptible regions of the hippocampus and are partially mediated by long-term effects on glucocorticoid and/or neurotrophin signaling pathways. Glucocorticoid (GC signaling mediates the regulation of the stress response to maintain homeostasis, while neurotrophin signaling plays a key role in neuronal outgrowth and is crucial for axonal guidance and synaptic integrity. The neurotrophin and glucocorticoid signaling pathways co-exist throughout the central nervous system (CNS, particularly in the hippocampus, which has high expression of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors (GR and MR as well as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF and its receptor, tropomyosin-related kinase receptor B (TrkB. This review addresses the effects of ELS paradigms on GC- and BDNF- dependent mechanisms and their crosstalk in the hippocampus, including potential implications for the pathogenesis of common stress-related disorders.

  20. Early life adversity: Lasting consequences for emotional learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harm J. Krugers

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The early postnatal period is a highly sensitive time period for the developing brain, both in humans and rodents. During this time window, exposure to adverse experiences can lastingly impact cognitive and emotional development. In this review, we briefly discuss human and rodent studies investigating how exposure to adverse early life conditions – mainly related to quality of parental care - affects brain activity, brain structure, cognition and emotional responses later in life. We discuss the evidence that early life adversity hampers later hippocampal and prefrontal cortex functions, while increasing amygdala activity, and the sensitivity to stressors and emotional behavior later in life. Exposure to early life stress may thus on the one hand promote behavioral adaptation to potentially threatening conditions later in life –at the cost of contextual memory formation in less threatening situations- but may on the other hand also increase the sensitivity to develop stress-related and anxiety disorders in vulnerable individuals.

  1. Early-life stress and the development of obesity and insulin resistance in juvenile bonnet macaques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaufman, Daniel; Banerji, Mary Ann; Shorman, Igor; Smith, Eric L P; Coplan, Jeremy D; Rosenblum, Leonard A; Kral, John G

    2007-05-01

    Stress is a risk factor for chronic illnesses such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension and has been postulated to cause the metabolic syndrome via perturbation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. In our model of early-life stress (variable foraging demand [VFD]), food insecurity is imposed on monkey mothers for 16 weeks beginning when their nursing offspring are 3-5 months of age. Under VFD, food availability is never restricted, and the infant's growth is unaffected. VFD rearing does, however, cause a range of neurobiological abnormalities, including dysregulation of the HPA axis, manifested in abnormal cerebrospinal fluid cortisol and corticotropin-releasing factor levels. We previously reported spontaneous occurrence of metabolic syndrome in 14% of normally reared peripubertal bonnet macaques given ad libitum access to standard monkey chow. Here, we show that compared with normally reared monkeys, peripubertal VFD juveniles exhibit greater weight, BMI, abdominal circumference, and glucagon-like peptide-1 and decreased glucose disposal rates during hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps. Our data suggest that early-life stress during a critical period of neuro development can result in the peripubertal emergence of obesity and insulin resistance.

  2. Early life low-level cadmium exposure is positively associated with increased oxidative stress

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kippler, Maria [Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Box 210, SE-171 77 Stockholm (Sweden); Bakhtiar Hossain, Mohammad [International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), Dhaka 1212 (Bangladesh); Department of Laboratory Medicine, Section of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund (Sweden); Lindh, Christian [International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), Dhaka 1212 (Bangladesh); Moore, Sophie E. [MRC Keneba, MRC Laboratories (Gambia); Kabir, Iqbal [Department of Laboratory Medicine, Section of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund (Sweden); Vahter, Marie [Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Box 210, SE-171 77 Stockholm (Sweden); Broberg, Karin, E-mail: karin.broberg_palmgren@med.lu.se [International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), Dhaka 1212 (Bangladesh)

    2012-01-15

    Environmental exposure to cadmium (Cd) is known to induce oxidative stress, a state of imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the ability to detoxify them, in adults. However, data are lacking on potential effects in early-life. We evaluated urinary concentrations of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2 Prime -deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), a recognized marker of oxidative DNA damage, in relation to Cd exposure in 96 predominantly breast-fed infants (11-17 weeks of age) in rural Bangladesh. Urinary 8-oxodG was measured using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and Cd in urine and breast milk by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Median concentration of 8-oxodG was 3.9 nmol/L, urinary Cd 0.30 {mu}g/L, and breast-milk Cd 0.13 {mu}g/L. In linear regression analyses, urinary 8-oxodG was positively associated with Cd in both urine (p=0.00067) and breast milk (p=0.0021), and negatively associated with body weight (kg; p=0.0041). Adjustment for age, body weight, socio-economic status, urinary arsenic, as well as magnesium, calcium, and copper in breast milk did not change the association between Cd exposure and urinary 8-oxodG. These findings suggest that early-life low-level exposure to Cd via breast milk induces oxidative stress. Further studies are warranted to elucidate whether this oxidative stress is associated with impaired child health and development.

  3. Early life low-level cadmium exposure is positively associated with increased oxidative stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kippler, Maria; Bakhtiar Hossain, Mohammad; Lindh, Christian; Moore, Sophie E.; Kabir, Iqbal; Vahter, Marie; Broberg, Karin

    2012-01-01

    Environmental exposure to cadmium (Cd) is known to induce oxidative stress, a state of imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the ability to detoxify them, in adults. However, data are lacking on potential effects in early-life. We evaluated urinary concentrations of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), a recognized marker of oxidative DNA damage, in relation to Cd exposure in 96 predominantly breast-fed infants (11–17 weeks of age) in rural Bangladesh. Urinary 8-oxodG was measured using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and Cd in urine and breast milk by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Median concentration of 8-oxodG was 3.9 nmol/L, urinary Cd 0.30 μg/L, and breast-milk Cd 0.13 μg/L. In linear regression analyses, urinary 8-oxodG was positively associated with Cd in both urine (p=0.00067) and breast milk (p=0.0021), and negatively associated with body weight (kg; p=0.0041). Adjustment for age, body weight, socio-economic status, urinary arsenic, as well as magnesium, calcium, and copper in breast milk did not change the association between Cd exposure and urinary 8-oxodG. These findings suggest that early-life low-level exposure to Cd via breast milk induces oxidative stress. Further studies are warranted to elucidate whether this oxidative stress is associated with impaired child health and development.

  4. Stressful life events and neuroticism as predictors of late-life versus early-life depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, Kerstin; Giannakopoulos, Panteleimon; Herrmann, François R; Bartolomei, Javier; Digiorgio, Sergio; Ortiz Chicherio, Nadia; Delaloye, Christophe; Ghisletta, Paolo; Lecerf, Thierry; De Ribaupierre, Anik; Canuto, Alessandra

    2013-12-01

    The occurrence of depression in younger adults is related to the combination of long-standing factors such as personality traits (neuroticism) and more acute factors such as the subjective impact of stressful life events. Whether an increase in physical illnesses changes these associations in old age depression remains a matter of debate. We compared 79 outpatients with major depression and 102 never-depressed controls; subjects included both young (mean age: 35 years) and older (mean age: 70 years) adults. Assessments included the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, NEO Personality Inventory and Cumulative Illness Rating Scale. Logistic regression models analyzed the association between depression and subjective impact of stressful life events while controlling for neuroticism and physical illness. Patients and controls experienced the same number of stressful life events in the past 12 months. However, in contrast to the controls, patients associated the events with a subjective negative emotional impact. Negative stress impact and levels of neuroticism, but not physical illness, significantly predicted depression in young age. In old age, negative stress impact was weakly associated with depression. In this age group, depressive illness was also determined by physical illness burden and neuroticism. Our data suggest that the subjective impact of life stressors, although rated as of the same magnitude, plays a less important role in accounting for depression in older age compared to young age. They also indicate an increasing weight of physical illness burden in the prediction of depression occurrence in old age. © 2013 The Authors. Psychogeriatrics © 2013 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

  5. The effect of early life stress on the cognitive phenotype of children with an extra X chromosome (47,XXY/47,XXX).

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Rijn, Sophie; Barneveld, Petra; Descheemaeker, Mie-Jef; Giltay, Jacques; Swaab, Hanna

    2018-02-01

    Studies on gene-environment interactions suggest that some individuals may be more susceptible to life adversities than others due to their genetic profile. This study assesses whether or not children with an extra X chromosome are more vulnerable to the negative impact of early life stress on cognitive functioning than typically-developing children. A total of 50 children with an extra X chromosome and 103 non-clinical controls aged 9 to 18 years participated in the study. Cognitive functioning in domains of language, social cognition and executive functioning were assessed. Early life stress was measured with the Questionnaire of Life Events. High levels of early life stress were found to be associated with compromised executive functioning in the areas of mental flexibility and inhibitory control, irrespective of group membership. In contrast, the children with an extra X chromosome were found to be disproportionally vulnerable to deficits in social cognition on top of executive dysfunction, as compared to typically-developing children. Within the extra X group the number of negative life events is significantly correlated with more problems in inhibition, mental flexibility and social cognition. It is concluded that children with an extra X chromosome are vulnerable to adverse life events, with social cognition being particularly impacted in addition to the negative effects on executive functioning. The findings that developmental outcome is codependent on early environmental factors in genetically vulnerable children also underscores opportunities for training and support to positively influence the course of development.

  6. Relationship between early-life stress load and sleep in psychiatric outpatients: a sleep diary and actigraphy study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schäfer, Valérie; Bader, Klaus

    2013-08-01

    The present study aimed to investigate whether stress experienced early in life is associated with actigraphic and subjective sleep measures in a sample of adult psychiatric outpatients. A total of 48 psychiatric outpatients completed self-report questionnaires assessing current depression, current anxiety symptoms and stress load during childhood (before the age of 13 years), adolescence (between the age of 13 and 18 years) and adulthood (between the age of 19 and current age). Sleep-related activity was measured using 24-h wrist actigraphy over a 7-day period at home, during which participants also kept a sleep diary. High stress load in childhood, but not in adolescence, was associated with shortened actigraphically assessed total sleep time, prolonged sleep onset latency, decreased sleep efficiency and an increased number of body movements in sleep, even after accounting for the effects of later occurring stress and psychopathological symptoms such as depression and anxiety scores. Unexpectedly, no significant associations between early-life stress load and subjective sleep measures were found. Results are consistent with findings from previous studies indicating an association between childhood adversities and higher levels of nocturnal activity. The findings suggest that high stress load during childhood might be a vulnerability factor for sleep continuity problems in adulthood. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Early life exposure to a rodent carcinogen propiconazole fungicide induces oxidative stress and hepatocarcinogenesis in medaka fish

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tu, Tzu-Yi; Hong, Chwan-Yang [Department of Agricultural Chemistry, College of Bio-Resources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Sasado, Takao [Laboratory of Bioresources, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki (Japan); Kashiwada, Shosaku [Research Center for Life and Environmental Sciences, Department of Life Sciences, the Toyo University, Gunma (Japan); Chen, Pei-Jen, E-mail: chenpj@ntu.edu.tw [Department of Agricultural Chemistry, College of Bio-Resources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (China)

    2016-01-15

    Highlights: • Propiconazole initiates ROS-induced oxidative stress and damage in medaka fish. • Early life exposure to propiconazole increases incidence of hepatocarcionogensis in p53{sup −/−} medaka. • Oxidative stress and CYP induction involved in p53 regulation are key events in propiconazole-induced hepatotumorigenesis. • Propiconazole-induced toxic response in medaka is compatible with that in rodents. - Abstract: Conazole pollution is an emerging concern to human health and environmental safety because of the broad use of conazole fungicides in agriculture and medicine and their frequent occurrence in aquifers. The agricultural pesticide propiconazole has received much regulatory interest because it is a known rodent carcinogen with evidence of multiple adverse effects in mammals and non-targeted organisms. However, the carcinogenic effect and associated mechanism of propiconazole in fish under microgram-per-liter levels of environmental-relevant exposure remains unclear. To explore whether early life of propiconzaole exposure would induce oxidative stress and latent carcinogenic effects in fish, we continuously exposed larvae of wild type or p53{sup −/−} mutant of medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) to propiconazole (2.5–250 μg/L) for 3, 7, 14 or 28 days and assessed liver histopathology and/or the oxidative stress response and gene expression during exposure and throughout adulthood. Propiconazole dose-dependently induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, altered homeostasis of antioxidant superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione S-transferase and caused lipid and protein peroxidation during early life exposure in wild type medaka. Such exposure also significantly upregulated gene expression of the cytochrome P450 CYP1A, but marginally suppressed that of tumor suppressor p53 in adults. Furthermore, histopathology revealed that p53{sup −/−} mutant medaka with early life exposure to propiconazole showed increased incidence of

  8. Early life exposure to a rodent carcinogen propiconazole fungicide induces oxidative stress and hepatocarcinogenesis in medaka fish

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tu, Tzu-Yi; Hong, Chwan-Yang; Sasado, Takao; Kashiwada, Shosaku; Chen, Pei-Jen

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Propiconazole initiates ROS-induced oxidative stress and damage in medaka fish. • Early life exposure to propiconazole increases incidence of hepatocarcionogensis in p53"−"/"− medaka. • Oxidative stress and CYP induction involved in p53 regulation are key events in propiconazole-induced hepatotumorigenesis. • Propiconazole-induced toxic response in medaka is compatible with that in rodents. - Abstract: Conazole pollution is an emerging concern to human health and environmental safety because of the broad use of conazole fungicides in agriculture and medicine and their frequent occurrence in aquifers. The agricultural pesticide propiconazole has received much regulatory interest because it is a known rodent carcinogen with evidence of multiple adverse effects in mammals and non-targeted organisms. However, the carcinogenic effect and associated mechanism of propiconazole in fish under microgram-per-liter levels of environmental-relevant exposure remains unclear. To explore whether early life of propiconzaole exposure would induce oxidative stress and latent carcinogenic effects in fish, we continuously exposed larvae of wild type or p53"−"/"− mutant of medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) to propiconazole (2.5–250 μg/L) for 3, 7, 14 or 28 days and assessed liver histopathology and/or the oxidative stress response and gene expression during exposure and throughout adulthood. Propiconazole dose-dependently induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, altered homeostasis of antioxidant superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione S-transferase and caused lipid and protein peroxidation during early life exposure in wild type medaka. Such exposure also significantly upregulated gene expression of the cytochrome P450 CYP1A, but marginally suppressed that of tumor suppressor p53 in adults. Furthermore, histopathology revealed that p53"−"/"− mutant medaka with early life exposure to propiconazole showed increased incidence of

  9. Early life stress induces long-term changes in limbic areas of a teleost fish: the role of catecholamine systems in stress coping

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vindas, Marco A.; Fokos, Stefanos; Pavlidis, Michail

    2018-01-01

    Early life stress (ELS) shapes the way individuals cope with future situations. Animals use cognitive flexibility to cope with their ever-changing environment and this is mainly processed in forebrain areas. We investigated the performance of juvenile gilthead seabream, previously subjected...... of post-stress response in the β2 adrenergic receptor expression and a downregulation in bdnf in the Dm3 of ELS fish, which together indicate an allostatic overload in their stress coping ability. ELS fish showed higher neuronal activity (cfos) post-acute stress in the hippocampus homologue (Dlv...

  10. Early life stress interactions with the epigenome: potential mechanisms driving vulnerability towards psychiatric illness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olive, Michael Foster

    2014-01-01

    Throughout the 20th century a body of literature concerning the long lasting effects of early environment was produced. Adverse experiences in early life, or early life stress (ELS), is associated with a higher risk for developing various psychiatric illnesses. The mechanisms driving the complex interplay between ELS and adult phenotype has baffled many investigators for decades. Over the last decade, the new field of neuroepigenetics has emerged as one possible mechanism by which ELS can have far reaching effects on adult phenotype, behavior, and risk for psychiatric illness. Here we review two commonly investigated epigenetic mechanisms, histone modifications and DNA methylation, and the emerging field of neuroepigenetics as they relate to ELS. We discuss the current animal literature demonstrating ELS induced epigenetic modulation of gene expression that results in altered adult phenotypes. We also briefly discuss other areas in which neuroepigenetics has emerged as a potential mechanism underlying environmental and genetic interactions. PMID:25003947

  11. Early-life stress interactions with the epigenome: potential mechanisms driving vulnerability toward psychiatric illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Candace R; Olive, M Foster

    2014-09-01

    Throughout the 20th century a body of literature concerning the long-lasting effects of the early environment was produced. Adverse experiences in early life, or early-life stress (ELS), is associated with a higher risk of developing various psychiatric illnesses. The mechanisms driving the complex interplay between ELS and adult phenotype has baffled many investigators for decades. Over the last decade, the new field of neuroepigenetics has emerged as one possible mechanism by which ELS can have far-reaching effects on adult phenotype, behavior, and risk for psychiatric illness. Here we review two commonly investigated epigenetic mechanisms, histone modifications and DNA methylation, and the emerging field of neuroepigenetics as they relate to ELS. We discuss the current animal literature demonstrating ELS-induced epigenetic modulation of gene expression that results in altered adult phenotypes. We also briefly discuss other areas in which neuroepigenetics has emerged as a potential mechanism underlying environmental and genetic interactions.

  12. Early Life Stress as a Risk Factor for Substance use Disorders: Clinical and Neurobiological Substrates

    OpenAIRE

    Varghese, Sajoy Purathumuriyil; Montalvo-Ortiz, Janitza L.; Csernansky, John G.; Eiger, Rodney I.; Herrold, Amy A.; Koola, Maju Mathew; Dong, Hongxin

    2015-01-01

    Background: Early Life Stress (ELS) can profoundly influence an individual′s genotype and phenotype. Effects of ELS can manifest in the short-term, late life and even in subsequent generations. ELS activate corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF); CRF influences drug seeking and addiction. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of endogenous elevated levels of CRF on addiction. Materials and Methods: Inducible forebrain over-expression of CRF mice (tetop-CRH x CaMKII-tTA) was used for...

  13. The Serotonin Transporter and Early Life Stress: Translational Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jocelien D. A. Olivier

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The interaction between the serotonin transporter (SERT linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR and adverse early life stressing (ELS events is associated with enhanced stress susceptibility and risk to develop mental disorders like major depression, anxiety, and aggressiveness. In particular, human short allele carriers are at increased risk. This 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is absent in the rodent SERT gene, but heterozygous SERT knockout rodents (SERT+/− show several similarities to the human S-allele carrier, therefore creating an animal model of the human situation. Many rodent studies investigated ELS interactions in SERT knockout rodents combined with ELS. However, underlying neuromolecular mechanisms of the (maladaptive responses to adversity displayed by SERT rodents remain to be elucidated. Here, we provide a comprehensive review including studies describing mechanisms underlying SERT variation × ELS interactions in rodents. Alterations at the level of translation and transcription but also epigenetic alterations considerably contribute to underlying mechanisms of SERT variation × ELS interactions. In particular, SERT+/− rodents exposed to adverse early rearing environment may be of high translational and predictive value to the more stress sensitive human short-allele carrier, considering the similarity in neurochemical alterations. Therefore, SERT+/− rodents are highly relevant in research that aims to unravel the complex psychopathology of mental disorders. So far, most studies fail to show solid evidence for increased vulnerability to develop affective-like behavior after ELS in SERT+/− rodents. Several reasons may underlie these failures, e.g., (1 stressors used might not be optimal or severe enough to induce maladaptations, (2 effects in females are not sufficiently studied, and (3 few studies include both behavioral manifestations and molecular correlates of ELS-induced effects in SERT+/− rodents. Of course, one should not

  14. The Serotonin Transporter and Early Life Stress: Translational Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houwing, Danielle J.; Buwalda, Bauke; van der Zee, Eddy A.; de Boer, Sietse F.; Olivier, Jocelien D. A.

    2017-01-01

    The interaction between the serotonin transporter (SERT) linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) and adverse early life stressing (ELS) events is associated with enhanced stress susceptibility and risk to develop mental disorders like major depression, anxiety, and aggressiveness. In particular, human short allele carriers are at increased risk. This 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is absent in the rodent SERT gene, but heterozygous SERT knockout rodents (SERT+/−) show several similarities to the human S-allele carrier, therefore creating an animal model of the human situation. Many rodent studies investigated ELS interactions in SERT knockout rodents combined with ELS. However, underlying neuromolecular mechanisms of the (mal)adaptive responses to adversity displayed by SERT rodents remain to be elucidated. Here, we provide a comprehensive review including studies describing mechanisms underlying SERT variation × ELS interactions in rodents. Alterations at the level of translation and transcription but also epigenetic alterations considerably contribute to underlying mechanisms of SERT variation × ELS interactions. In particular, SERT+/− rodents exposed to adverse early rearing environment may be of high translational and predictive value to the more stress sensitive human short-allele carrier, considering the similarity in neurochemical alterations. Therefore, SERT+/− rodents are highly relevant in research that aims to unravel the complex psychopathology of mental disorders. So far, most studies fail to show solid evidence for increased vulnerability to develop affective-like behavior after ELS in SERT+/− rodents. Several reasons may underlie these failures, e.g., (1) stressors used might not be optimal or severe enough to induce maladaptations, (2) effects in females are not sufficiently studied, and (3) few studies include both behavioral manifestations and molecular correlates of ELS-induced effects in SERT+/− rodents. Of course, one should not exclude the

  15. The positive and negative consequences of stressors during early life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monaghan, Pat; Haussmann, Mark F

    2015-11-01

    We discuss the long-term effects of stress exposure in pre- and early postnal life. We present an evolutionary framework within which such effects can be viewed, and describe how the outcomes might vary with species life histories. We focus on stressors that induce increases in glucocorticoid hormones and discuss the advantages of an experimental approach. We describe a number of studies demonstrating how exposure to these hormones in early life can influence stress responsiveness and have substantial long-term, negative consequences for adult longevity. We also describe how early life exposure to mild levels of stressors can have beneficial effects on resilience to stress in later life, and discuss how the balance of costs and benefits is likely dependent on the nature of the adult environment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Sex differences in depression-like behavior after nerve injury are associated with differential changes in brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in mice subjected to early life stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishinaka, Takashi; Kinoshita, Megumi; Nakamoto, Kazuo; Tokuyama, Shogo

    2015-04-10

    We recently demonstrated that exposure to early life stress exacerbates nerve injury-induced thermal and mechanical hypersensitivity in adult male and female mice. Accumulating evidence suggests that chronic pain causes emotional dysfunction, such as anxiety and depression. In the present study, we investigated the impact of early life stress on depression-like behavior after nerve injury in mice. In addition, we examined the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is known to be involved in the pathogenesis of depression. Early life stress was induced by maternal separation between 2 and 3 weeks of age combined with social isolation after weaning (MSSI). At 9 weeks of age, the sciatic nerve was partially ligated to elicit neuropathic pain. Depression-like behavior was evaluated using the forced swim test at 12 weeks of age. Tissue samples from different regions of the brain were collected at the end of maternal separation (3 weeks of age) or after the forced swim test (12 weeks of age). At 12 weeks of age, immobility time in the forced swim test was increased only in MSSI-stressed female mice with nerve injury. BDNF expression was increased in male, but not female, MSSI-stressed mice at 3 weeks of age. However, MSSI stress did not impact BDNF expression in male or female mice at 12 weeks of age. Our findings suggest that exposure to early life stress exacerbates emotional dysfunction induced by neuropathic pain in a sex-dependent manner. Changes in BDNF expression after early life stress may be associated with neuropathic pain-induced depression-like behavior in adulthood. Furthermore, sex differences in BDNF expression after exposure to early life stress may contribute to sex-specific susceptibility to neuropathic pain-induced emotional dysfunction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. The effect of early-life stress and chronic high-sucrose diet on metabolic outcomes in female rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maniam, Jayanthi; Antoniadis, Christopher P; Morris, Margaret J

    2015-01-01

    Early-life stress affects metabolic outcomes and choice of diet influences the development of metabolic disease. Here we tested the hypothesis that chronic sugar intake exacerbates metabolic deficits induced by early-life stress. Early-life stress was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats using limited nesting material in early lactation (LN, postnatal days 2-9), and siblings were given chow alone or with additional sucrose post weaning (n = 9-17 per group). Female control and LN siblings had unlimited access to either chow plus water, or chow and water plus 25% sucrose solution (Sucrose), from 3-15 weeks of age. Weekly body weight and food intake were measured. Glucose and insulin tolerance were tested at 13 and 14 weeks of age, respectively. Rats were killed at 15 weeks. Hepatic triglyceride and markers of lipid synthesis - fatty acid synthase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase alpha and oxidation - and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (Pgc-1α) were examined. Mediators of hepatic glucocorticoid metabolism, specifically 11-beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-1 (11βHSD-1), 5-α reductase, and glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptor mRNAs were also measured. Sucrose increased caloric intake in both groups, but overall energy intake was not altered by LN exposure. LN exposure had no further impact on sucrose-induced glucose intolerance and increased plasma and liver triglycerides. Hepatic markers of fat synthesis and oxidation were concomitantly activated and 11βHSD-1 mRNA expression was increased by 53% in LN-Sucrose versus Con-Sucrose rats. Adiposity was increased by 26% in LN-Sucrose versus Con-Sucrose rats. Thus, LN exposure had minimal adverse metabolic effects despite high-sugar diet postweaning.

  18. Early life experience contributes to the developmental programming of depressive-like behaviour, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Réus, Gislaine Z; Fernandes, Gabrielly C; de Moura, Airam B; Silva, Ritele H; Darabas, Ana Caroline; de Souza, Thays G; Abelaira, Helena M; Carneiro, Celso; Wendhausen, Diogo; Michels, Monique; Pescador, Bruna; Dal-Pizzol, Felipe; Macêdo, Danielle S; Quevedo, João

    2017-12-01

    This study used an animal model of depression induced by maternal care deprivation (MCD) to investigate whether depressive behaviour, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress were underlying factors in developmental programming after early life stress. At postnatal days (PND) 20, 30, 40, and 60, individual subsets of animals were evaluated in behavioural tests and then euthanized to assess cytokine levels and oxidative stress parameters in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus and serum. The results showed that MCD did not induce behavioural changes at PND 30 and 40. However, at PND 20 and 60, the rats displayed a depressive-like behaviour in the forced swimming test, without changes in locomotor spontaneous activity. In the brain and serum, the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)) were increased, and the anti-inflammatory cytokine (interleukin-10) level was reduced throughout developmental programming (PND 20, 30, 40 and 60). Protein carbonyl levels increased in the brain at PND 30, 40 and 60. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was decreased during all developmental programming phases evaluated in the brain. Catalase (CAT) activity was decreased at PND 20, 40 and 60 in the brain. Our results revealed that "critical episodes" in early life stressful events are able to induce behavioural alterations that persist into adulthood and can stimulate inflammation and oxidative damage in both central and peripheral systems, which are required for distinct patterns of resilience against psychiatric disorders later in life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Early Life Adversity as a Risk Factor for Fibromyalgia in Later Life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucie A. Low

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The impact of early life events is increasingly becoming apparent, as studies investigate how early childhood can shape long-term physiology and behaviour. Fibromyalgia (FM, which is characterised by increased pain sensitivity and a number of affective co-morbidities, has an unclear etiology. This paper discusses risk factors from early life that may increase the occurrence or severity of FM in later life: pain experience during neonatal life causes long-lasting changes in nociceptive circuitry and increases pain sensitivity in the older organism; premature birth and related stressor exposure cause lasting changes in stress responsivity; maternal deprivation affects anxiety-like behaviours that may be partially mediated by epigenetic modulation of the genome—all these adult phenotypes are strikingly similar to symptoms displayed by FM sufferers. In addition, childhood trauma and exposure to substances of abuse may cause lasting changes in developing neurotransmitter and endocrine circuits that are linked to anxiety and stress responses.

  20. Neural Mechanisms of Early-Life Social Stress as a Developmental Risk Factor for Severe Psychiatric Disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinwald, Jonathan Rochus; Becker, Robert; Mallien, Anne Stephanie; Falfan-Melgoza, Claudia; Sack, Markus; Clemm von Hohenberg, Christian; Braun, Urs; Cosa Linan, Alejandro; Gass, Natalia; Vasilescu, Andrei-Nicolae; Tollens, Fabian; Lebhardt, Philipp; Pfeiffer, Natascha; Inta, Dragos; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas; Gass, Peter; Sartorius, Alexander; Weber-Fahr, Wolfgang

    2017-12-28

    To explore the domain-general risk factor of early-life social stress in mental illness, rearing rodents in persistent postweaning social isolation has been established as a widely used animal model with translational relevance for neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Although changes in resting-state brain connectivity are a transdiagnostic key finding in neurodevelopmental diseases, a characterization of imaging correlates elicited by early-life social stress is lacking. We performed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging of postweaning social isolation rats (N = 23) 9 weeks after isolation. Addressing well-established transdiagnostic connectivity changes of psychiatric disorders, we focused on altered frontal and posterior connectivity using a seed-based approach. Then, we examined changes in regional network architecture and global topology using graph theoretical analysis. Seed-based analyses demonstrated reduced functional connectivity in frontal brain regions and increased functional connectivity in posterior brain regions of postweaning social isolation rats. Graph analyses revealed a shift of the regional architecture, characterized by loss of dominance of frontal regions and emergence of nonfrontal regions, correlating to our behavioral results, and a reduced modularity in isolation-reared rats. Our result of functional connectivity alterations in the frontal brain supports previous investigations postulating social neural circuits, including prefrontal brain regions, as key pathways for risk for mental disorders arising through social stressors. We extend this knowledge by demonstrating more widespread changes of brain network organization elicited by early-life social stress, namely a shift of hubness and dysmodularity. Our results highly resemble core alterations in neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, autism, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in humans. Copyright © 2017

  1. Early-life adversity programs emotional functions and the neuroendocrine stress system: the contribution of nutrition, metabolic hormones and epigenetic mechanisms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yam, K.Y.; Naninck, E.F.G.; Schmidt, M.V.; Lucassen, P.J.; Korosi, A.

    2015-01-01

    Clinical and pre-clinical studies have shown that early-life adversities, such as abuse or neglect, can increase the vulnerability to develop psychopathologies and cognitive decline later in life. Remarkably, the lasting consequences of stress during this sensitive period on the

  2. Stressful life events and depression symptoms: the effect of childhood emotional abuse on stress reactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapero, Benjamin G; Black, Shimrit K; Liu, Richard T; Klugman, Joshua; Bender, Rachel E; Abramson, Lyn Y; Alloy, Lauren B

    2014-03-01

    Stressful life events are associated with an increase in depressive symptoms and the onset of major depression. Importantly, research has shown that the role of stress changes over the course of depression. The present study extends the current literature by examining the effects of early life stress on emotional reactivity to current stressors. In a multiwave study (N = 281, mean age = 18.76; 68% female), we investigated the proximal changes that occur in depressive symptoms when individuals are faced with life stress and whether a history of childhood emotional abuse moderates this relationship. Results support the stress sensitivity hypothesis for early emotional abuse history. Individuals with greater childhood emotional abuse severity experienced greater increases in depressive symptoms when confronted with current dependent stressors, controlling for childhood physical and sexual abuse. This study highlights the importance of emotional abuse as an indicator for reactivity to stressful life events. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Postnatal treatment with metyrapone attenuates the effects of diet-induced obesity in female rats exposed to early-life stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Margaret O; Herald, Joseph B; Wills, Caleb T; Unfried, Stanley G; Cohn, Dianne M; Loria, Analia S

    2017-02-01

    Experimental studies in rodents have shown that females are more susceptible to exhibiting fat expansion and metabolic disease compared with males in several models of fetal programming. This study tested the hypothesis that female rat pups exposed to maternal separation (MatSep), a model of early-life stress, display an exacerbated response to diet-induced obesity compared with male rats. Also, we tested whether the postnatal treatment with metyrapone (MTP), a corticosterone synthase inhibitor, would attenuate this phenotype. MatSep was performed in WKY offspring by separation from the dam (3 h/day, postnatal days 2-14). Upon weaning, male and female rats were placed on a normal (ND; 18% kcal fat) or high-fat diet (HFD; 60% kcal fat). Nondisturbed littermates served as controls. In male rats, no diet-induced differences in body weight (BW), glucose tolerance, and fat tissue weight and morphology were found between MatSep and control male rats. However, female MatSep rats displayed increased BW gain, fat pad weights, and glucose intolerance compared with control rats (P obesity risk factors, including elevated adiposity, hyperleptinemia, and glucose intolerance. These findings show that exposure to stress hormones during early life could be a key event to enhance diet-induced obesity and metabolic disease in female rats. Thus, pharmacological and/or behavioral inflection of the stress levels is a potential therapeutic approach for prevention of early life stress-enhanced obesity and metabolic disease. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

  4. The effect of COMT Val158Met and DRD2 C957T polymorphisms on executive function and the impact of early life stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klaus, Kristel; Butler, Kevin; Durrant, Simon J; Ali, Manir; Inglehearn, Chris F; Hodgson, Timothy L; Gutierrez, Humberto; Pennington, Kyla

    2017-05-01

    Previous research has indicated that variation in genes encoding catechol-O-methyltransferase ( COMT ) and dopamine receptor D2 ( DRD2 ) may influence cognitive function and that this may confer vulnerability to the development of mental health disorders such as schizophrenia. However, increasing evidence suggests environmental factors such as early life stress may interact with genetic variants in affecting these cognitive outcomes. This study investigated the effect of COMT Val158Met and DRD2 C957T polymorphisms on executive function and the impact of early life stress in healthy adults. One hundred and twenty-two healthy adult males (mean age 35.2 years, range 21-63) were enrolled in the study. Cognitive function was assessed using Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery and early life stress was assessed using the Childhood Traumatic Events Scale (Pennebaker & Susman, 1988). DRD2 C957T was significantly associated with executive function, with CC homozygotes having significantly reduced performance in spatial working memory and spatial planning. A significant genotype-trauma interaction was found in Rapid Visual Information Processing test, a measure of sustained attention, with CC carriers who had experienced early life stress exhibiting impaired performance compared to the CC carriers without early life stressful experiences. There were no significant findings for COMT Val158Met . This study supports previous findings that DRD2 C957T significantly affects performance on executive function related tasks in healthy individuals and shows for the first time that some of these effects may be mediated through the impact of childhood traumatic events. Future work should aim to clarify further the effect of stress on neuronal systems that are known to be vulnerable in mental health disorders and more specifically what the impact of this might be on cognitive function.

  5. Posttraumatic stress disorder, alone or additively with early life adversity, is associated with obesity and cardiometabolic risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farr, O M; Ko, B-J; Joung, K E; Zaichenko, L; Usher, N; Tsoukas, M; Thakkar, B; Davis, C R; Crowell, J A; Mantzoros, C S

    2015-05-01

    There is some evidence that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and early life adversity may influence metabolic outcomes such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. However, whether and how these interact is not clear. We analyzed data from a cross-sectional and longitudinal study to determine how PTSD severity influences obesity, insulin sensitivity, and key measures and biomarkers of cardiovascular risk. We then looked at how PTSD and early life adversity may interact to impact these same outcomes. PTSD severity is associated with increasing risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, with higher symptoms correlating with higher values of BMI, leptin, fibrinogen, and blood pressure, and lower values of insulin sensitivity. PTSD and early life adversity have an additive effect on these metabolic outcomes. The longitudinal study confirmed findings from the cross sectional study and showed that fat mass, leptin, CRP, sICAM-1, and sTNFRII were significantly increased with higher PTSD severity during a 2.5 year follow-up period. Individuals with early life adversity and PTSD are at high risk and should be monitored carefully for obesity, insulin resistance, and cardiometabolic risk. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Reduced cortical thickness in veterans exposed to early life trauma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corbo, Vincent; Salat, David H; Amick, Melissa M; Leritz, Elizabeth C; Milberg, William P; McGlinchey, Regina E

    2014-08-30

    Studies have shown that early life trauma may influence neural development and increase the risk of developing psychological disorders in adulthood. We used magnetic resonance imaging to examine the impact of early life trauma on the relationship between current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and cortical thickness/subcortical volumes in a sample of deployed personnel from Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom. A group of 108 service members enrolled in the Translational Research Center for Traumatic Brain Injury and Stress Disorders (TRACTS) were divided into those with interpersonal early life trauma (EL-Trauma+) and Control (without interpersonal early life trauma) groups based on the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire. PTSD symptoms were assessed using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale. Cortical thickness and subcortical volumes were analyzed using the FreeSurfer image analysis package. Thickness of the paracentral and posterior cingulate regions was positively associated with PTSD severity in the EL-Trauma+ group and negatively in the Control group. In the EL-Trauma+ group, both the right amygdala and the left hippocampus were positively associated with PTSD severity. This study illustrates a possible influence of early life trauma on the vulnerability of specific brain regions to stress. Changes in neural morphometry may provide information about the emergence and maintenance of symptoms in individuals with PTSD. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  7. Long-term effect of early-life stress from earthquake exposure on working memory in adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Na; Wang, Yumei; Zhao, Xiaochuan; Gao, Yuanyuan; Song, Mei; Yu, Lulu; Wang, Lan; Li, Ning; Chen, Qianqian; Li, Yunpeng; Cai, Jiajia; Wang, Xueyi

    2015-01-01

    The present study aimed to investigate the long-term effect of 1976 Tangshan earthquake exposure in early life on performance of working memory in adulthood. A total of 907 study subjects born and raised in Tangshan were enrolled in this study. They were divided into three groups according to the dates of birth: infant exposure (3-12 months, n=274), prenatal exposure (n=269), and no exposure (born at least 1 year after the earthquake, n=364). The prenatal group was further divided into first, second, and third trimester subgroups based on the timing of exposure during pregnancy. Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R) were used to measure the performance of working memory. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influential factors for impaired working memory. The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised scores did not show significant difference across the three groups. Compared with no exposure group, the BVMT-R scores were slightly lower in the prenatal exposure group and markedly decreased in the infant exposure group. When the BVMT-R scores were analyzed in three subgroups, the results showed that the subjects whose mothers were exposed to earthquake in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy had significantly lower BVMT-R scores compared with those in the first trimester. Education level and early-life earthquake exposure were identified as independent risk factors for reduced performance of visuospatial memory indicated by lower BVMT-R scores. Infant exposure to earthquake-related stress impairs visuospatial memory in adulthood. Fetuses in the middle and late stages of development are more vulnerable to stress-induced damage that consequently results in impaired visuospatial memory. Education and early-life trauma can also influence the performance of working memory in adulthood.

  8. Effects of Early-Life Stress on Social and Anxiety-Like Behaviors in Adult Mice: Sex-Specific Effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalya P. Bondar

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Stressful events in an early postnatal period have critical implications for the individual’s life and can increase later risk for psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of early-life stress on the social behavior of adult male and female mice. C57Bl/6 mice were exposed to maternal separation (MS, 3 h once a day or handling (HD, 15 min once a day on postnatal day 2 through 14. Adult male and female mice were tested for social behavior in the social interaction test and for individual behavior in the plus-maze and open-field tests. Female mice exposed to maternal separation had increased social behavior and increased anxiety. MS male mice had no changes in social behavior but had significantly disrupted individual behavior, including locomotor and exploratory activity. Handling had positive effects on social behavior in males and females and decreased anxiety in males. Our results support the hypothesis that brief separation of pups from their mothers (handling, which can be considered as moderate stress, may result in future positive changes in behavior. Maternal separation has deleterious effects on individual behavior and significant sex-specific effects on social behavior.

  9. Early life trauma and attachment: Immediate and enduring effects on neurobehavioral and stress axis development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Millie eRincón-Cortés

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Over half a century of converging clinical and animal research indicates that early life experiences induce enduring neuroplasticity of the HPA-axis and the developing brain. This experience-induced neuroplasticity is due to alterations in the frequency and intensity of stimulation of pups’ sensory systems (i.e. olfactory, somatosensory, gustatory embedded in mother-infant interactions. This stimulation provides hidden regulators of pups’ behavioral, physiological and neural responses that have both immediate and enduring consequences, including those involving the stress response. While variation in stimulation can produce individual differences and adaptive behaviors, pathological early life experiences can induce maladaptive behaviors, initiate a pathway to pathology and increase risk for later life psychopathologies, such as mood and affective disorders, suggesting that infant attachment relationships program later life neurobehavioral function. Recent evidence suggests that the effects of maternal presence or absence during this sensory stimulation provide a major modulatory role in neural and endocrine system responses, which have minimal impact on pups’ immediate neurobehavior but a robust impact on neurobehavioral development. This concept is reviewed here using two complementary rodent models of infant trauma within attachment: infant paired odor-shock conditioning (mimicking maternal odor attachment learning and rearing with an abusive mother, that converge in producing a similar behavioral phenotype in later life including depressive-like behavior as well as disrupted HPA-axis and amygdala function. The importance of maternal social presence on pups’ immediate and enduring brain and behavior suggests unique processing of sensory stimuli in early life that could provide insight into the development of novel strategies for prevention and therapeutic interventions for trauma experienced with the abusive caregiver.

  10. Early-life stress induces persistent alterationsin 5-HT1Areceptor and serotonin transporter mRNA expression in the adultrat brain.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javier A. Bravo

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Early-life experience plays a major role in the stress response throughout life. Neonatal maternal separation (MS is an animal model of depression with an altered serotonergic response. We hypothesize that this alteration may be caused by differences in 5-HT1A receptor and serotonin transporter (SERT mRNA expression in brain areas involved in the control of emotions, memory and fear as well as in regions controlling the central serotonergic tone.To test this, Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to MS for 3h daily during post-natal days 2-12. As control, age matched rats were not separated (NS from their dams. When animals reached adulthood (11-13 weeks brain was extracted and mRNA expression of 5-HT1A receptor in amygdala, hippocampus and dorsal raphé nucleus (DRN and SERT in the DRN was analyzed through in-situ hybridisation.Densitometric analysis revealed that MS increased 5-HT1A receptor mRNA expression in the amygdala, and reduced its expression in the DRN, but no changes were observed in the hippocampus in comparison to NS controls. Also, MS reduced SERT mRNA expression in the DRN when compared to NS rats.These results suggest that early-life stress induces persistent changes in 5-HT1A receptor and SERT mRNA expression in key brain regions involved in the development of stress-related psychiatric disorders. The reduction in SERT mRNA indicates an alteration that is in line with clinical findings such as polymorphic variants in individuals with higher risk of depression. These data may help to understand how early-life stress contributes to the development of mood disorders in adulthood.

  11. Early life experience : neuroendocrine adaptations to maternal absence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Enthoven, Leo

    2007-01-01

    An adverse early life event is considered a risk factor for stress-related psychiatric disorders in genetically predisposed individuals, probably because of its lasting effect on susceptibility to stress. The objective of this thesis research was to examine in the mouse CD1 strain the immediate and

  12. A novel role for maternal stress and microbial transmission in early life programming and neurodevelopment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eldin Jašarević

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Perturbations in the prenatal and early life environment can contribute to the development of offspring stress dysregulation, a pervasive symptom in neuropsychiatric disease. Interestingly, the vertical transmission of maternal microbes to offspring and the subsequent bacterial colonization of the neonatal gut overlap with a critical period of brain development. Therefore, environmental factors such as maternal stress that are able to alter microbial populations and their transmission can thereby shape offspring neurodevelopment. As the neonatal gastrointestinal tract is primarily inoculated at parturition through the ingestion of maternal vaginal microflora, disruption in the vaginal ecosystem may have important implications for offspring neurodevelopment and disease risk. Here, we discuss alterations that occur in the vaginal microbiome following maternal insult and the subsequent effects on bacterial assembly of the neonate gut, the production of neuromodulatory metabolites, and the developmental course of stress regulation.

  13. The Long-term Impact of Early Life Pain On Adult Responses to Anxiety and Stress: Historical Perspectives and Empirical Evidence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Victoria, Nicole C.; Murphy, Anne Z.

    2016-01-01

    Approximately 1 in 6 infants are born prematurely each year. Typically, these infants spend 25 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where they experience 10–18 painful and inflammatory procedures each day. Remarkably, pre-emptive analgesics and/or anesthesia are administered less than 25% of the time. Unalleviated pain during the perinatal period is associated with permanent decreases in pain sensitivity, blunted cortisol responses and high rates of neuropsychiatric disorders. To date, the mechanism(s) by which these long-term changes in stress and pain behavior occur, and whether such alterations can be prevented by appropriate analgesia at the time of insult, remains unclear. Work in our lab using a rodent model of early life pain suggests that inflammatory pain experienced on the day of birth blunts adult responses to stress- and pain-provoking stimuli, and dysregulates the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis in part through a permanent upregulation in central endogenous opioid tone. This review focuses on the long-term impact of neonatal inflammatory pain on adult anxiety- and stress-related responses, and underlying neuroanatomical changes in the context of endogenous pain control and the HPA axis. These two systems are in a state of exaggerated developmental plasticity early in postnatal life, and work in concert to respond to noxious or aversive stimuli. We present empirical evidence from animal and clinical studies, and discuss historical perspectives underlying the lack of analgesia/anesthetic use for early life pain in the modern NICU. PMID:26210872

  14. Stress and resource pathways connecting early socioeconomic adversity to young adults' physical health risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wickrama, Kandauda K A S; Lee, Tae Kyoung; O'Neal, Catherine Walker; Kwon, Josephine A

    2015-05-01

    Although research has established the impact of early stress, including stressful life contexts, and early resources, such as educational attainment, on various adolescent health outcomes, previous research has not adequately investigated "integrative models" incorporating both stress and resource mediational pathways to explain how early socioeconomic adversity impacts physical health outcomes, particularly in early life stages. Data on early childhood/adolescent stress and socioeconomic resources as well as biomarkers indicating physical health status in young adulthood were collected from 11,798 respondents (54 % female) over a 13-year period from youth participating in the National Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Physical health risk in young adulthood was measured using a composite index of nine regulatory biomarkers of cardiovascular and metabolic systems. Heterogeneity in stress and socioeconomic resource pathways was assessed using latent class analysis to identify clusters, or classes, of stress and socioeconomic resource trajectories. The influence of early socioeconomic adversity on young adults' physical health risk, as measured by biomarkers, was estimated, and the role of stress and socioeconomic resource trajectory classes as linking mechanisms was assessed. There was evidence for the influence of early socioeconomic adversity on young adults' physical health risk directly and indirectly through stress and socioeconomic resource trajectory classes over the early life course. These findings suggest that health models should be broadened to incorporate both stress and resource experiences simultaneously. Furthermore, these findings have prevention and intervention implications, including the importance of early socioeconomic adversity and key intervention points for "turning" the trajectories of at-risk youth.

  15. Maternal separation in early life modifies anxious behavior and Fos and glucocorticoid receptor expression in limbic neurons after chronic stress in rats: effects of tianeptine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trujillo, Verónica; Durando, Patricia E; Suárez, Marta M

    2016-01-01

    Early-life adversity can lead to long-term consequence persisting into adulthood. Here, we assess the implications of an adverse early environment on vulnerability to stress during adulthood. We hypothesized that the interplay between early and late stress would result in a differential phenotype regarding the number of neurons immunoreactive for glucocorticoid receptor (GR-ir) and neuronal activity as assessed by Fos immunoreactivity (Fos-ir) in brain areas related to stress responses and anxiety-like behavior. We also expected that the antidepressant tianeptine could correct some of the alterations induced in our model. Male Wistar rats were subjected to daily maternal separation (MS) for 4.5 h during the first 3 weeks of life. As adults, the rats were exposed to chronic stress for 24 d and they were treated daily with tianeptine (10 mg/kg intraperitoneal) or vehicle (isotonic saline). Fos-ir was increased by MS in all structures analyzed. Chronic stress reduced Fos-ir in the hippocampus, but increased it in the paraventricular nucleus. Furthermore, chronic stress increased GR-ir in hippocampus (CA1) and amygdala in control non-MS rats. By contrast, when MS and chronic stress were combined, GR-ir was decreased in these structures. Additionally, whereas tianeptine did not affect Fos-ir, it regulated GR-ir in a region-dependent manner, in hippocampus and amygdala opposing in some cases the stress or MS effects. Furthermore, tianeptine reversed the MS- or stress-induced anxious behavior. The interplay between MS and chronic stress observed indicates that MS rats have a modified phenotype, which is expressed when they are challenged by stress in later life.

  16. ω-3 and folic acid act against depressive-like behavior and oxidative damage in the brain of rats subjected to early- or late-life stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Réus, Gislaine Z; Maciel, Amanda L; Abelaira, Helena M; de Moura, Airam B; de Souza, Thays G; Dos Santos, Thais R; Darabas, Ana Caroline; Parzianello, Murilo; Matos, Danyela; Abatti, Mariane; Vieira, Ana Carolina; Fucillini, Vanessa; Michels, Monique; Dal-Pizzol, Felipe; Quevedo, João

    2018-03-30

    To investigate the antidepressant and antioxidant effects of omega-3, folic acid and n-acetylcysteine (NAC) in rats which were subjected to early or late life stress. Early stress was induced through maternal deprivation (MD), while late life stress was induced using the chronic mild stress (CMS) protocol. Young rats which were subjected to MD and the adult rats which were subjected to CMS were treated with omega-3 fatty acids (0.72 g/kg), NAC (20 mg/kg) or folic acid (50 mg/kg) once/day, for a period of 20 days. Then, the animals' immobility times were evaluated using the forced swimming test. Oxidative stress parameters were evaluated in the brain. Depressive-like behavior induced by CMS was prevented by NAC and folic acid, and depressive-like behavior induced by MD was prevented by NAC, folic acid and omega-3. NAC, folic acid and omega-3 were able to exert antioxidant effects in the brain of rats subjected to CMS or MD. These preventive treatments decreased the levels of protein carbonylation and lipid peroxidation, and also decreased the concentrations of nitrite/nitrate and reduced the activity of myeloperoxidase activity in the rat brain which was induced by CMS or MD. NAC, folic acid and omega-3 increased superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in the rat brain subjected to early or late life stress. NAC, omega-3 and folic acid may present interesting lines of treatment based on their antioxidant properties, which cause an inhibition of behavioral and brain changes that occur from stressful life events. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Early Life Trauma Exposure and Stress Sensitivity in Young Children

    OpenAIRE

    Grasso, Damion J.; Ford, Julian D.; Briggs-Gowan, Margaret J.

    2012-01-01

    Objective The current study replicates and extends work with adults that highlights the relationship between trauma exposure and distress in response to subsequent, nontraumatic life stressors. Methods The sample included 213 2–4-year-old children in which 64.3% had a history of potential trauma exposure. Children were categorized into 4 groups based on trauma history and current life stress. Results In a multivariate analysis of variance, trauma-exposed children with current life stressors h...

  18. The long-term impact of early life pain on adult responses to anxiety and stress: Historical perspectives and empirical evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Victoria, Nicole C; Murphy, Anne Z

    2016-01-01

    Approximately 1 in 6 infants are born prematurely each year. Typically, these infants spend 25 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where they experience 10-18 painful and inflammatory procedures each day. Remarkably, pre-emptive analgesics and/or anesthesia are administered less than 25% of the time. Unalleviated pain during the perinatal period is associated with permanent decreases in pain sensitivity, blunted cortisol responses and high rates of neuropsychiatric disorders. To date, the mechanism(s) by which these long-term changes in stress and pain behavior occur, and whether such alterations can be prevented by appropriate analgesia at the time of insult, remains unclear. Work in our lab using a rodent model of early life pain suggests that inflammatory pain experienced on the day of birth blunts adult responses to stress- and pain-provoking stimuli, and dysregulates the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis in part through a permanent upregulation in central endogenous opioid tone. This review focuses on the long-term impact of neonatal inflammatory pain on adult anxiety- and stress-related responses, and underlying neuroanatomical changes in the context of endogenous pain control and the HPA axis. These two systems are in a state of exaggerated developmental plasticity early in postnatal life, and work in concert to respond to noxious or aversive stimuli. We present empirical evidence from animal and clinical studies, and discuss historical perspectives underlying the lack of analgesia/anesthetic use for early life pain in the modern NICU. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Exposure to chronic early-life stress lastingly alters the adipose tissue, the leptin system and changes the vulnerability to western-style diet later in life in mice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yam, Kit-Yi; Naninck, Eva F. G.; Abbink, M. R.; la Fleur, Susanne E.; Schipper, L.; de Beukelaar, J W K; Grefhorst, Aldo; Oosting, A.; van der Beek, E. M.; Lucassen, P. J.; Korosi, Aniko

    Early-life stress (ES) increases the vulnerability to develop psychopathologies and cognitive decline in adulthood. Interestingly, this is often comorbid with metabolic disorders, such as obesity. However, it is unclear whether ES leads to lasting metabolic changes and to what extent this is

  20. Exposure to chronic early-life stress lastingly alters the adipose tissue, the leptin system and changes the vulnerability to western-style diet later in life in mice.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yam, K.Y.; Naninck, E.F.G.; Abbink, M.R.; la Fleur, S.E.; Schipper, L.; van den Beukel, J.C.; Grefhorst, A.; Oosting, A.; van der Beek, E.M.; Lucassen, P.J.; Korosi, A.

    Early-life stress (ES) increases the vulnerability to develop psychopathologies and cognitive decline in adulthood. Interestingly, this is often comorbid with metabolic disorders, such as obesity. However, it is unclear whether ES leads to lasting metabolic changes and to what extent this is

  1. Effects of early life adverse experiences on brain activity: Implications from maternal separation models in rodents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mayumi eNishi

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available During postnatal development, adverse early life experiences can affect the formation of neuronal circuits and exert long-lasting influences on neural function. Many studies have shown that daily repeated MS, an animal model of early life stress, can modulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis and can affect subsequent brain function and emotional behavior during adulthood. However, the molecular basis of the long-lasting effects of early life stress on brain function has not been completely elucidated. In this review, we introduce various cases of MS in rodents and illustrate the alterations in HPA axis activity by focusing on corticosterone (CORT, an end product of the HPA axis in rodents. We then present a characterization of the brain regions affected by various patterns of MS, including repeated MS and single time MS at various stages before weaning, by investigating c-Fos expression, a biological marker of neuronal activity. These CORT and c-Fos studies suggest that repeated early life stress may affect neuronal function in region- and temporal-specific manners, indicating a critical period for habituation to early life stress. Next, we discuss how early life stress can impact behavior, namely by inducing depression, anxiety or eating disorders. Furthermore, alterations in gene expression in adult mice exposed to MS, especially epigenetic changes of DNA methylation, are discussed.

  2. Early life diets with prebiotics and bioactive milk fractions attenuate the impact of stress on learned helplessness behaviours and alter gene expression within neural circuits important for stress resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mika, Agnieszka; Day, Heidi E W; Martinez, Alexander; Rumian, Nicole L; Greenwood, Benjamin N; Chichlowski, Maciej; Berg, Brian M; Fleshner, Monika

    2017-02-01

    Manipulating gut microbes may improve mental health. Prebiotics are indigestible compounds that increase the growth and activity of health-promoting microorganisms, yet few studies have examined how prebiotics affect CNS function. Using an acute inescapable stressor known to produce learned helplessness behaviours such as failure to escape and exaggerated fear, we tested whether early life supplementation of a blend of two prebiotics, galactooligosaccharide (GOS) and polydextrose (PDX), and the glycoprotein lactoferrin (LAC) would attenuate behavioural and biological responses to stress later in life. Juvenile, male F344 rats were fed diets containing either GOS and PDX alone, LAC alone, or GOS, PDX and LAC. All diets altered gut bacteria, while diets containing GOS and PDX increased Lactobacillus spp. After 4 weeks, rats were exposed to inescapable stress, and either immediately killed for blood and tissues, or assessed for learned helplessness 24 h later. Diets did not attenuate stress effects on spleen weight, corticosterone and blood glucose; however, all diets differentially attenuated stress-induced learned helplessness. Notably, in situ hybridization revealed that all diets reduced stress-evoked cfos mRNA in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), a structure important for learned helplessness behaviours. In addition, GOS, PDX and LAC diet attenuated stress-evoked decreases in mRNA for the 5-HT 1A autoreceptor in the DRN and increased basal BDNF mRNA within the prefrontal cortex. These data suggest early life diets containing prebiotics and/or LAC promote behavioural stress resistance and uniquely modulate gene expression in corresponding circuits. © 2016 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Oxidative Stress in Early Life: Associations with Sex, Rearing Conditions, and Parental Physiological Traits in Nestling Pied Flycatchers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Arrabé, Jimena; Cantarero, Alejandro; Pérez-Rodríguez, Lorenzo; Palma, Antonio; Moreno, Juan

    2016-01-01

    Conditions experienced during juvenile development can affect the fitness of an organism. During early life, oxidative stress levels can be particularly high as a result of the increased metabolism and the relatively immature antioxidant system of the individual, and this may have medium- and long-term fitness consequences. Here we explore variation in levels of oxidative stress measured during early life in relation to sex, rearing conditions (hatching date and brood size), and parental condition and levels of oxidative markers in a wild population of the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) followed for 2 yr. A marker of total antioxidant status (TAS) in plasma and total levels of glutathione (GSH) in red blood cells, as well as a marker of oxidative damage in plasma lipids (malondialdehyde [MDA]), were assessed simultaneously. Our results show that nestling total GSH levels were associated with parental oxidative status, correlating negatively with maternal MDA and positively with total GSH levels of both parents, with a high estimated heritability. This suggests that parental physiology and genes could be determinants for endogenous components of the antioxidant system of the offspring. Moreover, we found that total GSH levels were higher in female than in male nestlings and that hatching date was positively associated with antioxidant defenses (higher TAS and total GSH levels). These results suggest that different components of oxidative balance are related to a variety of environmental and intrinsic--including parental--influencing factors. Future experimental studies must disentangle the relative contribution of each of these on nestling oxidative status and how the resulting oxidative stress at early phases shape adult phenotype and fitness.

  4. The role of early adversity and recent life stress in depression severity in an outpatient sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogt, Dominic; Waeldin, Sandra; Hellhammer, Dirk; Meinlschmidt, Gunther

    2016-12-01

    Pre-, peri-, and postnatal stress have frequently been reported to be associated with negative health outcomes during adult life. However, it is unclear, if these factors independently predict mental health in adulthood. We estimated potential associations between reports of pre-, peri-, and postnatal stress and depression severity in outpatients (N = 473) diagnosed with depression, anxiety or somatoform disorders by their family physician. We retrospectively assessed pre-, peri-, and postnatal stress and measured depression severity as well as recent life stress using questionnaires. First, we estimated if depression severity was predicted by pre-, peri- and/or postnatal stress using multiple regression models. Second, we compared pre- and postnatal stress levels between patient subgroups of different degrees of depression severity, performing multilevel linear modeling. Third, we analyzed if an association between postnatal stress and current depression severity was mediated by recent life stress. We found no associations of pre-, or perinatal stress with depression severity (all p > 0.05). Higher postnatal stress was associated with higher depression severity (p stress as compared to patients with none to minimal, or mild depression (all p life stress of the association between postnatal stress and depression severity (p stress predicted depression severity in adult life. This association was mediated by recent life stress. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Early-life adversity-induced long-term epigenetic programming associated with early onset of chronic physical aggression: Studies in humans and animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chistiakov, Dimitry A; Chekhonin, Vladimir P

    2017-06-05

    To examine whether chronic physical aggression (CPA) in adulthood can be epigenetically programmed early in life due to exposure to early-life adversity. Literature search of public databases such as PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus. Children/adolescents susceptible for CPA and exposed to early-life abuse fail to efficiently cope with stress that in turn results in the development of CPA later in life. This phenomenon was observed in humans and animal models of aggression. The susceptibility to aggression is a complex trait that is regulated by the interaction between environmental and genetic factors. Epigenetic mechanisms mediate this interaction. Subjects exposed to stress early in life exhibited long-term epigenetic programming that can influence their behaviour in adulthood. This programming affects expression of many genes not only in the brain but also in other systems such as neuroendocrine and immune. The propensity to adult CPA behaviour in subjects experienced to early-life adversity is mediated by epigenetic programming that involves long-term systemic epigenetic alterations in a whole genome.

  6. Maternal buffering beyond glucocorticoids: impact of early life stress on corticolimbic circuits that control infant responses to novelty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howell, Brittany R.; McMurray, Matthew S.; Guzman, Dora B.; Nair, Govind; Shi, Yundi; McCormack, Kai M.; Hu, Xiaoping; Styner, Martin A.; Sanchez, Mar M.

    2017-01-01

    Maternal presence has a potent buffering effect on infant fear and stress responses in primates. We previously reported that maternal presence is not effective in buffering the endocrine stress response in infant rhesus monkeys reared by maltreating mothers. We have also reported that maltreating mothers show low maternal responsiveness and permissiveness/secure-base behavior. Although still not understood, it is possible that this maternal buffering effect is mediated, at least partially, through deactivation of amygdala response circuits when mothers are present. Here we studied rhesus monkey infants that differed in the quality of early maternal care to investigate how this early experience modulated maternal buffering effects on behavioral responses to novelty during the weaning period. We also examined the relationship between these behavioral responses and structural connectivity in one of the underlying regulatory neural circuits: amygdala-prefrontal pathways. Our findings suggest that infant exploration in a novel situation is predicted by maternal responsiveness and structural integrity of amygdala-prefrontal white matter depending on maternal presence (positive relationships when mother is absent). These results provide evidence that maternal buffering of infant behavioral inhibition is dependent on the quality of maternal care and structural connectivity of neural pathways that are sensitive to early life stress. PMID:27295326

  7. Early Life Stress Increases Metabolic Risk, HPA Axis Reactivity, and Depressive-Like Behavior When Combined with Postweaning Social Isolation in Rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vargas, Javier; Junco, Mariana; Gomez, Carlos; Lajud, Naima

    2016-01-01

    Early-life stress is associated with depression and metabolic abnormalities that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Such associations could be due to increased glucocorticoid levels. Periodic maternal separation in the neonate and rearing in social isolation are potent stressors that increase hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. Moreover, social isolation promotes feed intake and body weight gain in rats subjected to periodic maternal separation; however, its effects on metabolic risks have not been described. In the present study, we evaluated whether periodic maternal separation, social isolation rearing, and a combination of these two stressors (periodic maternal separation + social isolation rearing) impair glucose homeostasis and its relation to the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and depressive-like behavior. Periodic maternal separation increased basal corticosterone levels, induced a passive coping strategy in the forced swimming test, and was associated with a mild (24%) increase in fasting glucose, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia. Rearing in social isolation increased stress reactivity in comparison to both controls and in combination with periodic maternal separation, without affecting the coping strategy associated with the forced swimming test. However, social isolation also increased body weight gain, fasting glucose (120%), and insulin levels in rats subjected to periodic maternal separation. Correlation analyses showed that stress-induced effects on coping strategy on the forced swimming test (but not on metabolic risk markers) are associated with basal corticosterone levels. These findings suggest that maternal separation and postweaning social isolation affect stress and metabolic vulnerability differentially and that early-life stress-related effects on metabolism are not directly dependent on glucocorticoid levels. In conclusion, our study supports the cumulative stress hypothesis, which suggests that

  8. The brain-derived neurotrophic factor pathway, life stress, and chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Generaal, Ellen; Milaneschi, Yuri; Jansen, Rick; Elzinga, Bernet M; Dekker, Joost; Penninx, Brenda W J H

    2016-01-01

    Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) disturbances and life stress, both independently and in interaction, have been hypothesized to induce chronic pain. We examined whether (a) the BDNF pathway (val(66)met genotype, gene expression, and serum levels), (b) early and recent life stress, and (c) their interaction are associated with the presence and severity of chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain. Cross-sectional data are from 1646 subjects of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety. The presence and severity of chronic multi-site musculoskeletal pain were determined using the Chronic Pain Grade (CPG) questionnaire. The BDNF val(66)met polymorphism, BDNF gene expression, and BDNF serum levels were measured. Early life stress before the age of 16 was assessed by calculating a childhood trauma index using the Childhood Trauma Interview. Recent life stress was assessed as the number of recent adverse life events using the List of Threatening Events Questionnaire. Compared to val(66)val, BDNF met carriers more often had chronic pain, whereas no differences were found for BDNF gene expression and serum levels. Higher levels of early and recent stress were both associated with the presence and severity of chronic pain (p stress in the associations with chronic pain presence and severity. This study suggests that the BDNF gene marks vulnerability for chronic pain. Although life stress did not alter the impact of BDNF on chronic pain, it seems an independent factor in the onset and persistence of chronic pain. © The Author(s) 2016.

  9. The Influence of Early Life Experience on Visceral Pain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabella M. Fuentes

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Pain is the most reported and troublesome symptom of nearly all functional disorders affecting the genitourinary and gastrointestinal organs. Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS, interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS, vulvodynia, and/or chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS; collectively termed chronic pelvic pain syndromes report pain severe enough to impact quality of life and often suffer from symptoms of or are diagnosed with more than one of these syndromes. This increased comorbidity between chronic pelvic pain syndromes, and with pain disorders of disparate body regions, as well as with mood disorders, can be influenced by disruptions in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA axis, which regulates the response to stress and influences the perception of pain. Experiencing trauma, neglect, or abuse in early life can permanently affect the functioning of the HPA axis. As such, a significant proportion of patients suffering from comorbid chronic pelvic pain syndromes report a history of early life stress or trauma. Here we will report on how these early life experiences influence chronic pelvic pain in patients. We will also discuss various rodent models that have been developed to study this phenomenon to understand the mechanisms underlying HPA axis dysfunction, as well as potential underlying mechanisms connecting these syndromes to one another.

  10. The three-hit concept of vulnerability and resilience: toward understanding adaptation to early-life adversity outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daskalakis, Nikolaos P; Bagot, Rosemary C; Parker, Karen J; Vinkers, Christiaan H; de Kloet, E R

    2013-09-01

    Stressful experiences during early-life can modulate the genetic programming of specific brain circuits underlying emotional and cognitive aspects of behavioral adaptation to stressful experiences later in life. Although this programming effect exerted by experience-related factors is an important determinant of mental health, its outcome depends on cognitive inputs and hence the valence an individual assigns to a given environmental context. From this perspective we will highlight, with studies in rodents, non-human primates and humans, the three-hit concept of vulnerability and resilience to stress-related mental disorders, which is based on gene-environment interactions during critical phases of perinatal and juvenile brain development. The three-hit (i.e., hit-1: genetic predisposition, hit-2: early-life environment, and hit-3: later-life environment) concept accommodates the cumulative stress hypothesis stating that in a given context vulnerability is enhanced when failure to cope with adversity accumulates. Alternatively, the concept also points to the individual's predictive adaptive capacity, which underlies the stress inoculation and match/mismatch hypotheses. The latter hypotheses propose that the experience of relatively mild early-life adversity prepares for the future and promotes resilience to similar challenges in later-life; when a mismatch occurs between early and later-life experience, coping is compromised and vulnerability is enhanced. The three-hit concept is fundamental for understanding how individuals can either be prepared for coping with life to come and remain resilient or are unable to do so and succumb to a stress-related mental disorder, under seemingly identical circumstances. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Emotional suppression explains the link between early life stress and plasma oxytocin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohiyeddini, Changiz; Opacka-Juffry, Jolanta; Gross, James J

    2014-01-01

    Early life stress (ELS) has been found to be associated with lower concentrations of plasma oxytocin (OT) in adulthood. It is not yet clear, however, what mechanisms underlie this association. The goal of the present study was to test the role of emotional suppression as an intervening variable between ELS in childhood and plasma OT. In a nonclinical sample of 90 men, ELS, emotional suppression, and plasma OT were assessed. Emotional suppression was positively associated with ELS (r = 0.37, p emotion regulation strategy - was not correlated with ELS or plasma OT concentrations. Cross-sectional regression analyses revealed that the ELS explained variance in plasma OT via emotional suppression. Moderation analyses revealed that the combination of high ELS and high emotional suppression was associated with the lowest concentrations of plasma oxytocin. These findings are consistent with the view that emotional suppression may be one pathway linking ELS and OT.

  12. The influence of pubertal timing and stressful life events on depression and delinquency among Chinese adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jie; Yu, Jing; Wu, Yun; Zhang, Jianxin

    2015-06-01

    This study aimed to investigate the influences of pubertal timing and stressful life events on Chinese adolescents' depression and delinquency. Sex differences in these influences were also examined. A large sample with 4,228 participants aged 12-15 years (53% girls) was recruited in Beijing, China. Participants' pubertal development, stressful life events, depressive symptoms, and delinquency were measured using self-reported questionnaires. Both early maturing girls and boys displayed more delinquency than their same-sex on-time and late maturing peers. Early maturing girls displayed more depressive symptoms than on-time and late maturing girls, but boys in the three maturation groups showed similar levels of depressive symptoms. The interactive effects between early pubertal timing and stressful life events were significant in predicting depression and delinquency, particularly for girls. Early pubertal maturation is an important risk factor for Chinese adolescents' depression and delinquency. Stressful life events intensified the detrimental effects of early pubertal maturation on adolescents' depression and delinquency, particularly for girls. © 2015 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  13. Early-Life Effects on Adult Physical Activity: Concepts, Relevance, and Experimental Approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garland, Theodore; Cadney, Marcell D; Waterland, Robert A

    Locomotion is a defining characteristic of animal life and plays a crucial role in most behaviors. Locomotion involves physical activity, which can have far-reaching effects on physiology and neurobiology, both acutely and chronically. In human populations and in laboratory rodents, higher levels of physical activity are generally associated with positive health outcomes, although excessive exercise can have adverse consequences. Whether and how such relationships occur in wild animals is unknown. Behavioral variation among individuals arises from genetic and environmental factors and their interactions as well as from developmental programming (persistent effects of early-life environment). Although tremendous progress has been made in identifying genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in behavior, early-life effects are not well understood. Early-life effects can in some cases persist across multiple generations following a single exposure and, in principle, may constrain or facilitate the rate of evolution at multiple levels of biological organization. Understanding the mechanisms of such transgenerational effects (e.g., exposure to stress hormones in utero, inherited epigenetic alterations) may prove crucial to explaining unexpected and/or sex-specific responses to selection as well as limits to adaptation. One area receiving increased attention is early-life effects on adult physical activity. Correlational data from epidemiological studies suggest that early-life nutritional stress can (adversely) affect adult human activity levels and associated physiological traits (e.g., body composition, metabolic health). The few existing studies of laboratory rodents demonstrate that both maternal and early-life exercise can affect adult levels of physical activity and related phenotypes. Going forward, rodents offer many opportunities for experimental studies of (multigenerational) early-life effects, including studies that use maternal

  14. Ghrelin and hypothalamic NPY/AgRP expression in mice are affected by chronic early-life stress exposure in a sex-specific manner

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yam, K.Y.; Ruigrok, S.R.; Ziko, I.; De Luca, S.N.; Lucassen, P.J.; Spencer, S.J.; Korosi, A.

    2017-01-01

    Early-life stress (ES) is a risk factor for metabolic disorders (e.g. obesity) with a notoriously higher prevalence in women compared to men. However, mechanisms underlying these effects remain elusive. The development of the hypothalamic feeding and metabolic regulatory circuits occurs mostly in

  15. Ocean Warming Enhances Malformations, Premature Hatching, Metabolic Suppression and Oxidative Stress in the Early Life Stages of a Keystone Squid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosa, Rui; Pimentel, Marta S.; Boavida-Portugal, Joana; Teixeira, Tatiana; Trübenbach, Katja; Diniz, Mário

    2012-01-01

    Background The knowledge about the capacity of organisms’ early life stages to adapt to elevated temperatures is very limited but crucial to understand how marine biota will respond to global warming. Here we provide a comprehensive and integrated view of biological responses to future warming during the early ontogeny of a keystone invertebrate, the squid Loligo vulgaris. Methodology/Principal Findings Recently-spawned egg masses were collected and reared until hatching at present day and projected near future (+2°C) temperatures, to investigate the ability of early stages to undergo thermal acclimation, namely phenotypic altering of morphological, behavioural, biochemical and physiological features. Our findings showed that under the projected near-future warming, the abiotic conditions inside the eggs promoted metabolic suppression, which was followed by premature hatching. Concomitantly, the less developed newborns showed greater incidence of malformations. After hatching, the metabolic burst associated with the transition from an encapsulated embryo to a planktonic stage increased linearly with temperature. However, the greater exposure to environmental stress by the hatchlings seemed to be compensated by physiological mechanisms that reduce the negative effects on fitness. Heat shock proteins (HSP70/HSC70) and antioxidant enzymes activities constituted an integrated stress response to ocean warming in hatchlings (but not in embryos). Conclusions/Significance The stressful abiotic conditions inside eggs are expected to be aggravated under the projected near-future ocean warming, with deleterious effects on embryo survival and growth. Greater feeding challenges and the lower thermal tolerance limits of the hatchlings are strictly connected to high metabolic demands associated with the planktonic life strategy. Yet, we found some evidence that, in the future, the early stages might support higher energy demands by adjusting some cellular functional properties

  16. Fluoride Exposure in Early Life as the Possible Root Cause of Disease In Later Life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamoto, Tetsuo; Rawls, H Ralph

    2018-05-15

    Fluoride, one of the most celebrated ingredients for the prevention of dental caries in the 20th century, has also been controversial for its use in dentifrices and other applications. In the current review, we have concentrated primarily on early-life exposure to fluoride and how it may affect the various organs. The most recent controversial aspects of fluoride are related to toxicity of the developing brain and how it may possibly result in the decrease of intelligence quotient (IQ), autism, and calcification of the pineal gland. In addition, it has been reported to have possible effects on bone and thyroid glands. If nutritional stress is applied during a critical period of growth and development, the organ(s) and/or body will never recover once they pass through the critical period. For example, if animals are force-fed during experiments, they will simply get fat but never reach the normal size. Although early-life fluoride exposure causing fluorosis is well reported in the literature, the dental profession considers it primarily as an esthetic rather than a serious systemic problem. In the current review, we wanted to raise the possibility of future disease as a result of early-life exposure to fluoride. It is not currently known how fluoride will become a cause of future disease. Studies of other nutritional factors have shown that the effects of early nutritional stress are a cause of disease in later life.

  17. Roles of attachment and self-esteem: impact of early life stress on depressive symptoms among Japanese institutionalized children

    OpenAIRE

    Suzuki, Hanako; Tomoda, Akemi

    2015-01-01

    Background Although exposure to early life stress is known to affect mental health, the underlying mechanisms of its impacts on depressive symptoms among institutionalized children and adolescents have been little studied. Methods To investigate the role of attachment and self-esteem in association with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and depressive symptoms, 342 children (149 boys, 193 girls; age range 9-18 years old, mean age?=?13.5???2.4) living in residential foster care facilities i...

  18. New Empirical Evidence on the Validity and the Reliability of the Early Life Stress Questionnaire in a Polish Sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sokołowski, Andrzej; Dragan, Wojciech Ł

    2017-01-01

    Background: The Early Life Stress Questionnaire (ELSQ) is widely used to estimate the prevalence of negative events during childhood, including emotional, physical, verbal, sexual abuse, negligence, severe conflicts, separation, parental divorce, substance abuse, poverty, and so forth. Objective: This study presents the psychometric properties of the Polish adaptation of the ELSQ. It also verifies if early life stress (ELS) is a good predictor of psychopathology symptoms during adulthood. Materials and Methods: We analyzed data from two samples. Sample 1 was selected by random quota method from across the country and included 609 participants aged 18-50 years, 306 women (50.2%) and 303 men (49.8%). Sample 2 contained 503 young adults (253 women and 250 men) aged 18-25. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were used to measure ELSQ internal consistency. The validity was based on the relation to psychopathological symptoms and substance misuse. Results: Results showed good internal consistency and validity. Exploratory factor analysis indicates a six-factor structure of the ELSQ. ELS was related to psychopathology in adulthood, including depressive, sociophobic, vegetative as well as pain symptoms. ELSQ score correlated also with alcohol use, but not nicotine dependence. Moreover, ELS was correlated with stress in adulthood. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the Polish version of the ELSQ is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing ELS in the Polish population and may be applied in both clinical and community samples.

  19. Association of parental stress and early childhood caries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Ebrahim Jabbarifar

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Background:Little research has been carried out on whether the parental stress affects children′s oral health in general and dental caries in particular. This study aimed to investigate the association be-tween parental stress and early childhood caries (ECC. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed that included 250 children of 4-6 year-old; 127 ones attended the pediatric department of Isfahan School of Dentistry who had early childhood caries and a comparison group of 123 caries free children attended five kindergartens and pre-schools in Isfahan city. Clinical examinations were conducted to evaluate the caries status. The parents of the two study groups completed the self-administrated long form of the Parenting Stress Index questionnaire. De-tails of their socio-demographic status were gathered too. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS version 11.5. The nonparametric Mantel-Haenszel test for correlation statistics was used to determine bivariate associations between total parenting stress and their domains scores in the two groups; i.e., those with early childhood caries and the caries free group. Results: Mean score of PSI in the early childhood caries and caries free group were 286.66 ± 66.26 and 273.87 ± 31.03, respectively. There was not any significant relationship between total parental stress and ECC. The scores of the following domains of PSI demonstrated significant differences between ECC and CF groups: child reinforcement, child distractibility, child deficit attention, life stress and relationship with spouse (P = 0.01, 0.01, 0.001, 0.005 respectively. Conclusion: Findings of this study did not show any significant association between total parenting stress score and prevalence of early childhood caries.

  20. Sex differences in stress-induced visceral hypersensitivity following early life adversity: a two hit model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prusator, D K; Greenwood-Van Meerveld, B

    2016-12-01

    Early life adversity (ELA) has been indicated as a risk factor for the development of stress axis dysfunction in adulthood, specifically in females. We previously showed that unpredictable ELA induces visceral hyperalgesia in adult female rats. It remains to be determined whether ELA alters visceral nociceptive responses to stress in adulthood. The current study tested the hypothesis that following ELA, exposure to an adulthood stressor, or second hit, serves as a risk factor for exaggerated stress-induced visceral hypersensitivity that is sex-specific. Following ELA, adult stress was induced via a single exposure (acute) or repetitive daily exposure, 1 h/day for 7 days (chronic), to water avoidance stress (WAS). Acute WAS increased pain behaviors in all adult female rats, however, females that experienced unpredictable ELA exhibited significantly more pain behaviors compared to those exposed to predictable ELA or controls. Following chronic WAS, all adult females exhibited increased pain responses, however, an exaggerated response was observed in rats exposed to unpredictable or predictable ELA compared to controls. Similarly, in adult male rats exposure to acute or chronic WAS increased pain behaviors, however, there were no differences in pain behaviors between ELA groups. This study highlights a novel consequence of ELA on stress-induced visceral nociception in adulthood that is sex-specific. More importantly, our study suggests that ELA not only serves as a risk factor for development of chronic pain in adulthood, but also serves as a predisposition for worsening of visceral pain following adult stress in female rats. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Hyper-excitability and epilepsy generated by chronic early-life stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Céline M. Dubé

    2015-01-01

    In conclusion, CES of limited duration has long-lasting effects on brain excitability and may promote age-specific seizures and epilepsy. Whereas the mechanisms involved require further study, these findings provide important insights into environmental contributions to early-life seizures.

  2. Early Life Stress, Air Pollution, Inflammation, and Disease: An Integrative Review and Immunologic Model of Social-Environmental Adversity and Lifespan Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olvera Alvarez, Hector A; Kubzansky, Laura D; Campen, Matthew J; Slavich, George M

    2018-06-03

    Socially disadvantaged individuals are at greater risk for simultaneously being exposed to adverse social and environmental conditions. Although the mechanisms underlying joint effects remain unclear, one hypothesis is that toxic social and environmental exposures have synergistic effects on inflammatory processes that underlie the development of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and certain types of cancer. In the present review, we examine how exposure to two risk factors that commonly occur with social disadvantage-early life stress and air pollution-affect health. Specifically, we identify neuroimmunologic pathways that could link early life stress, inflammation, air pollution, and poor health, and use this information to propose an integrated, multi-level model that describes how these factors may interact and cause health disparity across individuals based on social disadvantage. This model highlights the importance of interdisciplinary research considering multiple exposures across domains and the potential for synergistic, cross-domain effects on health, and may help identify factors that could potentially be targeted to reduce disease risk and improve lifespan health. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  3. Negative inferential style, emotional clarity, and life stress: integrating vulnerabilities to depression in adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stange, Jonathan P; Alloy, Lauren B; Flynn, Megan; Abramson, Lyn Y

    2013-01-01

    Negative inferential style and deficits in emotional clarity have been identified as vulnerability factors for depression in adolescence, particularly when individuals experience high levels of life stress. However, previous research has not integrated these characteristics when evaluating vulnerability to depression. In the present study, a racially diverse community sample of 256 early adolescents (ages 12 and 13) completed a baseline visit and a follow-up visit 9 months later. Inferential style, emotional clarity, and depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline, and intervening life events and depressive symptoms were assessed at follow-up. Hierarchical linear regressions indicated that there was a significant three-way interaction between adolescents' weakest-link negative inferential style, emotional clarity, and intervening life stress predicting depressive symptoms at follow-up, controlling for initial depressive symptoms. Adolescents with low emotional clarity and high negative inferential styles experienced the greatest increases in depressive symptoms following life stress. Emotional clarity buffered against the impact of life stress on depressive symptoms among adolescents with negative inferential styles. Similarly, negative inferential styles exacerbated the impact of life stress on depressive symptoms among adolescents with low emotional clarity. These results provide evidence of the utility of integrating inferential style and emotional clarity as constructs of vulnerability in combination with life stress in the identification of adolescents at risk for depression. They also suggest the enhancement of emotional clarity as a potential intervention technique to protect against the effects of negative inferential styles and life stress on depression in early adolescence.

  4. Variation in the oxytocin receptor gene is associated with increased risk for anxiety, stress and depression in individuals with a history of exposure to early life stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, Amanda J; Williams, Leanne; Gatt, Justine M; McAuley-Clark, Erica Z; Dobson-Stone, Carol; Schofield, Peter R; Nemeroff, Charles B

    2014-12-01

    Oxytocin is a neuropeptide that is involved in the regulation of mood, anxiety and social biology. Genetic variation in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) has been implicated in anxiety, depression and related stress phenotypes. It is not yet known whether OXTR interacts with other risk factors such as early life trauma to heighten the severity of experienced anxiety and depression. In this study, we examined genotypes in 653 individuals and tested whether SNP variation in OXTR correlates with severity of features of self-reported experience on the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS), and whether this correlation is enhanced when early life trauma is taken into account. We also assessed the effects of OXTR SNPs on RNA expression levels in two separate brain tissue cohorts totaling 365 samples. A significant effect of OXTR genotype on DASS anxiety, stress and depression scores was found and ELS events, in combination with several different OXTR SNPs, were significantly associated with differences in DASS scores with one SNP (rs139832701) showing significant association or a trend towards association for all three measures. Several OXTR SNPs were correlated with alterations in OXTR RNA expression and rs3831817 replicated across both sets of tissues. These results support the hypothesis that the oxytocin system plays a role in the pathophysiology of mood and anxiety disorders. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Moderate Childhood Stress Buffers Against Depressive Response to Proximal Stressors: A Multi-Wave Prospective Study of Early Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapero, Benjamin G.; Hamilton, Jessica L.; Stange, Jonathan P.; Liu, Richard T.; Y.Abramson, Lyn; Alloy, Lauren B.

    2015-01-01

    Although the majority of research in the field has focused on childhood stressors as a risk factor for psychopathology, a burgeoning body of literature has focused on the possible steeling effect of moderate types of stressful events. The current study investigated the effects of proximal life stressors on prospective changes in depressive symptoms, and whether a history of moderate childhood adversity would moderate this relationship in a multi-wave study of a diverse community sample of early adolescents (N = 163, 52% female, 51% Caucasian). Hierarchical linear modeling was run with four waves of data. Adolescents with greater moderately severe early life events evinced a blunted depressive symptom response to changes in proximal stressful events in the previous 9 months, compared to those with fewer early moderately severe experiences of adversity. These results held after controlling for between-subject factors such as race, gender, severe early life stress, and average stress over the four waves of data. Findings indicate that greater exposure to moderate childhood stressors may buffer against the negative effects of subsequent stressors, suggesting the importance of a nuanced developmental approach to studying the effects of early life stress. PMID:25911194

  6. Moderate Childhood Stress Buffers Against Depressive Response to Proximal Stressors: A Multi-Wave Prospective Study of Early Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapero, Benjamin G; Hamilton, Jessica L; Stange, Jonathan P; Liu, Richard T; Abramson, Lyn Y; Alloy, Lauren B

    2015-11-01

    Although the majority of research in the field has focused on childhood stressors as a risk factor for psychopathology, a burgeoning body of literature has focused on the possible steeling effect of moderate types of stressful events. The current study investigated the effects of proximal life stressors on prospective changes in depressive symptoms, and whether a history of moderate childhood adversity would moderate this relationship in a multi-wave study of a diverse community sample of early adolescents (N = 163, 52 % female, 51 % Caucasian). Hierarchical linear modeling was run with four waves of data. Adolescents with greater moderately severe early life events evinced a blunted depressive symptom response to changes in proximal stressful events in the previous 9 months, compared to those with fewer early moderately severe experiences of adversity. These results held after controlling for between-subject factors such as race, gender, severe early life stress, and average stress over the four waves of data. Findings indicate that greater exposure to moderate childhood stressors may buffer against the negative effects of subsequent stressors, suggesting the importance of a nuanced developmental approach to studying the effects of early life stress.

  7. Natural selection and sex differences in morbidity and mortality in early life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wells, J C

    2000-01-07

    Both morbidity and mortality are consistently reported to be higher in males than in females in early life, but no explanation for these findings has been offered. This paper argues that the sex difference in early vulnerability can be attributed to the natural selection of optimal maternal strategies for maximizing lifetime reproductive success, as modelled previously by Trivers and Willard. These authors theorized that males and females offer different returns on parental investment depending on the state of the environment. Natural selection has therefore favoured maternal ability to manipulate offspring sex in response to environmental conditions in early life, as shown in variation in the sex ratio at birth. This argument can be extended to the whole period of parental investment until weaning. Male vulnerability in response to environmental stress in early life is predicted to have been favoured by natural selection. This vulnerability is most evident in the harsh conditions resulting from pre-term birth, but can also be seen in term infants, and manifests as greater morbidity and mortality persisting into early childhood. Malnutrition, interacting with infection after birth, is suggested as the fundamental trigger mechanism. The model suggests that whatever improvements are made in medical care, any environmental stress will always affect males more severely than females in early life. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

  8. Cannabinoids Reverse the Effects of Early Stress on Neurocognitive Performance in Adulthood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alteba, Shirley; Korem, Nachshon; Akirav, Irit

    2016-01-01

    Early life stress (ES) significantly increases predisposition to psychopathologies. Cannabinoids may cause cognitive deficits and exacerbate the effects of ES. Nevertheless, the endocannabinoid system has been suggested as a therapeutic target for the treatment of stress- and anxiety-related disorders. Here we examined whether cannabinoids…

  9. Early Life Experience and Gut Microbiome: The Brain-Gut-Microbiota Signaling System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cong, Xiaomei; Henderson, Wendy A; Graf, Joerg; McGrath, Jacqueline M

    2015-10-01

    Over the past decades, advances in neonatal care have led to substantial increases in survival among preterm infants. With these gains, recent concerns have focused on increases in neurodevelopment morbidity related to the interplay between stressful early life experiences and the immature neuroimmune systems. This interplay between these complex mechanisms is often described as the brain-gut signaling system. The role of the gut microbiome and the brain-gut signaling system have been found to be remarkably related to both short- and long-term stress and health. Recent evidence supports that microbial species, ligands, and/or products within the developing intestine play a key role in early programming of the central nervous system and regulation of the intestinal innate immunity. The purpose of this state-of-the-science review is to explore the supporting evidence demonstrating the importance of the brain-gut-microbiota axis in regulation of early life experience. We also discuss the role of gut microbiome in modulating stress and pain responses in high-risk infants. A conceptual framework has been developed to illustrate the regulation mechanisms involved in early life experience. The science in this area is just beginning to be uncovered; having a fundamental understanding of these relationships will be important as new discoveries continue to change our thinking, leading potentially to changes in practice and targeted interventions.

  10. The impact of stress at different life stages on physical health and the buffering effects of maternal sensitivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrell, Allison K; Simpson, Jeffry A; Carlson, Elizabeth A; Englund, Michelle M; Sung, Sooyeon

    2017-01-01

    Many studies indicate that early life stress leads to negative health outcomes in adulthood, and some suggest that high-quality parenting might buffer these effects. Most prior research, however, has relied on cross-sectional retrospective reports of stress and parenting. Our study tests how coder-rated stress and parenting quality assessed at different life stages predict adult health outcomes in a prospective, longitudinal study. Participants were 163 individuals in the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation studied since birth. Physical health was assessed at age 32 with body mass index, self-reports of symptoms and illnesses experienced, and self-ratings of overall physical health. Stress was assessed by coder-rated interviews involving participants or their mothers at 16 time points partitioned into 5 life stages: early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and at age 32 (when health was assessed). Parenting quality was measured by coder ratings of each mother's provision of sensitive, responsive support at 7 time points between birth and age 13. Early childhood, adolescent, and concurrent stress predicted adult health outcomes at age 32. Early childhood and adolescent stress, and adolescent and concurrent stress, both showed a "dual-risk" pattern, such that experiencing higher stress at both of these life stages predicted the worst health outcomes. Higher maternal sensitivity, however, buffered these deleterious effects. Our prospective data reveal that early childhood and adolescence are important developmental periods during which stress is influential for adult physical health. However, parenting interventions that promote greater sensitivity may help children in high-stress environments avoid negative adult health outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  11. The impact of stress at different life stages on physical health and the buffering effects of maternal sensitivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrell, Allison K.; Simpson, Jeffry A.; Carlson, Elizabeth A.; Englund, Michelle M.; Sung, Sooyeon

    2016-01-01

    Objective Many studies indicate that early life stress leads to negative health outcomes in adulthood, and some suggest that high-quality parenting might buffer these effects. Most prior research, however, has relied on cross-sectional retrospective reports of stress and parenting. Our study tests how coder-rated stress and parenting quality assessed at different life stages predict adult health outcomes in a prospective, longitudinal study. Methods Participants were 163 individuals in the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (MLSRA) studied since birth. Physical health was assessed at age 32 with BMI, self-reports of symptoms and illnesses experienced, and self-ratings overall physical health. Stress was assessed by coder-rated interviews involving participants or their mothers at 16 time-points partitioned into five life stages: early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and at age 32 (when health was assessed). Parenting quality was measured by coder-ratings of each mother's provision of sensitive, responsive support at 7 time-points between birth and age 13. Results Early childhood, adolescent, and concurrent stress predicted adult health outcomes at age 32. Early childhood and adolescent stress, and adolescent and concurrent stress, both showed a “dual-risk” pattern, such that experiencing higher stress at both of these life stages predicted the worst health outcomes. Higher maternal sensitivity, however, buffered these deleterious effects. Conclusions Our prospective data reveals that early childhood and adolescence are important developmental periods during which stress is influential for adult physical health. However, parenting interventions that promote greater sensitivity may help children in high-stress environments avoid negative adult health outcomes. PMID:27669179

  12. Stress in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, and cortisol levels in older age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Mathew A; Cox, Simon R; Brett, Caroline E; Deary, Ian J; MacLullich, Alasdair M J

    2017-03-01

    The glucocorticoid hypothesis suggests that overexposure to stress may cause permanent upregulation of cortisol. Stress in youth may therefore influence cortisol levels even in older age. Using data from the 6-Day Sample, we investigated the effects of high stress in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood - as well as individual variables contributing to these measures; parental loss, social deprivation, school and home moves, illness, divorce and job instability - upon cortisol levels at age 77 years. Waking, waking +45 min (peak) and evening salivary cortisol samples were collected from 159 participants, and the 150 who were not using steroid medications were included in this study. After correcting for multiple comparisons, the only significant association was between early-adulthood job instability and later-life peak cortisol levels. After excluding participants with dementia or possible mild cognitive impairment, early-adulthood high stress showed significant associations with lower evening and mean cortisol levels, suggesting downregulation by stress, but these results did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Overall, our results do not provide strong evidence of a relationship between stress in youth and later-life cortisol levels, but do suggest that some more long-term stressors, such as job instability, may indeed produce lasting upregulation of cortisol, persisting into the mid-to-late seventies.

  13. Life satisfaction of women in early stages of fertility treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben Shlomo, Shirley; Pascal, Mor; Taubman Ben-Ari, Orit; Azuri, Yoseph; Horowtz, Eran

    2017-01-01

    As many women perceive motherhood to be a central component of identity that enhances life satisfaction, difficulties conceiving may lead to stress. This study examined women in the early stages of fertility treatment to ascertain the relations of perceived stress, cognitive appraisal, and self-mastery to the life satisfaction of women embarking on fertility treatment and whether the associations were the same for women who were already mothers versus those who were not. Women were recruited for the study over a period of 18 months, from January 2013 to June 2014. The final sample was composed of 145 women; of these, 67 had 1 or 2 children and 78 had no children. No significant differences were found in perceived stress and life satisfaction between women with and without children. However, in the sample as a whole, higher levels of self-mastery and lower levels of stress were associated with greater life satisfaction. Moreover, the associations between self-mastery and cognitive appraisals of threat and self-efficacy were mediated by perceived stress. The findings highlight the importance of developing interventions at fertility clinics that begin at the very first point of contact to promote the psychological well-being of women being treated for infertility.

  14. Positive and negative early life experiences differentially modulate long term survival and amyloid protein levels in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lesuis, S.L.; Maurin, H.; Borghgraef, P.; Lucassen, P.J.; Van Leuven, F.; Krugers, H.J.

    2016-01-01

    Stress has been implicated as a risk factor for the severity and progression of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). Early life experiences determine stress responsivity in later life, and modulate age-dependent cognitive decline. Therefore, we examined whether early life experiences influence AD

  15. The potential of infant fMRI research and the study of early life stress as a promising exemplar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alice M. Graham

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI research with infants and toddlers has increased rapidly over the past decade, and provided a unique window into early brain development. In the current report, we review the state of the literature, which has established the feasibility and utility of task-based fMRI and resting state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI during early periods of brain maturation. These methodologies have been successfully applied beginning in the neonatal period to increase understanding of how the brain both responds to environmental stimuli, and becomes organized into large-scale functional systems that support complex behaviors. We discuss the methodological challenges posed by this promising area of research. We also highlight that despite these challenges, early work indicates a strong potential for these methods to influence multiple research domains. As an example, we focus on the study of early life stress and its influence on brain development and mental health outcomes. We illustrate the promise of these methodologies for building on, and making important contributions to, the existing literature in this field.

  16. Design, rationale and feasibility of a multidimensional experimental protocol to study early life stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Dillwyn Bartholomeusz

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available There is a rapidly accumulating body of evidence regarding the influential role of early life stress (ELS upon medical and psychiatric conditions. While self-report instruments, with their intrinsic limitations of recall, remain the primary means of detecting ELS in humans, biological measures are generally limited to a single biological system. This paper describes the design, rationale and feasibility of a study to simultaneously measure neuroendocrine, immune and autonomic nervous system (ANS responses to psychological and physiological stressors in relation to ELS. Five healthy university students were recruited by advertisement. Exclusion criteria included chronic medical conditions, psychotic disorders, needle phobia, inability to tolerate pain, and those using anti-inflammatory medications. They were clinically interviewed and physiological recordings made over a two-hour period pre, during and post two acute stressors: the cold pressor test and recalling a distressing memory. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Parental Bonding Index were utilised to measure ELS. Other psychological measures of mood and personality were also administered. Measurements of heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, skin conductance, skin blood flow and temporal plasma samples were successfully obtained before, during and after acute stress. Participants reported the extensive psychological and multisystem physiological data collection and stress provocations were tolerable. Most (4/5 participants indicated a willingness to return to repeat the protocol, indicating acceptability. Our protocol is viable and safe in young physically healthy adults and allows us to assess simultaneously neuroendocrine, immune and autonomic nervous system responses to stressors in persons assessed for ELS. Keywords: Childhood-stress, Adverse-childhood-events, Childhood-trauma questionnaire, Parental-bonding-instrument, Type D scale (DS14

  17. Early life vaccination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nazerai, Loulieta; Bassi, Maria Rosaria; Uddbäck, Ida Elin Maria

    2016-01-01

    Intracellular pathogens represent a serious threat during early life. Importantly, even though the immune system of newborns may be characterized as developmentally immature, with a propensity to develop Th2 immunity, significant CD8+ T-cell responses may still be elicited in the context of optimal...... the first period of life and provide a pertinent alternative in infant vaccinology. To address this, infant mice were vaccinated with three different adenoviral vectors and the CD8+ T-cell response after early life vaccination was explored. We assessed the frequency, polyfunctionality and in vivo...... cytotoxicity of the elicited memory CD8+ T cells, as well as the potential of these cells to respond to secondary infections and confer protection. We further tested the impact of maternal immunity against our replication-deficient adenoviral vector during early life vaccination. Overall, our results indicate...

  18. Early Life Exposures and Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Early-life events and exposures have important consequences for cancer development later in life, however, epidemiological studies of early-life factors and cancer development later in life have had significant methodological challenges.

  19. Stressful life events, vulnerable to stress and depression among ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The present study was carried out to observe the difference between male and female Eritrean students on the basis of stressful life events, vulnerable to stress and depression. Stressful life Events Questionnaire, Vulnerable to Stress Instrument and Beck Depression Scale were administered to gather information. The data ...

  20. Early life stress induces attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-like behavioral and brain metabolic dysfunctions: functional imaging of methylphenidate treatment in a novel rodent model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bock, J; Breuer, S; Poeggel, G; Braun, K

    2017-03-01

    In a novel animal model Octodon degus we tested the hypothesis that, in addition to genetic predisposition, early life stress (ELS) contributes to the etiology of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder-like behavioral symptoms and the associated brain functional deficits. Since previous neurochemical observations revealed that early life stress impairs dopaminergic functions, we predicted that these symptoms can be normalized by treatment with methylphenidate. In line with our hypothesis, the behavioral analysis revealed that repeated ELS induced locomotor hyperactivity and reduced attention towards an emotionally relevant acoustic stimulus. Functional imaging using ( 14 C)-2-fluoro-deoxyglucose-autoradiography revealed that the behavioral symptoms are paralleled by metabolic hypoactivity of prefrontal, mesolimbic and subcortical brain areas. Finally, the pharmacological intervention provided further evidence that the behavioral and metabolic dysfunctions are due to impaired dopaminergic neurotransmission. Elevating dopamine in ELS animals by methylphenidate normalized locomotor hyperactivity and attention-deficit and ameliorated brain metabolic hypoactivity in a dose-dependent manner.

  1. An experimental demonstration that early-life competitive disadvantage accelerates telomere loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nettle, Daniel; Monaghan, Pat; Gillespie, Robert; Brilot, Ben; Bedford, Thomas; Bateson, Melissa

    2015-01-07

    Adverse experiences in early life can exert powerful delayed effects on adult survival and health. Telomere attrition is a potentially important mechanism in such effects. One source of early-life adversity is the stress caused by competitive disadvantage. Although previous avian experiments suggest that competitive disadvantage may accelerate telomere attrition, they do not clearly isolate the effects of competitive disadvantage from other sources of variation. Here, we present data from an experiment in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) that used cross-fostering to expose siblings to divergent early experience. Birds were assigned either to competitive advantage (being larger than their brood competitors) or competitive disadvantage (being smaller than their brood competitors) between days 3 and 12 post-hatching. Disadvantage did not affect weight gain, but it increased telomere attrition, leading to shorter telomere length in disadvantaged birds by day 12. There were no effects of disadvantage on oxidative damage as measured by plasma lipid peroxidation. We thus found strong evidence that early-life competitive disadvantage can accelerate telomere loss. This could lead to faster age-related deterioration and poorer health in later life.

  2. Life stress and mental disorders in the South African Stress and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Life stress and mental disorders in the South African Stress and Health study. ... Although stressful life events (SLEs) are associated with psychopathology, the ... life stress and sociodemographic predictors of 12-month and lifetime disorder.

  3. Emotional non-acceptance links early life stress and blunted cortisol reactivity to social threat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cărnuţă, Mihai; Crişan, Liviu G; Vulturar, Romana; Opre, Adrian; Miu, Andrei C

    2015-01-01

    Early life stress (ELS) has been recently associated with blunted cortisol reactivity and emotion dysregulation, but no study until now examined whether these characteristics are related. The main goal of this study was to examine the potential mediator role of emotion dysregulation in the relation between ELS and cortisol reactivity to social threat. Only women who were free of psychiatric and endocrine disorders, had regular menstrual cycle and did not use oral contraceptives were selected for this study (N=62). After filling in ELS and multidimensional emotion dysregulation measures, participants underwent the Trier Social Stress Test during which cortisol and autonomic responses were assessed. Most participants (85.5%) reported one or more major stressful events (i.e., physical abuse, sexual abuse, major parental conflicts, death of a family or close friend, severe illness) experienced before age 17. ELS was negatively associated with cortisol reactivity and positively associated with skin conductance level (SCL) reactivity, but it did not influence heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia. In addition, ELS was positively related to emotional non-acceptance (i.e., a tendency to develop secondary emotional responses to one's negative emotions), and the latter was negatively related to cortisol responses and positively related to SCL responses. Bootstrapping analyses indicated that emotional non-acceptance was a significant mediator in the relationships between ELS and both cortisol and SCL responses. Emotional non-acceptance is thus one of the psychological mechanisms underlying blunted cortisol and increased sympathetic reactivity in young healthy volunteers with a history of ELS. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Beneficial effects of environmental enrichment on behavior, stress reactivity and synaptophysin/BDNF expression in hippocampus following early life stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dandi, Εvgenia; Kalamari, Aikaterini; Touloumi, Olga; Lagoudaki, Rosa; Nousiopoulou, Evangelia; Simeonidou, Constantina; Spandou, Evangelia; Tata, Despina A

    2018-06-01

    Exposure to environmental enrichment can beneficially influence the behavior and enhance synaptic plasticity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mediated effects of environmental enrichment on postnatal stress-associated impact with regard to behavior, stress reactivity as well as synaptic plasticity changes in the dorsal hippocampus. Wistar rat pups were submitted to a 3 h maternal separation (MS) protocol during postnatal days 1-21, while another group was left undisturbed. On postnatal day 23, a subgroup from each rearing condition (maternal separation, no-maternal separation) was housed in enriched environmental conditions until postnatal day 65 (6 weeks duration). At approximately three months of age, adult rats underwent behavioral testing to evaluate anxiety (Elevated Plus Maze), locomotion (Open Field Test), spatial learning and memory (Morris Water Maze) as well as non-spatial recognition memory (Novel Object Recognition Test). After completion of behavioral testing, blood samples were taken for evaluation of stress-induced plasma corticosterone using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while immunofluorescence was applied to evaluate hippocampal BDNF and synaptophysin expression in dorsal hippocampus. We found that environmental enrichment protected against the effects of maternal separation as indicated by the lower anxiety levels and the reversal of spatial memory deficits compared to animals housed in standard conditions. These changes were associated with increased BDNF and synaptophysin expression in the hippocampus. Regarding the neuroendocrine response to stress, while exposure to an acute stressor potentiated corticosterone increases in maternally-separated rats, environmental enrichment of these rats prevented this effect. The current study aimed at investigating the compensatory role of enriched environment against the negative outcomes of adverse experiences early in life concurrently on emotional and cognitive

  5. Profiled Roller Stress/Fatigue Life Analysis Methodology and Establishment of an Appropriate Stress/Life Exponent

    Science.gov (United States)

    1997-01-01

    The objective of this work was to determine the three dimensional volumetric stress field, surface pressure distribution and actual contact area between a 0.50" square roller with different crown profiles and a flat raceway surface using Finite Element Analysis. The 3-dimensional stress field data was used in conjunction with several bearing fatigue life theories to extract appropriate values for stress-life exponents. Also, results of the FEA runs were used to evaluate the laminated roller model presently used for stress and life prediction.

  6. How does a neuron know to modulate its epigenetic machinery in response to early-life environment/experience?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carley A Karsten

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Exciting information is emerging about epigenetic mechanisms and their role in long-lasting changes of neuronal gene expression. Whereas these mechanisms are active throughout life, recent findings point to a critical window of early postnatal development during which neuronal gene expression may be persistently re-programmed via epigenetic modifications. However, it remains unclear how the epigenetic machinery is modulated. Here we focus on an important example of early-life programming: the effect of sensory input from the mother on expression patterns of key stress-related genes in the developing brain. We focus on the lasting effects of this early life experience on corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH gene expression in the hypothalamus, and describe recent work that integrates organism-wide signals with cellular signals that in turn impact epigenetic regulation. We describe the operational brain networks that convey sensory input to CRH-expressing cells, and highlight the resulting re-wiring of synaptic connectivity to these neurons. We then move from intercellular to intracellular mechanisms, speculating about the induction and maintenance of lifelong CRH repression provoked by early-life experience. Elucidating such pathways is critical for understanding the enduring links between experience and gene expression. In the context of responses to stress, such mechanisms should contribute to vulnerability or resilience to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD and other stress-related disorders.

  7. THE COMBINED EFFECTS OF STRESS CONCENTRATION AND TENSILE STRESSES FROM AUTOFRETTAGE ON THE LIFE OF PRESSURE VESSELS

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-02-22

    information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing ... hydraulically or mechanically overstrained in order to impart favorable near bore residual compressive hoop stresses in an attempt to enhance fatigue life. As a...detrimental. In the early stages of development of each system, multiple full size vessels are hydraulically fatigue tested and a safe life is

  8. Maternal life event stress and congenital anomalies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carmichael, S L; Shaw, G M

    2000-01-01

    We used data from a population-based case-control study to explore the relation between certain life events during the periconceptional period and several types of congenital anomalies. We ascertained cases from pregnancies ending in 1987-1989 and randomly selected controls from eligible liveborn infants. In telephone interviews, women reported deaths of anyone close to them. They also reported job losses or separations/divorces, for themselves or anyone close to them. Experiencing at least one stressful event during the periconceptional period was associated with a prevalence odds ratio of 1.4-1.5 for the delivery of infants with conotruncal heart defects, neural tube defects, and isolated cleft lip with or without palate. These associations tended to be restricted to women who were not obese and women with less than or equal to a high school education. This study suggests that women who experience stressful life events around the time of conception or early gestation may be at increased risk of delivering infants with certain congenital anomalies.

  9. The consequences of early life adversity: neurobiological, behavioural and epigenetic adaptations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Maccari, S.; Krugers, H.J.; Morley-Fletcher, S.; Szyf, M.; Brunton, P.J.

    2014-01-01

    During the perinatal period, the brain is particularly sensitive to remodelling by environmental factors. Adverse early life experiences, such as stress exposure or sub-optimal maternal care can have long-lasting detrimental consequences for an individual. This phenomenon is often referred to as

  10. Daily Life Mechanisms of Stress Spillover among Early Adolescents Experiencing Academic Difficulty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salamon, Reda; Johnson, Elizabeth I.; Swendsen, Joel

    2011-01-01

    Research has suggested that academic stress may "spillover" into other life domains and have negative psychological or social consequences for children and adolescents outside of school settings, but relatively few investigations have examined mediators and moderators of spillover. The current study explored the mediating role of state…

  11. Early Life Factors and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinli Jiang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM is a multifactorial disease, and its aetiology involves a complex interplay between genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. In recent years, evidences from both human and animal experiments have correlated early life factors with programming diabetes risk in adult life. Fetal and neonatal period is crucial for organ development. Many maternal factors during pregnancy may increase the risk of diabetes of offsprings in later life, which include malnutrition, healthy (hyperglycemia and obesity, behavior (smoking, drinking, and junk food diet, hormone administration, and even stress. In neonates, catch-up growth, lactation, glucocorticoids administration, and stress have all been found to increase the risk of insulin resistance or T2DM. Unfavorable environments (socioeconomic situation and famine or obesity also has long-term negative effects on children by causing increased susceptibility to T2DM in adults. We also address the potential mechanisms that may underlie the developmental programming of T2DM. Therefore, it might be possible to prevent or delay the risk for T2DM by improving pre- and/or postnatal factors.

  12. Effects of early-life adversity on immune function are mediated by prenatal environment: Role of prenatal alcohol exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raineki, Charlis; Bodnar, Tamara S; Holman, Parker J; Baglot, Samantha L; Lan, Ni; Weinberg, Joanne

    2017-11-01

    The contribution of the early postnatal environment to the pervasive effects of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is poorly understood. Moreover, PAE often carries increased risk of exposure to adversity/stress during early life. Dysregulation of immune function may play a role in how pre- and/or postnatal adversity/stress alters brain development. Here, we combine two animal models to examine whether PAE differentially increases vulnerability to immune dysregulation in response to early-life adversity. PAE and control litters were exposed to either limited bedding (postnatal day [PN] 8-12) to model early-life adversity or normal bedding, and maternal behavior and pup vocalizations were recorded. Peripheral (serum) and central (amygdala) immune (cytokines and C-reactive protein - CRP) responses of PAE animals to early-life adversity were evaluated at PN12. Insufficient bedding increased negative maternal behavior in both groups. Early-life adversity increased vocalization in all animals; however, PAE pups vocalized less than controls. Early-life adversity reduced serum TNF-α, KC/GRO, and IL-10 levels in control but not PAE animals. PAE increased serum CRP, and levels were even higher in pups exposed to adversity. Finally, PAE reduced KC/GRO and increased IL-10 levels in the amygdala. Our results indicate that PAE alters immune system development and both behavioral and immune responses to early-life adversity, which could have subsequent consequences for brain development and later life health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. All that's mine I carry with me. Early life disease and adult health in Sweden during 250 years

    OpenAIRE

    Lindström, Martin

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this thesis is to study early life risk exposures in relation to adult health and mortality in Sweden during 250 years. A number of causal mechanisms by which exposure to diseases and stressful economic and social conditions early in life may lead to increased morbidity and mortality later in life are discussed (paper I). The early life exposures investigated are the foetal origins (nutrition) and the inflammation hypotheses. Longitudinal demographic and socioeconomic data for indi...

  14. Regional homogeneity and resting state functional connectivity: associations with exposure to early life stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philip, Noah S; Kuras, Yuliya I; Valentine, Thomas R; Sweet, Lawrence H; Tyrka, Audrey R; Price, Lawrence H; Carpenter, Linda L

    2013-12-30

    Early life stress (ELS) confers risk for psychiatric illness. Previous literature suggests ELS is associated with decreased resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) in adulthood, but there are no studies of resting-state neuronal activity in this population. This study investigated whether ELS-exposed individuals demonstrate resting-state activity patterns similar to those found in PTSD. Twenty-seven adults (14 with at least moderate ELS), who were medication-free and without psychiatric or medical illness, underwent MRI scans during two 4-minute rest periods. Resting-state activity was examined using regional homogeneity (ReHo), which estimates regional activation patterns through indices of localized concordance. ReHo values were compared between groups, followed by rs-FC analyses utilizing ReHo-localized areas as seeds to identify other involved regions. Relative to controls, ELS subjects demonstrated diminished ReHo in the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and superior temporal gyrus (STG). ReHo values were inversely correlated with ELS severity. Secondary analyses revealed decreased rs-FC between the IPL and right precuneus/posterior cingulate, left fusiform gyrus, cerebellum and caudate in ELS subjects. These findings indicate that ELS is associated with altered resting-state activity and connectivity in brain regions involved in trauma-related psychiatric disorders. Future studies are needed to evaluate whether these associations represent potential imaging biomarkers of stress exposure. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  15. Why are there lasting effects from exposure to stress during development? An analysis of current models of early stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaby, Lauren E

    2016-10-01

    The potential for stressful experiences in early life to cause lasting changes in phenotype is well documented, but the functional and evolutionary context of these changes is not well understood. Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the role of lasting effects of stress exposure during gestation and early development; the purpose of this review is to discuss these hypotheses in the context of human and non-human animal research in the last three decades in order to (i) further dialogues between those approaching early stress from biomedical and evolutionary/ecological perspectives, (ii) outline strengths and limitations of current hypotheses, with respect to species and context-specific effects of exposure to stress in early development, and (iii) address recent evidence suggesting that stress in early development can have beneficial effects in adulthood. It is suggested that the hypotheses discussed are not mutually exclusive, but the applicability of each hypothesis will depend upon the environmental conditions and stability a species, or perhaps even an individual, experiences in their lifetime. Potential investigations to clarify applications of the current hypotheses are discussed, including longitudinal studies that span multiple developmental stages and investigations of species where measures of fitness are possible. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Origins of Early Adolescents' Hope: Personality, Parental Attachment, and Stressful Life Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otis, Kristin L.; Huebner, E. Scott; Hills, Kimberly J.

    2016-01-01

    Psychology has recently increased attention to identifying psychological qualities in individuals that indicate positive mental health, such as hope. In an effort to understand further the origins of hope, we examined the relations among parental attachment, stressful life events, personality variables, and hope in a sample of 647 middle school…

  17. Modulation of early stress-induced neurobiological changes: a review of behavioural and pharmacological interventions in animal models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, E L; Baune, B T

    2014-05-13

    Childhood adversity alters the predisposition to psychiatric disorders later in life. Those with psychiatric conditions and a history of early adversity exhibit a higher incidence of treatment resistance compared with individuals with no such history. Modulation of the influence early stress exerts over neurobiology may help to prevent the development of psychiatric disorders in some cases, while attenuating the extent of treatment resistance in those with established psychiatric disorders. This review aims to critically evaluate the ability of behavioural, environmental and pharmacologic interventions to modulate neurobiological changes induced by early stress in animal models. Databases were systematically searched to locate literature relevant to this review. Early adversity was defined as stress that resulted from manipulation of the mother-infant relationship. Analysis was restricted to animal models to enable characterisation of how a given intervention altered specific neurobiological changes induced by early stress. A wide variety of changes in neurobiology due to early stress are amenable to intervention. Behavioural interventions in childhood, exercise in adolescence and administration of epigenetic-modifying drugs throughout life appear to best modulate cellar and behavioural alterations induced by childhood adversity. Other pharmacotherapies, such as endocannabinoid system modulators, anti-inflammatories and antidepressants can also influence these neurobiological and behavioural changes that result from early stress, although findings are less consistent at present and require further investigation. Further work is required to examine the influence that behavioural interventions, exercise and epigenetic-modifying drugs exert over alterations that occur following childhood stress in human studies, before possible translational into clinical practice is possible.

  18. Early-life adversity facilitates acquisition of cocaine self-administration and induces persistent anhedonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica L. Bolton

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Early-life adversity increases the risk for emotional disorders such as depression and schizophrenia. Anhedonia, thought to be a core feature of these disorders, is provoked by our naturalistic rodent model of childhood adversity (i.e., rearing pups for one week in cages with limited bedding and nesting, LBN. Drug use and addiction are highly comorbid with psychiatric disorders featuring anhedonia, yet effects of LBN on drug-seeking behavior and the reward and stress-related circuits that underlie it remain unknown. Here we examined the effects of LBN on cocaine intake and seeking, using a battery of behavioral tests measuring distinct aspects of cocaine reward, and for comparison, chocolate intake. We also examined activation of neurons within the pleasure/reward and stress circuits following cocaine in LBN and control rats. Early-life adversity reduced spontaneous intake of palatable chocolate, extending prior reports of sucrose and social-play anhedonia. In a within-session cocaine behavioral economic test, LBN rats self-administered lower dosages of cocaine under low-effort conditions, consistent with a reduced hedonic set-point for cocaine, and potentially anhedonia. In contrast, cocaine demand elasticity was not consistently affected, indicating no major changes in motivation to maintain preferred cocaine blood levels. These changes were selective, as LBN did not cause an overt anxiety-like phenotype, nor did it affect sensitivity to self-administered cocaine dose, responding for cocaine under extinction conditions, cocaine- or cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking, or locomotor response to acute cocaine. However, high Fos expression was seen after cocaine in both reward- and stress-related brain regions of LBN rats, including nucleus accumbens core, central amygdala, and lateral habenula. In contrast, hypothalamic orexin neuron activation after cocaine was significantly attenuated in LBN rats. Together, these findings demonstrate

  19. The impact of life stress on adult depression and anxiety is dependent on gender and timing of exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herbison, Carly E; Allen, Karina; Robinson, Monique; Newnham, John; Pennell, Craig

    2017-10-01

    There is debate about the relative importance of timing of stressful events prenatally and over the life course and risk for subsequent depressive/anxious illness. The aim of this study was to examine the relative roles of prenatal stress and postnatal stress trajectories in predicting depression and anxiety in early adulthood in males and females. Exposure to life stress events was examined in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study during pregnancy and ages 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 14, and 17 years. At age 20, offspring completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. Prenatal stress and trajectories of stress events from age 1 to 17 were analyzed in linear regression analyses. Five postnatal stress trajectories were identified. In females, medium to high chronic stress exposure or exposure during puberty/adolescence predicted depression and anxiety symptoms while low or reduced stress exposure over the life course did not, after adjustment for relevant confounders. High stress early in pregnancy contributed to male depression/anxiety symptoms independent of postnatal stress trajectory. In females, postnatal stress trajectory was more important than prenatal stress in predicting depression/anxiety symptoms. Interventions focused on reducing and managing stress events around conception/pregnancy and exposure to chronic stress are likely to have beneficial outcomes on rates of depression and anxiety in adults.

  20. The interaction of corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor gene and early life stress on emotional empathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimm, Simone; Wirth, Katharina; Fan, Yan; Weigand, Anne; Gärtner, Matti; Feeser, Melanie; Dziobek, Isabel; Bajbouj, Malek; Aust, Sabine

    2017-06-30

    Early life stress (ELS) is associated with increased vulnerability for depression, changes to the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) system and structural and functional changes in hippocampus. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the CRH receptor 1 (CRHR1) gene interact with ELS to predict depression, cognitive functions and hippocampal activity. Social cognition has been related to hippocampal function and might be crucial for maintaining mental health. However, the interaction of CRHR1 gene variation and ELS on social cognition has not been investigated yet. We assessed social cognition in 502 healthy subjects to test effects of ELS and the CRHR1 gene. Participants were genotyped for rs110402 and rs242924. ELS was assessed by Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, social cognition was measured via Multifaceted Empathy Test and Empathy Quotient. Severity of ELS was associated with decreased emotional, but not cognitive empathy. Subjects with the common homozygous GG GG genotype showed decreased implicit emotional empathy after ELS exposure regardless of its severity. The results reveal that specific CRHR1 polymorphisms moderate the effect of ELS on emotional empathy. Exposure to ELS in combination with a vulnerable genotype results in impaired emotional empathy in adulthood, which might represent an early marker of increased vulnerability after ELS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. PER1 rs3027172 genotype interacts with early life stress to predict problematic alcohol use, but not reward-related ventral striatum activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David eBaranger

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Increasing evidence suggests that the circadian and stress regulatory systems contribute to alcohol use disorder (AUD risk, which may partially arise through effects on reward-related neural function. The C allele of the PER1 rs3027172 single nucleotide polymorphism reduces PER1 expression in cells incubated with cortisol and has been associated with increased risk for adult AUD and problematic drinking among adolescents exposed to high levels of familial psychosocial adversity. Using data from undergraduate students who completed the ongoing Duke Neurogenetics Study (n=665, we tested whether exposure to early life stress (ELS; Childhood Trauma Questionnaire moderates the association between rs3027172 genotype and later problematic alcohol use (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test as well as ventral striatum (VS reactivity to reward (card-guessing task while functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired. Initial analyses found that PER1 rs3027172 genotype interacted with ELS to predict both problematic drinking and VS reactivity; minor C allele carriers, who were also exposed to elevated ELS reported greater problematic drinking and exhibited greater ventral striatum reactivity to reward-related stimuli. When gene x covariate and environment x covariate interactions were controlled for, the interaction predicting problematic alcohol use remained significant (p<0.05, corrected while the interaction predicting VS reactivity was no longer significant. These results extend our understanding of relationships between PER1 genotype, early life stress, and problematic alcohol use, and serve as a cautionary tale on the importance of controlling for potential confounders in studies of moderation including gene x environment interactions.

  2. Neonatal stress-induced affective changes in adolescent Wistar rats: early signs of schizophrenia-like behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Eduardo Neves Girardi

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Psychiatric disorders are multifactorial diseases with etiology that may involve genetic factors, early life environment and stressful life events. The neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia is based on a wealth of data on increased vulnerability in individuals exposed to insults during the perinatal period. Maternal deprivation disinhibits the adrenocortical response to stress in neonatal rats and has been used as an animal model of schizophrenia. To test if long-term affective consequences of early life stress were influenced by maternal presence, we submitted 10-day old rats, either deprived (for 22 h or not from their dams, to a stress challenge (i.p. saline injection. Corticosterone plasma levels were measured 2 h after the challenge, whereas another subgroup was assessed for behavior in the open field, elevated plus maze, social investigation and the negative contrast sucrose consumption test in adolescence (postnatal day 45. Maternally deprived rats exhibited increased plasma corticosterone levels which were higher in maternally deprived and stress challenged pups. Social investigation was impaired in maternally deprived rats only, while saline injection, independently of maternal deprivation, was associated with increased anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze and an impaired intake decrement in the negative sucrose contrast. In the open field, center exploration was reduced in all maternally-deprived adolescents and in control rats challenged with saline injection. The most striking finding was that exposure to a stressful stimulus per se, regardless of maternal deprivation, was linked to differential emotional consequences. We therefore propose that besides being a well-known and validated model of schizophrenia in adult rats, the maternal deprivation paradigm could be extended to model early signs of psychiatric dysfunction, and would particularly be a useful tool to detect early signs that resemble schizophrenia.

  3. The influence of social environment in early life on the behavior, stress response, and reproductive system of adult male Norway rats selected for different attitudes to humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulevich, R G; Shikhevich, S G; Konoshenko, M Yu; Kozhemyakina, R V; Herbeck, Yu E; Prasolova, L A; Oskina, I N; Plyusnina, I Z

    2015-05-15

    The influence of social disturbance in early life on behavior, response of blood corticosterone level to restraint stress, and endocrine and morphometric indices of the testes was studied in 2-month Norway rat males from three populations: not selected for behavior (unselected), selected for against aggression to humans (tame), and selected for increased aggression to humans (aggressive). The experimental social disturbance included early weaning, daily replacement of cagemates from days 19 to 25, and subsequent housing in twos till the age of 2months. The social disturbance increased the latent period of aggressive behavior in the social interaction test in unselected males and reduced relative testis weights in comparison to the corresponding control groups. In addition, experimental unselected rats had smaller diameters of seminiferous tubules and lower blood testosterone levels. In the experimental group, tame rats had lower basal corticosterone levels, and aggressive animals had lower hormone levels after restraint stress in comparison to the control. The results suggest that the selection in two directions for attitude to humans modifies the response of male rats to social disturbance in early life. In this regard, the selected rat populations may be viewed as a model for investigation of (1) neuroendocrinal mechanisms responsible for the manifestation of aggression and (2) interaction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal systems in stress. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Prediction of life stress on athletes' burnout: the dual role of perceived stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chyi, Theresa; Lu, Frank Jing-Horng; Wang, Erica T W; Hsu, Ya-Wen; Chang, Ko-Hsin

    2018-01-01

    Although many studies adopted Smith's (1986) cognitive-affective model of athletic burnout in examining stress-burnout relationship, very few studies examined the mediating/moderating role of perceived stress on the stress-burnout relationship. We sampled 195 college student-athletes and assessed their life stress, perceived stress, and burnout. Correlation analyses found all study variables correlated. Two separate hierarchical regression analyses found that the "distress" component of perceived stress mediated athletes' two types of life stress-burnout relationship but "counter-stress" component of perceived stress-moderated athletes' general-life stress-burnout relationship. We concluded that interweaving relationships among athletes' life stress, perceived stress, and burnout are not straightforward. Future research should consider the nature of athletes life stress, and dual role of perceived stress in examining its' association with related psychological responses in athletic settings.

  5. Positive and negative early life experiences differentially modulate long term survival and amyloid protein levels in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesuis, Sylvie L; Maurin, Herve; Borghgraef, Peter; Lucassen, Paul J; Van Leuven, Fred; Krugers, Harm J

    2016-06-28

    Stress has been implicated as a risk factor for the severity and progression of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). Early life experiences determine stress responsivity in later life, and modulate age-dependent cognitive decline. Therefore, we examined whether early life experiences influence AD outcome in a bigenic mouse model which progressively develops combined tau and amyloid pathology (biAT mice).Mice were subjected to either early life stress (ELS) or to 'positive' early handling (EH) postnatally (from day 2 to 9). In biAT mice, ELS significantly compromised long term survival, in contrast to EH which increased life expectancy. In 4 month old mice, ELS-reared biAT mice displayed increased hippocampal Aβ levels, while these levels were reduced in EH-reared biAT mice. No effects of ELS or EH were observed on the brain levels of APP, protein tau, or PSD-95. Dendritic morphology was moderately affected after ELS and EH in the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex, while object recognition memory and open field performance were not affected. We conclude that despite the strong transgenic background, early life experiences significantly modulate the life expectancy of biAT mice. Parallel changes in hippocampal Aβ levels were evident, without affecting cognition of young adult biAT mice.

  6. Early-life income inequality and adolescent health and well-being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elgar, Frank J; Gariépy, Geneviève; Torsheim, Torbjørn; Currie, Candace

    2017-02-01

    A prevailing hypothesis about the association between income inequality and poor health is that inequality intensifies social hierarchies, increases stress, erodes social and material resources that support health, and subsequently harms health. However, the evidence in support of this hypothesis is limited by cross-sectional, ecological studies and a scarcity of developmental studies. To address this limitation, we used pooled, multilevel data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study to examine lagged, cumulative, and trajectory associations between early-life income inequality and adolescent health and well-being. Psychosomatic symptoms and life satisfaction were assessed in surveys of 11- to 15-year-olds in 40 countries between 1994 and 2014. We linked these data to national Gini indices of income inequality for every life year from 1979 to 2014. The results showed that exposure to income inequality from 0 to 4 years predicted psychosomatic symptoms and lower life satisfaction in females after controlling lifetime mean income inequality, national per capita income, family affluence, age, and cohort and period effects. The cumulative income inequality exposure in infancy and childhood (i.e., average Gini index from birth to age 10) related to lower life satisfaction in female adolescents but not to symptoms. Finally, individual trajectories in early-life inequality (i.e., linear slopes in Gini indices from birth to 10 years) related to fewer symptoms and higher life satisfaction in females, indicating that earlier exposures mattered more to predicting health and wellbeing. No such associations with early-life income inequality were found in males. These results help to establish the antecedent-consequence conditions in the association between income inequality and health and suggest that both the magnitude and timing of income inequality in early life have developmental consequences that manifest in reduced health and well-being in adolescent girls

  7. WeChat Addiction Suppresses the Impact of Stressful Life Events on Life Satisfaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Bi; Wu, Yan; Jiang, Shengyi; Zhai, Huizhen

    2018-03-01

    The current study examined the influences of stressful life events and WeChat addiction on life satisfaction, and investigated the mediating role of WeChat addiction on the relationship between the two research variables. A total of 463 undergraduates completed self-reported scales for stressful life events, WeChat addiction, and life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the questionnaire data. The results showed the suppressing effect of WeChat addiction on the negative impact of stressful life events on life satisfaction. Stressful life events affect life satisfaction both directly and indirectly. Stressful life events are positively associated with WeChat addiction, which exerts positive impact on life satisfaction. The contributions of the findings are discussed.

  8. Early-life home environment and risk of asthma among inner-city children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, George T; Lynch, Susan V; Bloomberg, Gordon R; Kattan, Meyer; Wood, Robert A; Gergen, Peter J; Jaffee, Katy F; Calatroni, Agustin; Bacharier, Leonard B; Beigelman, Avrahman; Sandel, Megan T; Johnson, Christine C; Faruqi, Ali; Santee, Clark; Fujimura, Kei E; Fadrosh, Douglas; Boushey, Homer; Visness, Cynthia M; Gern, James E

    2018-04-01

    Environmental exposures in early life appear to play an important role in the pathogenesis of childhood asthma, but the potentially modifiable exposures that lead to asthma remain uncertain. We sought to identify early-life environmental risk factors for childhood asthma in a birth cohort of high-risk inner-city children. We examined the relationship of prenatal and early-life environmental factors to the occurrence of asthma at 7 years of age among 442 children. Higher house dust concentrations of cockroach, mouse, and cat allergens in the first 3 years of life were associated with lower risk of asthma (for cockroach allergen: odds ratio per interquartile range increase in concentration, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.36-0.86; P < .01). House dust microbiome analysis using 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing identified 202 and 171 bacterial taxa that were significantly (false discovery rate < 0.05) more or less abundant, respectively, in the homes of children with asthma. A majority of these bacteria were significantly correlated with 1 of more allergen concentrations. Other factors associated significantly positively with asthma included umbilical cord plasma cotinine concentration (odds ratio per geometric SD increase in concentration, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.00-3.09; P = .048) and maternal stress and depression scores. Among high-risk inner-city children, higher indoor levels of pet or pest allergens in infancy were associated with lower risk of asthma. The abundance of a number of bacterial taxa in house dust was associated with increased or decreased asthma risk. Prenatal tobacco smoke exposure and higher maternal stress and depression scores in early life were associated with increased asthma risk. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. All rights reserved.

  9. Maternal and Early-Life Circadian Disruption Have Long-Lasting Negative Consequences on Offspring Development and Adult Behavior in Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smarr, Benjamin L; Grant, Azure D; Perez, Luz; Zucker, Irving; Kriegsfeld, Lance J

    2017-06-12

    Modern life involves chronic circadian disruption through artificial light and these disruptions are associated with numerous mental and physical health maladies. Because the developing nervous system is particularly vulnerable to perturbation, we hypothesized that early-life circadian disruption would negatively impact offspring development and adult function. Pregnant mice were subjected to chronic circadian disruption from the time of uterine implantation through weaning. To dissociate in utero from postnatal effects, a subset of litters was cross-fostered at birth from disrupted dams to control dams and vice versa. Postnatal circadian disruption was associated with reduced adult body mass, social avoidance, and hyperactivity. In utero disruption resulted in more pronounced social avoidance and hyperactivity, phenotypes not abrogated by cross-fostering to control mothers. To examine whether circadian disruption affects development by acting as an early life stressor, we examined birthweight, litter size, maternal cannibalism, and epigenetic modifications. None of these variables differed between control and disrupted dams, or resembled patterns seen following early-life stress. Our findings indicate that developmental chronic circadian disruption permanently affects somatic and behavioral development in a stage-of-life-dependent manner, independent of early life stress mechanisms, underscoring the importance of temporal structure during development, both in utero and early postnatal life.

  10. Life Stress, the "Kindling" Hypothesis, and the Recurrence of Depression: Considerations From a Life Stress Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monroe, Scott M.; Harkness, Kate L.

    2005-01-01

    Major depression is frequently characterized by recurrent episodes over the life course. First lifetime episodes of depression, however, are typically more strongly associated with major life stress than are successive recurrences. A key theoretical issue involves how the role of major life stress changes from an initial episode over subsequent…

  11. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis genetic variation and early stress moderates amygdala function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Iorio, Christina R; Carey, Caitlin E; Michalski, Lindsay J; Corral-Frias, Nadia S; Conley, Emily Drabant; Hariri, Ahmad R; Bogdan, Ryan

    2017-06-01

    Early life stress may precipitate psychopathology, at least in part, by influencing amygdala function. Converging evidence across species suggests that links between childhood stress and amygdala function may be dependent upon hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function. Using data from college-attending non-Hispanic European-Americans (n=308) who completed the Duke Neurogenetics Study, we examined whether early life stress (ELS) and HPA axis genetic variation interact to predict threat-related amygdala function as well as psychopathology symptoms. A biologically-informed multilocus profile score (BIMPS) captured HPA axis genetic variation (FKBP5 rs1360780, CRHR1 rs110402; NR3C2 rs5522/rs4635799) previously associated with its function (higher BIMPS are reflective of higher HPA axis activity). BOLD fMRI data were acquired while participants completed an emotional face matching task. ELS and depression and anxiety symptoms were measured using the childhood trauma questionnaire and the mood and anxiety symptom questionnaire, respectively. The interaction between HPA axis BIMPS and ELS was associated with right amygdala reactivity to threat-related stimuli, after accounting for multiple testing (empirical-p=0.016). Among individuals with higher BIMPS (i.e., the upper 21.4%), ELS was positively coupled with threat-related amygdala reactivity, which was absent among those with average or low BIMPS. Further, higher BIMPS were associated with greater self-reported anxious arousal, though there was no evidence that amygdala function mediated this relationship. Polygenic variation linked to HPA axis function may moderate the effects of early life stress on threat-related amygdala function and confer risk for anxiety symptomatology. However, what, if any, neural mechanisms may mediate the relationship between HPA axis BIMPS and anxiety symptomatology remains unclear. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Early life stress sensitizes the renal and systemic sympathetic system in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loria, Analia S; Brands, Michael W; Pollock, David M; Pollock, Jennifer S

    2013-08-01

    We hypothesized that maternal separation (MS), an early life stress model, induces a sensitization of the sympathetic system. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the renal and systemic sympathetic system in 12- to 14-wk-old male control or MS rats with the following parameters: 1) effect of renal denervation on conscious renal filtration capacity, 2) norepinephrine (NE) content in key organs involved in blood pressure control, and 3) acute systemic pressor responses to adrenergic stimulation or ganglion blockade. MS was performed by separating pups from their mothers for 3 h/day from day 2 to 14; controls were nonhandled littermates. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was examined in renal denervated (DnX; within 2 wk) or sham rats using I¹²⁵-iothalamate plasma clearance. MS-DnX rats showed significantly increased GFR compared with MS-SHAM rats (3.8 ± 0.4 vs. 2.4 ± 0.2 ml/min, respectively, P renal nerves regulate GFR in MS rats. NE content was significantly increased in organ tissues from MS rats (P renal and systemic sympathetic system. Conscious MS rats displayed a significantly greater increase in mean arterial pressure (MAP) in response to NE (2 μg/kg ip) and a greater reduction in MAP in response to mecamylamine (2 mg/kg ip, P renal and systemic sympathetic system ultimately impairing blood pressure regulation.

  13. Proinflammatory T Cell Status Associated with Early Life Adversity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elwenspoek, Martha M C; Hengesch, Xenia; Leenen, Fleur A D; Schritz, Anna; Sias, Krystel; Schaan, Violetta K; Mériaux, Sophie B; Schmitz, Stephanie; Bonnemberger, Fanny; Schächinger, Hartmut; Vögele, Claus; Turner, Jonathan D; Muller, Claude P

    2017-12-15

    Early life adversity (ELA) has been associated with an increased risk for diseases in which the immune system plays a critical role. The ELA immune phenotype is characterized by inflammation, impaired cellular immunity, and immunosenescence. However, data on cell-specific immune effects are largely absent. Additionally, stress systems and health behaviors are altered in ELA, which may contribute to the generation of the ELA immune phenotype. The present investigation tested cell-specific immune differences in relationship to the ELA immune phenotype, altered stress parameters, and health behaviors in individuals with ELA ( n = 42) and those without a history of ELA (control, n = 73). Relative number and activation status (CD25, CD69, HLA-DR, CD11a, CD11b) of monocytes, NK cells, B cells, T cells, and their main subsets were assessed by flow cytometry. ELA was associated with significantly reduced numbers of CD69 + CD8 + T cells ( p = 0.022), increased numbers of HLA-DR + CD4 and HLA-DR + CD8 T cells ( p ELA also showed a trend toward higher numbers of CCR4 + CXCR3 - CCR6 + CD4 T cells. Taken together, our data suggest an elevated state of immune activation in ELA, in which particularly T cells are affected. Although several aspects of the ELA immune phenotype were related to increased activation markers, neither stress nor health-risk behaviors explained the observed group differences. Thus, the state of immune activation in ELA does not seem to be secondary to alterations in the stress system or health-risk behaviors, but rather a primary effect of early life programming on immune cells. Copyright © 2017 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

  14. Early life stress is a risk factor for excessive alcohol drinking and impulsivity in adults and is mediated via a CRF/GABA(A) mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gondré-Lewis, Marjorie C; Warnock, Kaitlin T; Wang, Hong; June, Harry L; Bell, Kimberly A; Rabe, Holger; Tiruveedhula, Veera Venkata Naga Phani Babu; Cook, James; Lüddens, Hartmut; Aurelian, Laure; June, Harry L

    2016-01-01

    Childhood stress and trauma are associated with substance use disorders in adulthood, but the neurological changes that confer increased vulnerability are largely unknown. In this study, maternal separation (MS) stress, restricted to the pre-weaning period, was used as a model to study mechanisms of protracted effects of childhood stress/traumatic experiences on binge drinking and impulsivity. Using an operant self-administration model of binge drinking and a delay discounting assay to measure impulsive-like behavior, we report that early life stress due to MS facilitated acquisition of binge drinking and impulsivity during adulthood in rats. Previous studies have shown heightened levels of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) after MS, and here, we add that MS increased expression levels of GABA(A) α2 subunit in central stress circuits. To investigate the precise role of these circuits in regulating impulsivity and binge drinking, the CRF1 receptor antagonist antalarmin and the novel GABA(A) α2 subunit ligand 3-PBC were infused into the central amygdala (CeA) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Antalarmin and 3-PBC at each site markedly reduced impulsivity and produced profound reductions on binge-motivated alcohol drinking, without altering responding for sucrose. Furthermore, whole-cell patch-clamp studies showed that low concentrations of 3-PBC directly reversed the effect of relatively high concentrations of ethanol on α2β3γ2 GABA(A) receptors, by a benzodiazepine site-independent mechanism. Together, our data provide strong evidence that maternal separation, i.e. early life stress, is a risk factor for binge drinking, and is linked to impulsivity, another key risk factor for excessive alcohol drinking. We further show that pharmacological manipulation of CRF and GABA receptor signaling is effective to reverse binge drinking and impulsive-like behavior in MS rats. These results provide novel insights into the role of the brain stress systems in the

  15. Depression symptoms and stressful life events among college students in Puerto Rico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyes-Rodríguez, Mae Lynn; Rivera-Medina, Carmen L; Cámara-Fuentes, Luis; Suárez-Torres, Alba; Bernal, Guillermo

    2013-03-05

    The transition from adolescence to adulthood is associated with stressful adaptation experiences that may increase symptoms of depression. We explored the prevalence and sex differences of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in freshmen Latino college students in Puerto Rico, and identified stressful life events that could contribute to symptoms of depression. Two thousand one hundred sixty-three freshmen college students from the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) public education system were assessed for depression symptoms using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and stressful life events using open questions. Nine percent of the sample reported depression symptoms at a moderate or severe level (BDI>20). Chi square analyses revealed a significantly higher prevalence for three of the stressful life events in females than males: relocation (10.2% females vs. 7.3% males; X(2) (1)=4.13, p=.042), break-up of a significant relationship (25.3% females vs. 17.8% males; X(2) (1)=13.76, pstressful life events are associated with an increased prevalence of depression symptoms. Early detection of depression and tailored prevention programs should be developed to improve both mental health and academic performance among the college population. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  16. Stress, Adaptive Coping, and Life Satisfaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buser, Juleen K.; Kearney, Anne

    2017-01-01

    The authors examined the relationship between stress, adaptive coping, and life satisfaction among college students who reported having a friend or family member with eating disorder symptomatology. A hierarchical regression confirmed the study's hypotheses. Higher stress was linked with less life satisfaction. After stress was controlled, plan…

  17. A role for corticotropin-releasing factor signaling in the lateral habenula and its modulation by early-life stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Authement, Michael E; Langlois, Ludovic D; Shepard, Ryan D; Browne, Caroline A; Lucki, Irwin; Kassis, Haifa; Nugent, Fereshteh S

    2018-03-06

    Centrally released corticotropin-releasing factor or hormone (extrahypothalamic CRF or CRH) in the brain is involved in the behavioral and emotional responses to stress. The lateral habenula (LHb) is an epithalamic brain region involved in value-based decision-making and stress evasion. Through its inhibition of dopamine-mediated reward circuitry, the increased activity of the LHb is associated with addiction, depression, schizophrenia, and behavioral disorders. We found that extrahypothalamic CRF neurotransmission increased neuronal excitability in the LHb. Through its receptor CRFR1 and subsequently protein kinase A (PKA), CRF application increased the intrinsic excitability of LHb neurons by affecting changes in small-conductance SK-type and large-conductance BK-type K + channels. CRF also reduced inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid-containing (GABAergic) synaptic transmission onto LHb neurons through endocannabinoid-mediated retrograde signaling. Maternal deprivation is a severe early-life stress that alters CRF neural circuitry and is likewise associated with abnormal mental health later in life. LHb neurons from pups deprived of maternal care exhibited increased intrinsic excitability, reduced GABAergic transmission, decreased abundance of SK2 channel protein, and increased activity of PKA, without any substantial changes in Crh or Crhr1 expression. Furthermore, maternal deprivation blunted the response of LHb neurons to subsequent, acute CRF exposure. Activating SK channels or inhibiting postsynaptic PKA activity prevented the effects of both CRF and maternal deprivation on LHb intrinsic excitability, thus identifying potential pharmacological targets to reverse central CRF circuit dysregulation in patients with associated disorders. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

  18. Risk Factors for Preschool Depression: The Mediating Role of Early Stressful Life Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luby, Joan L.; Belden, Andy C.; Spitznagel, Edward

    2006-01-01

    Background: Family history of mood disorders and stressful life events are both established risk factors for childhood depression. However, the role of mediators in risk trajectories, which are potential targets for intervention, remains understudied. To date, there have been no investigations of mediating relationships between risk factors and…

  19. Tough Adults, Frail Babies: An Analysis of Stress Sensitivity across Early Life-History Stages of Widely Introduced Marine Invertebrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pineda, M. Carmen; McQuaid, Christopher D.; Turon, Xavier; López-Legentil, Susanna; Ordóñez, Víctor; Rius, Marc

    2012-01-01

    All ontogenetic stages of a life cycle are exposed to environmental conditions so that population persistence depends on the performance of both adults and offspring. Most studies analysing the influence of abiotic conditions on species performance have focussed on adults, while studies covering early life-history stages remain rare. We investigated the responses of early stages of two widely introduced ascidians, Styela plicata and Microcosmus squamiger, to different abiotic conditions. Stressors mimicked conditions in the habitats where both species can be found in their distributional ranges and responses were related to the selection potential of their populations by analysing their genetic diversity. Four developmental stages (egg fertilisation, larval development, settlement, metamorphosis) were studied after exposure to high temperature (30°C), low salinities (26 and 22‰) and high copper concentrations (25, 50 and 100 µg/L). Although most stressors effectively led to failure of complete development (fertilisation through metamorphosis), fertilisation and larval development were the most sensitive stages. All the studied stressors affected the development of both species, though responses differed with stage and stressor. S. plicata was overall more resistant to copper, and some stages of M. squamiger to low salinities. No relationship was found between parental genetic composition and responses to stressors. We conclude that successful development can be prevented at several life-history stages, and therefore, it is essential to consider multiple stages when assessing species' abilities to tolerate stress. Moreover, we found that early development of these species cannot be completed under conditions prevailing where adults live. These populations must therefore recruit from elsewhere or reproduce during temporal windows of more benign conditions. Alternatively, novel strategies or behaviours that increase overall reproductive success might be

  20. Tough adults, frail babies: an analysis of stress sensitivity across early life-history stages of widely introduced marine invertebrates.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Carmen Pineda

    Full Text Available All ontogenetic stages of a life cycle are exposed to environmental conditions so that population persistence depends on the performance of both adults and offspring. Most studies analysing the influence of abiotic conditions on species performance have focussed on adults, while studies covering early life-history stages remain rare. We investigated the responses of early stages of two widely introduced ascidians, Styela plicata and Microcosmus squamiger, to different abiotic conditions. Stressors mimicked conditions in the habitats where both species can be found in their distributional ranges and responses were related to the selection potential of their populations by analysing their genetic diversity. Four developmental stages (egg fertilisation, larval development, settlement, metamorphosis were studied after exposure to high temperature (30°C, low salinities (26 and 22‰ and high copper concentrations (25, 50 and 100 µg/L. Although most stressors effectively led to failure of complete development (fertilisation through metamorphosis, fertilisation and larval development were the most sensitive stages. All the studied stressors affected the development of both species, though responses differed with stage and stressor. S. plicata was overall more resistant to copper, and some stages of M. squamiger to low salinities. No relationship was found between parental genetic composition and responses to stressors. We conclude that successful development can be prevented at several life-history stages, and therefore, it is essential to consider multiple stages when assessing species' abilities to tolerate stress. Moreover, we found that early development of these species cannot be completed under conditions prevailing where adults live. These populations must therefore recruit from elsewhere or reproduce during temporal windows of more benign conditions. Alternatively, novel strategies or behaviours that increase overall reproductive success

  1. Adolescent internalizing symptoms and negative life events: the sensitizing effects of earlier life stress and cortisol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruttle, Paula L; Armstrong, Jeffrey M; Klein, Marjorie H; Essex, Marilyn J

    2014-11-01

    Although adolescence is marked by increased negative life events and internalizing problems, few studies investigate this association as an ongoing longitudinal process. Moreover, while there are considerable individual differences in the degree to which these phenomena are linked, little is known about the origins of these differences. The present study examines early life stress (ELS) exposure and early-adolescent longitudinal afternoon cortisol level as predictors of the covariation between internalizing symptoms and negative life events across high school. ELS was assessed by maternal report during infancy, and the measure of cortisol was derived from assessments at ages 11, 13, and 15 years. Life events and internalizing symptoms were assessed at ages 15, 17, and 18 years. A two-level hierarchical linear model revealed that ELS and cortisol were independent predictors of the covariation of internalizing symptoms and negative life events. Compared to those with lower levels of ELS, ELS-exposed adolescents displayed tighter covariation between internalizing symptoms and negative life events. Adolescents with lower longitudinal afternoon cortisol displayed tighter covariation between negative life events and internalizing symptoms, while those with higher cortisol demonstrated weaker covariation, partially due to increased levels of internalizing symptoms when faced with fewer negative life events.

  2. Influence of early stress on social abilities and serotonergic functions across generations in mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamara B Franklin

    Full Text Available Exposure to adverse environments during early development is a known risk factor for several psychiatric conditions including antisocial behavior and personality disorders. Here, we induced social anxiety and altered social recognition memory in adult mice using unpredictable maternal separation and maternal stress during early postnatal life. We show that these social defects are not only pronounced in the animals directly subjected to stress, but are also transmitted to their offspring across two generations. The defects are associated with impaired serotonergic signaling, in particular, reduced 5HT1A receptor expression in the dorsal raphe nucleus, and increased serotonin level in a dorsal raphe projection area. These findings underscore the susceptibility of social behaviors and serotonergic pathways to early stress, and the persistence of their perturbation across generations.

  3. The stress of life

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Selye, H

    1978-01-01

    .... This is also a dependable personal guide that tells you how to combat both physical and mental stress, how to handle yourself during the stress of everyday life, and how your bodily changes can help...

  4. Exposure to stressful life events during pregnancy predicts psychotic experiences via behaviour problems in childhood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Betts, Kim S; Williams, Gail M; Najman, Jakob M; Scott, James; Alati, Rosa

    2014-12-01

    Exposure to stressful life events during pregnancy has been associated with later schizophrenia in offspring. We explore how prenatal stress and neurodevelopmental abnormalities in childhood associate to increase the risk of later psychotic experiences. Participants from the Mater University Study of Pregnancy (MUSP), an Australian based, pre-birth cohort study were examined for lifetime DSM-IV positive psychotic experiences at 21 years by a semi-structured interview (n = 2227). Structural equation modelling suggested psychotic experiences were best represented with a bifactor model including a general psychosis factor and two group factors. We tested for an association between prenatal stressful life events with the psychotic experiences, and examined for potential moderation and mediation by behaviour problems and cognitive ability in childhood. Prenatal stressful life events predicted psychotic experiences indirectly via behaviour problems at child age five years, and this relationship was not confounded by maternal stressful life events at child age five. We found no statistical evidence for an interaction between prenatal stressful life events and behaviour problems or cognitive ability. The measurable effect of prenatal stressful life events on later psychotic experiences in offspring manifested as behaviour problems by age 5. By identifying early abnormal behavioural development as an intermediary, this finding further confirms the role of prenatal stress to later psychotic disorders. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Home visiting and the biology of toxic stress: opportunities to address early childhood adversity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garner, Andrew S

    2013-11-01

    Home visiting is an important mechanism for minimizing the lifelong effects of early childhood adversity. To do so, it must be informed by the biology of early brain and child development. Advances in neuroscience, epigenetics, and the physiology of stress are revealing the biological mechanisms underlying well-established associations between early childhood adversity and suboptimal life-course trajectories. Left unchecked, mediators of physiologic stress become toxic, alter both genome and brain, and lead to a vicious cycle of chronic stress. This so-called "toxic stress" results a wide array of behavioral attempts to blunt the stress response, a process known as "behavioral allostasis." Although behaviors like smoking, overeating, promiscuity, and substance abuse decrease stress transiently, over time they become maladaptive and result in the unhealthy lifestyles and noncommunicable diseases that are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. The biology of toxic stress and the concept of behavioral allostasis shed new light on the developmental origins of lifelong disease and highlight opportunities for early intervention and prevention. Future efforts to minimize the effects of childhood adversity should focus on expanding the capacity of caregivers and communities to promote (1) the safe, stable, and nurturing relationships that buffer toxic stress, and (2) the rudimentary but foundational social-emotional, language, and cognitive skills needed to develop healthy, adaptive coping skills. Building these critical caregiver and community capacities will require a public health approach with unprecedented levels of collaboration and coordination between the healthcare, childcare, early education, early intervention, and home visiting sectors.

  6. Early Life Conditions and Physiological Stress following the Transition to Farming in Central/Southeast Europe: Skeletal Growth Impairment and 6000 Years of Gradual Recovery.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alison A Macintosh

    Full Text Available Early life conditions play an important role in determining adult body size. In particular, childhood malnutrition and disease can elicit growth delays and affect adult body size if severe or prolonged enough. In the earliest stages of farming, skeletal growth impairment and small adult body size are often documented relative to hunter-gatherer groups, though this pattern is regionally variable. In Central/Southeast Europe, it is unclear how early life stress, growth history, and adult body size were impacted by the introduction of agriculture and ensuing long-term demographic, social, and behavioral change. The current study assesses this impact through the reconstruction and analysis of mean stature, body mass, limb proportion indices, and sexual dimorphism among 407 skeletally mature men and women from foraging and farming populations spanning the Late Mesolithic through Early Medieval periods in Central/Southeast Europe (~7100 calBC to 850 AD. Results document significantly reduced mean stature, body mass, and crural index in Neolithic agriculturalists relative both to Late Mesolithic hunter-gatherer-fishers and to later farming populations. This indication of relative growth impairment in the Neolithic, particularly among women, is supported by existing evidence of high developmental stress, intensive physical activity, and variable access to animal protein in these early agricultural populations. Among subsequent agriculturalists, temporal increases in mean stature, body mass, and crural index were more pronounced among Central European women, driving declines in the magnitude of sexual dimorphism through time. Overall, results suggest that the transition to agriculture in Central/Southeast Europe was challenging for early farming populations, but was followed by gradual amelioration across thousands of years, particularly among Central European women. This sex difference may be indicative, in part, of greater temporal variation in the

  7. Early Life Conditions and Physiological Stress following the Transition to Farming in Central/Southeast Europe: Skeletal Growth Impairment and 6000 Years of Gradual Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macintosh, Alison A.; Pinhasi, Ron; Stock, Jay T.

    2016-01-01

    Early life conditions play an important role in determining adult body size. In particular, childhood malnutrition and disease can elicit growth delays and affect adult body size if severe or prolonged enough. In the earliest stages of farming, skeletal growth impairment and small adult body size are often documented relative to hunter-gatherer groups, though this pattern is regionally variable. In Central/Southeast Europe, it is unclear how early life stress, growth history, and adult body size were impacted by the introduction of agriculture and ensuing long-term demographic, social, and behavioral change. The current study assesses this impact through the reconstruction and analysis of mean stature, body mass, limb proportion indices, and sexual dimorphism among 407 skeletally mature men and women from foraging and farming populations spanning the Late Mesolithic through Early Medieval periods in Central/Southeast Europe (~7100 calBC to 850 AD). Results document significantly reduced mean stature, body mass, and crural index in Neolithic agriculturalists relative both to Late Mesolithic hunter-gatherer-fishers and to later farming populations. This indication of relative growth impairment in the Neolithic, particularly among women, is supported by existing evidence of high developmental stress, intensive physical activity, and variable access to animal protein in these early agricultural populations. Among subsequent agriculturalists, temporal increases in mean stature, body mass, and crural index were more pronounced among Central European women, driving declines in the magnitude of sexual dimorphism through time. Overall, results suggest that the transition to agriculture in Central/Southeast Europe was challenging for early farming populations, but was followed by gradual amelioration across thousands of years, particularly among Central European women. This sex difference may be indicative, in part, of greater temporal variation in the social status afforded

  8. How emotional abilities modulate the influence of early life stress on hippocampal functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aust, Sabine; Alkan Härtwig, Elif; Koelsch, Stefan; Heekeren, Hauke R; Heuser, Isabella; Bajbouj, Malek

    2014-07-01

    Early life stress (ELS) is known to have considerable influence on brain development, mental health and affective functioning. Previous investigations have shown that alexithymia, a prevalent personality trait associated with difficulties experiencing and verbalizing emotions, is particularly related to ELS. The aim of the present study was to investigate how neural correlates of emotional experiences in alexithymia are altered in the presence and absence of ELS. Therefore, 50 healthy individuals with different levels of alexithymia were matched regarding ELS and investigated with respect to neural correlates of audio-visually induced emotional experiences via functional magnetic resonance imaging. The main finding was that ELS modulated hippocampal responses to pleasant (>neutral) stimuli in high-alexithymic individuals, whereas there was no such modulation in low-alexithymic individuals matched for ELS. Behavioral and psychophysiological results followed a similar pattern. When considered independent of ELS, alexithymia was associated with decreased responses in insula (pleasant > neutral) and temporal pole (unpleasant > neutral). Our results show that the influence of ELS on emotional brain responses seems to be modulated by an individual's degree of alexithymia. Potentially, protective and adverse effects of emotional abilities on brain responses to emotional experiences are discussed. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Influence of early stress on memory reconsolidation: Implications for post-traumatic stress disorder treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villain, Hélène; Benkahoul, Aïcha; Birmes, Philippe; Ferry, Barbara; Roullet, Pascal

    2018-01-01

    Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common consequence of exposure to a life-threatening event. Currently, pharmacological treatments are limited by high rates of relapse, and novel treatment approaches are needed. We have recently demonstrated that propranolol, a β-adrenergic antagonist, inhibited aversive memory reconsolidation in animals. Following this, in an open-label study 70% of patients with PTSD treated with propranolol during reactivation of traumatic memory exhibited full remission. However, the reason why 30% of these patients did not respond positively to propranolol treatment is still unclear. One of the major candidates as factor of treatment resistance is the patient's early-life traumatic history. To test the role of this factor, mice with pre- or postnatal stress are being tested in fear conditioning and in a new behavioral task, the "city-like", specifically designed as a mouse model of PTSD. After reactivation of the traumatic event, mice received propranolol injection to block the noradrenergic system during memory reconsolidation. Results show that, in the "city-like" test, control mice strongly avoided the shock compartment but also the compartments containing cues associated with the electric shocks. Injection of propranolol after reactivation greatly reduced the memory of the traumatic event, but this effect was not present when mice had received pre- or postnatal stress. Moreover, propranolol produced only a very weak effect in the fear conditioning test, and never changed the corticosterone level whatever the behavioral experiment. Taken together our results suggest that our new behavioural paradigm is well adapted to PTSD study in mice, and that early stress exposure may have an impact on propranolol PTSD treatment outcome. These data are critical to understanding the effect of propranolol treatment, in order to improve the therapeutic protocol currently used in humans.

  10. Prediction of life stress on athletes’ burnout: the dual role of perceived stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Erica T.W.; Hsu, Ya-Wen; Chang, Ko-Hsin

    2018-01-01

    Although many studies adopted Smith’s (1986) cognitive–affective model of athletic burnout in examining stress–burnout relationship, very few studies examined the mediating/moderating role of perceived stress on the stress–burnout relationship. We sampled 195 college student-athletes and assessed their life stress, perceived stress, and burnout. Correlation analyses found all study variables correlated. Two separate hierarchical regression analyses found that the “distress” component of perceived stress mediated athletes’ two types of life stress–burnout relationship but “counter-stress” component of perceived stress-moderated athletes’ general-life stress–burnout relationship. We concluded that interweaving relationships among athletes’ life stress, perceived stress, and burnout are not straightforward. Future research should consider the nature of athletes life stress, and dual role of perceived stress in examining its’ association with related psychological responses in athletic settings. PMID:29362691

  11. Prediction of life stress on athletes’ burnout: the dual role of perceived stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Theresa Chyi

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Although many studies adopted Smith’s (1986 cognitive–affective model of athletic burnout in examining stress–burnout relationship, very few studies examined the mediating/moderating role of perceived stress on the stress–burnout relationship. We sampled 195 college student-athletes and assessed their life stress, perceived stress, and burnout. Correlation analyses found all study variables correlated. Two separate hierarchical regression analyses found that the “distress” component of perceived stress mediated athletes’ two types of life stress–burnout relationship but “counter-stress” component of perceived stress-moderated athletes’ general-life stress–burnout relationship. We concluded that interweaving relationships among athletes’ life stress, perceived stress, and burnout are not straightforward. Future research should consider the nature of athletes life stress, and dual role of perceived stress in examining its’ association with related psychological responses in athletic settings.

  12. Effects of early life trauma are dependent on genetic predisposition: a rat study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Russell Vivienne A

    2011-05-01

    mechanisms involved in maintaining their active response in behavioural tests. Basal plasma corticosterone was found to correlate positively with an active response to a novel environment and inescapable stress across all rats. Conclusion SHR are resilient to the anxiogenic effects of maternal separation, and develop a non-anxious, active response to a novel environment following chronic mild stress during the early stages of development. Our findings highlight the importance of genetic predisposition in determining the outcome of early life adversity. SHR may provide a model of early life trauma leading to the development of hyperactivity rather than anxiety and depression. Basal levels of corticosterone correlate with the behavioural response to early life trauma, and may therefore provide a useful marker for susceptibility to a certain behavioural temperament.

  13. Early fasting is long lasting: differences in early nutritional conditions reappear under stressful conditions in adult female zebra finches.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E Tobias Krause

    Full Text Available Conditions experienced during early life can have profound effects on individual development and condition in adulthood. Differences in nutritional provisioning in birds during the first month of life can lead to differences in growth, reproductive success and survival. Yet, under natural conditions shorter periods of nutritional stress will be more prevalent. Individuals may respond differently, depending on the period of development during which nutritional stress was experienced. Such differences may surface specifically when poor environmental conditions challenge individuals again as adults. Here, we investigated long term consequences of differences in nutritional conditions experienced during different periods of early development by female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata on measures of management and acquisition of body reserves. As nestlings or fledglings, subjects were raised under different nutritional conditions, a low or high quality diet. After subjects reached sexual maturity, we measured their sensitivity to periods of food restriction, their exploration and foraging behaviour as well as adult resting metabolic rate (RMR. During a short period of food restriction, subjects from the poor nutritional conditions had a higher body mass loss than those raised under qualitatively superior nutritional conditions. Moreover, subjects that were raised under poor nutritional conditions were faster to engage in exploratory and foraging behaviour. But RMR did not differ among treatments. These results reveal that early nutritional conditions affect adult exploratory behaviour, a representative personality trait, foraging and adult's physiological condition. As early nutritional conditions are reflected in adult phenotypic plasticity specifically when stressful situations reappear, the results suggest that costs for poor developmental conditions are paid when environmental conditions deteriorate.

  14. Early Life Family Conflict, Social Interactions, and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness in Adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    John-Henderson, Neha A; Kamarck, Thomas W; Muldoon, Matthew F; Manuck, Stephen B

    2016-04-01

    Conflict in early life family environments is known to affect psychosocial functioning and coping styles into adulthood and is reported to negatively affect access to psychosocial resources that are critical to the management of stress. However, it remains unknown whether early life family conflict similarly affects subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adulthood. We predicted that family conflict in early life would be associated with greater mean intima-media thickness (IMT), a subclinical marker of CVD risk, in adulthood. Data were collected in a community sample of 503 adults (47.4 % male, mean [standard deviation] age = 42.8 [7.3] years). Associations between family conflict in early life with IMT (assessed using B-mode ultrasound) in adulthood were examined using regression analysis. We also tested for indirect effects of early life family conflict on mean IMT through ecological momentary assessment reports of social interactions, diversity of social roles, and perceived social support. Linear regression analyses adjusted for demographics and physiological risk factors showed conflict in early life associated with greater mean IMT (β = 0.08, t(447) = 2.13, p = .034, R = 0.46). Early life conflict was significantly related to diversity of social roles, perceived social support, and ecological momentary assessment reports of pleasant and social conflict interactions. Significant indirect effects of early life conflict on mean IMT were observed through fewer pleasant social interactions and more frequent social conflict interactions in adulthood (β = 0.001 [95% confidence interval = 0.0001-0.0014] and β = 0.001 [95% confidence interval = 0.0002-0.0015], respectively). These findings provide initial evidence that family conflict in early life heightens CVD risk in adulthood, in part by shaping the quality of adulthood social interactions.

  15. Early Psychosocial Stress Predicts Extra-Pair Copulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicole Koehler

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Cheating on a mate, known as an extra-pair copulation (EPC, is considered unacceptable by most individuals. Nonetheless many individuals engage in such risky behaviors. Because individuals with high, as opposed to low, levels of early psychosocial stress are more risk prone and more likely to engage in opportunistic matings, we predicted that individuals reporting EPCs, one of many types of opportunistic mating (e.g., one-night stand, consecutive short-term relationships etc, have higher levels of early psychosocial stress than those who do not. Two types of EPCs were examined: EPC-self (EPC-S, having sex with someone other than one's mate, and EPC-other (EPC-O, having sex with someone else's mate. In a sample of 229 women and 161 men, significantly higher levels of early psychosocial stress were found amongst those reporting an EPC-S than those reporting none, irrespective of EPC-Os. Furthermore, the more EPC-Ss men, but not women, reported the higher their early psychosocial stress. Early psychosocial stress was not associated with EPC-Os irrespective of EPC-Ss. Participants were also classified into one of four groups (no EPCs, EPC-O only, EPC-S only, or EPC-S&O which significantly interacted with early psychosocial stress. Results are discussed from adaptationist and mechanist perspectives and why early psychosocial stress was higher in individuals reporting EPC-Ss irrespective of EPC-Os, but not EPC-Os irrespective of EPC-Ss, than those not reporting the EPC of interest.

  16. Early Life Stress and Sleep Restriction as Risk Factors in PTSD: An Integrative Pre-Clinical Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-01

    Combination of hypothyroidism and stress abolishes early LTP in the CA1 but not dentate gyrus of hippocampus of adult rats. Brain Res. 922(2):250-60...to SR or SRcont, are exposed to the UWT that serves as an ’ Adult -Stress’. Two hours following the UWT, blood samples are taken from all rats’ tail and...exposure to the ’ Adult -stress’. In order to evaluate the chronic response to an ’ adult -stress’, an additional assessment of the animals’ behavioral

  17. Effect of early-life gut mucosal compromise on disease progression in NOD mice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bendtsen, Katja M.; Hansen, Camilla HF; Krych, Lukasz

    2017-01-01

    Disease expression in spontaneous nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice depends on environmental stimuli such as stress, diet, and gut microbiota composition. We evaluated a brief, early-life gut intervention in which pups were weaned to low-dose dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). We hypothesized that the mucus...

  18. Combined effect of TLR2 gene polymorphism and early life stress on the age at onset of bipolar disorders.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Oliveira

    Full Text Available Gene-environment interactions may play an important role in modulating the impact of early-life stressful events on the clinical course of bipolar disorder (BD, particularly associated to early age at onset. Immune dysfunction is thought to be an important mechanism linking childhood trauma with early-onset BD, thus the genetic diversity of immune-related loci may account for an important part of the interindividual susceptibility to this severe subform. Here we investigated the potential interaction between genetic variants of Toll-like receptors 2 (TLR2 and 4 (TLR4, major innate immune response molecules to pathogens, and the childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ in age at onset of BD. We recruited 531 BD patients (type I and II or not otherwise specified, genotyped for the TLR2 rs4696480 and rs3804099 and TLR4 rs1927914 and rs11536891 single-nucleotide polymorphisms and recorded for history of childhood trauma using the CTQ. TLR2 and TLR4 risk genotype carrier state and history of childhood emotional, physical and sexual abuses were evaluated in relation to age at onset as defined by the age at first manic or depressive episode. We observed a combined effect of TLR2 rs3804099 TT genotype and reported sexual abuse on determining an earlier age at onset of BD by means of a Kaplan-Meier survival curve (p = 0.002; corrected p = 0.02. Regression analysis, however, was non-significant for the TLR2-CTQ sexual abuse interaction term. The negative effects of childhood sexual abuse on age at onset of BD may be amplified in TLR2 rs3804099 risk genotype carriers through immune-mediated pathways. Clinical characteristics of illness severity, immune phenotypes and history of early life infectious insults should be included in future studies involving large patient cohorts.

  19. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Stressful Life Events Among Rural Women With HIV Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemppainen, Jeanne K; MacKain, Sally; Alexander, Melissa; Reid, Paula; Jackson, Morgan Parks

    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and stressful life events are frequent and distressing problems for women living with HIV (WLWH). Studies have independently focused on the impact of these problems, but little work has examined the relationship between PTSD and stressful life events. Our cross-sectional study examined relationships between PTSD and recent stressful life events in WLWH. A sample of 60 women recruited through HIV community agencies in southeastern North Carolina completed the Stressful Life Events Questionnaire and the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C). PTSD prevalence was high (43.2%). Two-thirds (66%) reported three or more recent life stressors. Women who experienced a higher number of recent life stressors scored higher on the PCL-C than those with fewer life stressors (p stressful life events may accelerate PTSD symptoms. Findings underscore the importance of addressing mental health issues in HIV treatment settings. Implications for nursing practice are provided. Copyright © 2016 Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Work stress, life stress, and smoking among rural–urban migrant workers in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cui Xiaobo

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Stimulated by rapid modernization and industrialization, there is massive rural–urban migration in China. The migrants are highly susceptible to smoking and mental health problems. This study examined the association between both perceived work stress and perceived life stress with smoking behavior among this group during the period of migration. Methods Participants (n = 1,595 were identified through stratified, multi-stage, systematic sampling. Smoking status separated non-smokers from daily and occasional smokers, and migration history, work stress, and life stress were also measured. Analyses were conducted using the Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression. Two models were utilized. The first was the full model that comprised sociodemographic and migration-related characteristics, as well as the two stress variables. In addressing potential overlap between life and work stress, the second model eliminated one of the two stress variables as appropriate. Results Overall smoking prevalence was 64.9% (95% CI: 62.4-67.2%. In the regression analysis, under the full model, migrants with high perceived life stress showed a 45% excess likelihood to be current smokers relative to low-stress counterparts (OR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.05 – 2.06. Applying the second model, which excluded the life stress variable, migrants with high perceived work stress had a 75% excess likelihood to be current smokers relative to opposites (OR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.26–2.45. Conclusions Rural–urban migrant workers manifested a high prevalence of both life stress and work stress. While both forms of stress showed associations with current smoking, life stress appeared to outweigh the impact of work stress. Our findings could inform the design of tobacco control programs that would target Chinese rural–urban migrant workers as a special population.

  1. Life cycle assessment based environmental impact estimation model for pre-stressed concrete beam bridge in the early design phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Kyong Ju; Yun, Won Gun; Cho, Namho; Ha, Jikwang

    2017-01-01

    The late rise in global concern for environmental issues such as global warming and air pollution is accentuating the need for environmental assessments in the construction industry. Promptly evaluating the environmental loads of the various design alternatives during the early stages of a construction project and adopting the most environmentally sustainable candidate is therefore of large importance. Yet, research on the early evaluation of a construction project's environmental load in order to aid the decision making process is hitherto lacking. In light of this dilemma, this study proposes a model for estimating the environmental load by employing only the most basic information accessible during the early design phases of a project for the pre-stressed concrete (PSC) beam bridge, the most common bridge structure. Firstly, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on the data from 99 bridges by integrating the bills of quantities (BOQ) with a life cycle inventory (LCI) database. The processed data was then utilized to construct a case based reasoning (CBR) model for estimating the environmental load. The accuracy of the estimation model was then validated using five test cases; the model's mean absolute error rates (MAER) for the total environmental load was calculated as 7.09%. Such test results were shown to be superior compared to those obtained from a multiple-regression based model and a slab area base-unit analysis model. Henceforth application of this model during the early stages of a project is expected to highly complement environmentally friendly designs and construction by facilitating the swift evaluation of the environmental load from multiple standpoints. - Highlights: • This study is to develop the model of assessing the environmental impacts on LCA. • Bills of quantity from completed designs of PSC Beam were linked with the LCI DB. • Previous cases were used to estimate the environmental load of new case by CBR model. • CBR

  2. Life cycle assessment based environmental impact estimation model for pre-stressed concrete beam bridge in the early design phase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Kyong Ju, E-mail: kjkim@cau.ac.kr; Yun, Won Gun, E-mail: ogun78@naver.com; Cho, Namho, E-mail: nhc51@cau.ac.kr; Ha, Jikwang, E-mail: wlrhkd29@gmail.com

    2017-05-15

    The late rise in global concern for environmental issues such as global warming and air pollution is accentuating the need for environmental assessments in the construction industry. Promptly evaluating the environmental loads of the various design alternatives during the early stages of a construction project and adopting the most environmentally sustainable candidate is therefore of large importance. Yet, research on the early evaluation of a construction project's environmental load in order to aid the decision making process is hitherto lacking. In light of this dilemma, this study proposes a model for estimating the environmental load by employing only the most basic information accessible during the early design phases of a project for the pre-stressed concrete (PSC) beam bridge, the most common bridge structure. Firstly, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on the data from 99 bridges by integrating the bills of quantities (BOQ) with a life cycle inventory (LCI) database. The processed data was then utilized to construct a case based reasoning (CBR) model for estimating the environmental load. The accuracy of the estimation model was then validated using five test cases; the model's mean absolute error rates (MAER) for the total environmental load was calculated as 7.09%. Such test results were shown to be superior compared to those obtained from a multiple-regression based model and a slab area base-unit analysis model. Henceforth application of this model during the early stages of a project is expected to highly complement environmentally friendly designs and construction by facilitating the swift evaluation of the environmental load from multiple standpoints. - Highlights: • This study is to develop the model of assessing the environmental impacts on LCA. • Bills of quantity from completed designs of PSC Beam were linked with the LCI DB. • Previous cases were used to estimate the environmental load of new case by CBR model. • CBR

  3. Effects of maternal history of depression and early life maltreatment on children's health-related quality of life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dittrich, Katja; Fuchs, Anna; Bermpohl, Felix; Meyer, Justus; Führer, Daniel; Reichl, Corinna; Reck, Corinna; Kluczniok, Dorothea; Kaess, Michael; Hindi Attar, Catherine; Möhler, Eva; Bierbaum, Anna-Lena; Zietlow, Anna-Lena; Jaite, Charlotte; Winter, Sibylle Maria; Herpertz, Sabine C; Brunner, Romuald; Bödeker, Katja; Resch, Franz

    2018-01-01

    There is a well-established link between maternal depression and child mental health. Similar effects have been found for maternal history of early life maltreatment (ELM). However, studies investigating the relationship of children's quality of life and maternal depression are scarce and none have been conducted for the association with maternal ELM. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of maternal history of ELM and depression on children's health-related quality of life and to identify mediating factors accounting for these effects. Our study involved 194 mothers with and without history of depression and/or ELM and their children between five and 12 years. Children's health-related quality of life was assessed by maternal proxy- and child self-ratings using the KIDSCREEN. We considered maternal sensitivity and maternal parenting stress as potential mediators. We found an effect of maternal history of depression but not of maternal history of ELM on health-related quality of life. Maternal stress and sensitivity mediated the effects of maternal depression on child global health-related quality of life, as well as on the dimensions Autonomy & Parent Relation, School Environment (maternal and child rating), and Physical Wellbeing (child rating). Due to the cross-sectional design of the study, causal interpretations must be made with caution. Some scales yielded low internal consistency. Maternal impairments in areas of parenting which possibly developed during acute depression persist even after remission of acute affective symptoms. Interventions should target parenting stress and sensitivity in parents with prior depression. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Cortisol Reactivity to Social Stress as a Mediator of Early Adversity on Risk and Adaptive Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conradt, Elisabeth; Abar, Beau; Lester, Barry M.; LaGasse, Linda L.; Shankaran, Seetha; Bada, Henrietta; Bauer, Charles R.; Whitaker, Toni M.; Hammond, Jane A.

    2014-01-01

    Children chronically exposed to stress early in life are at increased risk for maladaptive outcomes, though the physiological mechanisms driving these effects are unknown. Cortisol reactivity was tested as a mediator of the relation between prenatal substance exposure and/or early adversity on adaptive and maladaptive outcomes. Data were drawn…

  5. Social stress in early adolescents' daily lives: Associations with affect and loneliness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Roekel, Eeske; Ha, Thao; Verhagen, Maaike; Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Scholte, Ron H J; Engels, Rutger C M E

    2015-12-01

    Adolescence is characterized by increased social stress due to changes in interpersonal relationships, but little is known about daily experiences of social stress. The aim of the present study was to examine daily life predictors of increases in social stress, how these increases affected adolescents' mood, and whether loneliness moderated these relations. The Experience Sampling Method was used to measure positive and negative affect and increases in social stress in 278 early adolescents from the Netherlands. Results showed that adolescents were most likely to experience increases in social stress when they were with classmates, during week days, and in the morning. Lonely adolescents showed higher increases in social stress and responded more negatively to increases in social stress, compared to non-lonely adolescents. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Early life stress impairs social recognition due to a blunted response of vasopressin release within the septum of adult male rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukas, Michael; Bredewold, Remco; Landgraf, Rainer; Neumann, Inga D; Veenema, Alexa H

    2011-07-01

    Early life stress poses a risk for the development of psychopathologies characterized by disturbed emotional, social, and cognitive performance. We used maternal separation (MS, 3h daily, postnatal days 1-14) to test whether early life stress impairs social recognition performance in juvenile (5-week-old) and adult (16-week-old) male Wistar rats. Social recognition was tested in the social discrimination test and defined by increased investigation by the experimental rat towards a novel rat compared with a previously encountered rat. Juvenile control and MS rats demonstrated successful social recognition at inter-exposure intervals of 30 and 60 min. However, unlike adult control rats, adult MS rats failed to discriminate between a previously encountered and a novel rat after 60 min. The social recognition impairment of adult MS rats was accompanied by a lack of a rise in arginine vasopressin (AVP) release within the lateral septum seen during social memory acquisition in adult control rats. This blunted response of septal AVP release was social stimulus-specific because forced swimming induced a rise in septal AVP release in both control and MS rats. Retrodialysis of AVP (1 μg/ml, 3.3 μl/min, 30 min) into the lateral septum during social memory acquisition restored social recognition in adult MS rats at the 60-min interval. These studies demonstrate that MS impairs social recognition performance in adult rats, which is likely caused by blunted septal AVP activation. Impaired social recognition may be linked to MS-induced changes in other social behaviors like aggression as shown previously. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Negative life events and symptoms of depression and anxiety: stress causation and/or stress generation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Anna C; Carroll, Douglas; Der, Geoff

    2015-01-01

    Stressful life events are known to contribute to development of depression; however, it is possible this link is bidirectional. The present study examined whether such stress generation effects are greater than the effects of stressful life events on depression, and whether stress generation is also evident with anxiety. Participants were two large age cohorts (N = 732 aged 44 years; N = 705 aged 63 years) from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 study. Stressful life events, depression, and anxiety symptoms were measured twice five years apart. Cross-lagged panel analysis examined the mutual influences of stressful life events on depression and on anxiety over time. Life events predicted later depressive symptomatology (p = .01), but the depression predicting life events relationship was less strong (p = .06), whereas earlier anxiety predicted life events five years later (p = .001). There was evidence of sex differences in the extent to which life events predicted later anxiety. This study provides evidence of stress causation for depression and weaker evidence for stress generation. In contrast, there was strong evidence of stress generation for anxiety but weaker evidence for stress causation, and that differed for men and women.

  8. Xenohormesis in early life: New avenues of research to explore anti-aging strategies through the maternal diet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Medina, Philippe

    2017-11-01

    Aging is a progressive internal physiological deterioration of the organism, leading to the occurrence of age-related lethal diseases. It has become a major societal challenge to understand the processes that drive aging and to develop rational pharmacological agents and dietary approaches to fight against age-related deterioration and diseases. Interestingly, several lines of evidence highlight an influence of the developmental period on the risk of age-related diseases later in life. This field is known as the developmental origins of health and disease. Following this logic, studying the modification of maternal diet during early life may provide innovative new anti-aging approaches. Nutritional and psychological stresses during gestation are associated with poorer offspring health conditions in late life, and must be avoided during pregnancy. Besides these recommendations, very little has been published about the possible use of maternal diet to program offspring for healthy aging and an extended lifespan. Such health benefits may be provided by different foreign molecules, and particularly the phytochemicals produced by stressed plants, or xenohormetins. The xenohormesis hypothesis proposes that xenohormetins are signals of environmental change and trigger a beneficial adaptive response in individuals who consume them. No studies to date have investigated whether the consumption of stressed plants during pregnancy and lactation could provide chemical cues that impact early life programming and thus influence the future health and lifespan of offspring. Investigating the effect of xenohormesis in early life will involve adding edible plants exposed to different stressors (i.e. UV light, heat, ozone, etc.) to maternal diet and the exposure of offspring to this xenohormetin-enriched maternal diet at different periods of their prenatal life. The hypothesis proposed in this article is a potential tool to decipher the possible impact of xenohormesis during early

  9. Dual influences of early-life maternal deprivation on histone deacetylase activity and recognition memory in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albuquerque Filho, Manoel Osório; de Freitas, Betânia Souza; Garcia, Rebeca Carvalho Lacerda; Crivelaro, Pedro Castilhos de Freitas; Schröder, Nadja; de Lima, Maria Noêmia Martins

    2017-03-06

    Exposure to stress early in life may negatively impact nervous system functioning, including increasing the proneness to learning and memory impairments later in life. Maternal deprivation, a model of early-life stress, hinders memory in adult rats and lessens brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in the hippocampus in a very heterogeneous way among individuals. The main goal of the present study was to investigate the possible epigenetic modulation underlying recognition memory impairment and reduced BDNF levels in the hippocampus of adult maternally deprived rats. We also evaluated the potential ameliorating properties of the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, sodium butyrate, on memory deficits and BDNF changes related to maternal deprivation. Maternally deprived animals were categorized as 'inferior learners' and 'superior learners' according to their performance in object recognition memory task in comparison to controls. Results indicated that HDAC activity was higher in individuals submitted to maternal deprivation with the worst cognitive performance (inferior learners). Acute administration of sodium butyrate increased histone H3 acetylation and BDNF levels, and restored recognition memory in maternally deprived animals with the worst cognitive performance. Moreover, we also showed that there is a positive correlation between BDNF levels and memory performance. Taken together, the results indicated that HDAC inhibitors could be considered as a possible therapeutic agent to improve cognitive performance in inferior learners. Further studies need to be conducted for a better comprehension of the mechanisms related to persistent alterations observed in adult life induced by early stressful circumstances and those leading to resilience. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Stressing out in medieval Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gamble, Julia A.; Boldsen, Jesper L.; Hoppa, Robert D.

    2017-01-01

    The influence of early life stress on later life experiences has become a major focus of research in medicine and more recently in bioarchaeology. Dental enamel, which preserves a record of childhood stress events, represents an important resource for this investigation when paired with the infor......The influence of early life stress on later life experiences has become a major focus of research in medicine and more recently in bioarchaeology. Dental enamel, which preserves a record of childhood stress events, represents an important resource for this investigation when paired...

  11. Early-Life Adversity Interacts with FKBP5 Genotypes: Altered Working Memory and Cardiac Stress Reactivity in the Oklahoma Family Health Patterns Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovallo, William R; Enoch, Mary-Anne; Acheson, Ashley; Cohoon, Andrew J; Sorocco, Kristen H; Hodgkinson, Colin A; Vincent, Andrea S; Goldman, David

    2016-06-01

    Exposure to stress during critical periods of development can have adverse effects on adult health behaviors, and genetic vulnerabilities may enhance these stress effects. We carried out an exploratory examination of psychological, physiological, and behavioral characteristics of 252 healthy young adults for the impact of early-life adversity (ELA) in relation to the G-to-A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs9296158, of the FKBP5 gene. FKBP5 is a molecular cochaperone that contributes to the functional status of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and to the quality of corticosteroid signaling. FKBP5 expression is upregulated by cortisol exposure during stressful episodes, with greater upregulation seen in A-allele carriers. As such, FKBP5 expression and GR function may be environmentally sensitive in A-allele carriers and therefore suitable for the study of gene-by-environment (G × E) interactions. Compared with FKBP5, GG homozygotes (N=118), A-allele carriers (N = 132) without psychiatric morbidity had progressively worse performance on the Stroop color-word task with increasing levels of ELA exposure (Genotype × ELA, F=5.14, P=0.007), indicating a G × E interaction on working memory in early adulthood. In addition, heart rate response to mental stress was diminished overall in AA/AG-allele carriers (F=5.15, P=0.024). Diminished working memory and attenuated autonomic responses to stress are both associated with risk for alcoholism and other substance use disorders. The present data suggest that FKBP5 in the GR pathway may be a point of vulnerability to ELA, as seen in this group of non-traumatized young adults. FKBP5 is accordingly a potential target for more extensive studies of the impact of ELA on health and health behaviors in adulthood.

  12. Life course pathways of adverse childhood experiences toward adult psychological well-being: A stress process analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nurius, Paula S; Green, Sara; Logan-Greene, Patricia; Borja, Sharon

    2015-07-01

    Growing evidence suggests that toxic stressors early in life not only convey developmental impacts but also augment risk of proliferating chains of additional stressors that can overwhelm individual coping and undermine recovery and health. Examining trauma within a life course stress process perspective, we posit that early childhood adversity carries a unique capacity to impair adult psychological well-being both independent of and cumulative with other contributors, including social disadvantage and stressful adult experiences. This study uses data from a representative population-based health survey (N=13,593) to provide one of the first multivariate assessments of unique, cumulative, and moderated effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) toward explaining 3 related yet distinct measures of adult mental health: perceived well-being, psychological distress, and impaired daily activities. Results demonstrate support for each set of hypothesized associations, including exacerbation and amelioration of ACEs effects by adult stress and resilience resources, respectively. Implications for services and future research are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Role of stress areas, stress severity, and stressful life events on the onset of depressive disorder: a case-control study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lueboonthavatchai, Peeraphon

    2009-09-01

    Although the stress and stressful life events are known as the precipitation of depressive disorder, the areas of stress and types of stressful life events found in depression are varied by different socio-cultural context. Identify the stress areas, stress severity, and types of stressful life events associated with the onset of depressive disorder in Thai depressed patients. Ninety depressed and ninety non-depressed subjects, aged above 18 years old, from the Department of Psychiatry, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, were recruited into the present study between July 2007 and January 2008. All subjects completed a demographic data form, and a 1-Year Life Stress Event Questionnaire. The association between the number of stressful life events, stress areas, stress severity, types of stressful life events, and the onset of depressive disorder were analyzed by independent t-test and chi-square test. Logistic regression was performed to identify the predictors of depressive disorder. Most of the subjects were young and middle-aged women, living in Bangkok and the central region. The depressed subjects experienced more stressful life events than the non-depressed subjects (5.81 +/- 3.19 vs. 3.24 +/- 2.80 events in one year) (p stress areas (health-related, family-related, financial, occupational, and social stress), and overall stress were associated with the onset of depressive disorder (p stress in all areas were at the higher risk of depressive disorder than those with the mild stress (p stress was the stress area highest associated with the depressive disorder (OR = 5.93, 95% CI = 2.33-16.92, p stressful life events associated with the onset of depressive disorder were the medical hospitalization, medical illness leading to missing work or disturbed daily routine, change in sleeping habits, absence of recreation, arguments with spouse, sexual difficulties with spouse, family financial problems, job loss, and trouble with boss (p stress was the significant

  14. Early-life disruption of amphibian microbiota decreases later-life resistance to parasites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knutie, Sarah A; Wilkinson, Christina L; Kohl, Kevin D; Rohr, Jason R

    2017-07-20

    Changes in the early-life microbiota of hosts might affect infectious disease risk throughout life, if such disruptions during formative times alter immune system development. Here, we test whether an early-life disruption of host-associated microbiota affects later-life resistance to infections by manipulating the microbiota of tadpoles and challenging them with parasitic gut worms as adults. We find that tadpole bacterial diversity is negatively correlated with parasite establishment in adult frogs: adult frogs that had reduced bacterial diversity as tadpoles have three times more worms than adults without their microbiota manipulated as tadpoles. In contrast, adult bacterial diversity during parasite exposure is not correlated with parasite establishment in adult frogs. Thus, in this experimental setup, an early-life disruption of the microbiota has lasting reductions on host resistance to infections, which is possibly mediated by its effects on immune system development. Our results support the idea that preventing early-life disruption of host-associated microbiota might confer protection against diseases later in life.Early-life microbiota alterations can affect infection susceptibility later in life, in animal models. Here, Knutie et al. show that manipulating the microbiota of tadpoles leads to increased susceptibility to parasitic infection in adult frogs, in the absence of substantial changes in the adults' microbiota.

  15. Exogenous determinants of early-life conditions, and mortality later in life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van den Berg, Gerard J; Doblhammer, Gabriele; Christensen, Kaare

    2009-05-01

    We analyze causal effects of conditions early in life on the individual mortality rate later in life. Conditions early in life are captured by transitory features of the macro-environment around birth, notably the state of the business cycle around birth, but also food price deviations, weather indicators, and demographic indicators. We argue that these features can only affect high-age mortality by way of the individual early-life conditions. Moreover, they are exogenous from the individual point of view, which is a methodological advantage compared to the use of unique characteristics of the newborn individual or his or her family or household as early-life indicators. We collected national annual time-series data on the above-mentioned indicators, and we combine these to the individual data records from the Danish Twin Registry covering births in 1873-1906. The empirical analyses (mostly based on the estimation of duration models) indicate a significant negative causal effect of economic conditions early in life on individual mortality rates at higher ages. If the national economic performance in the year of birth exceeds its trend value (i.e., if the business cycle is favorable) then the mortality rate later in life is lower. The implied effect on the median lifetime of those who survive until age 35 is about 10 months. A systematic empirical exploration of all macro-indicators reveals that economic conditions in the first years after birth also affect mortality rates later in life.

  16. The variable effects of stress on alcohol use from adolescence to early adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aseltine, R H; Gore, S L

    2000-04-01

    Despite evidence of a strong association between stress and level of drinking in adolescent populations, the role of stress in accounting for changes in drinking behavior throughout the adolescent years is unclear. This study uses a linear growth curve analysis to examine the determinants of within-individual changes in drinking frequency and binge drinking across five waves of data from a community sample of adolescents who were followed into young adulthood. Predictors of drinking include: stressful life events, parental and peer social support, and parental and peer relationship problems. Findings indicate significant effects of stressful life events and parental support and conflict on both the frequency and intensity of alcohol use. Although age-related changes in these variables coincide with changes in drinking behavior, they do not account for drinking variability over this period. Results from conditional models demonstrate that the impact of the stress is contingent on age, and that the strong associations between drinking and stress evidenced during the high school years weaken considerably as individuals move into their late teens and early twenties. Discussion centers on the complex motivations for and facilitators of drinking as young people mature and change environments over the adolescent years.

  17. Early Life Stages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Childhood should be viewed as a sequence of lifestages, from birth through infancy and adolescence. When assessing early life risks, consideration is given to risks resulting from fetal exposure via the pregnant mother, as well as postnatal exposures.

  18. Stressful life events in a clinical sample of depressed children in Hungary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayer, László; Lopez-Duran, Nestor L; Kovacs, Maria; George, Charles J; Baji, Ildikó; Kapornai, Krisztina; Kiss, Eniko; Vetró, Agnes

    2009-05-01

    There is limited information on the characteristics of stressful life events in depressed pediatric clinical populations and the extent to which sex, age, and their interactions may influence the relations of life events and depression. Using a very large clinical sample of children and adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD), we therefore examined life events in various ways, as well as their relations to age and sex. The study included a clinic-based sample of 434 children (ages 7-14) with a DSM-IV diagnosis of MDD and their mothers, and a school-based comparison sample of 724 children and their mothers. Life event information was obtained from the mothers. Children with MDD had twice the number of lifetime stressful events than did the comparison group, with very high levels of stressors by the age of 7-9 that stabilized across adolescence. In contrast, the comparison sample experienced a gradual increase in stressful life events as a function of age up to mid-adolescence. Parental health events, death of close relatives, and intrafamilial events were significantly associated with MDD diagnosis. There were significantly stronger associations between parental health- as well as death-event clusters and MDD diagnosis among younger children than adolescents. Geographical differences between the clinical and comparison samples, as well as possible parental reporting biases may affect the generalizability of these findings. The association between some stressful life events and MDD seems to be moderated by age, underscoring the need to examine specific events, as well as clusters of events. Better understanding of such interactions may facilitate early identification of possible risk factors for pediatric MDD.

  19. Early Intervention for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, and Quality of Life in Mortuary Affairs Soldiers Postdeployment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biggs, Quinn M; Fullerton, Carol S; McCarroll, James E; Liu, Xian; Wang, Leming; Dacuyan, Nicole M; Zatzick, Douglas F; Ursano, Robert J

    2016-11-01

    U.S. Army mortuary affairs (MA) soldiers experience stressors of deployment and exposure to the dead, increasing risk for post-traumatic stress and depression. This study examines Troop Education for Army Morale, a postdeployment early intervention based on Psychological First Aid. MA soldiers (N = 126) were randomized to intervention or comparison groups 1-month postdeployment. Intervention sessions were held at 2, 3, 4, and 7 months. Assessments of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and quality of life (QOL) were conducted at 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 10 months for both groups. At baseline, 25.0% of the total sample had probable PTSD (17-item PTSD Checklist M = 35.4, SD = 16.9) and 23.6% had probable depression (9-item Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Scale M = 7.8, SD = 6.9). Over 10 months, PTSD and depression symptoms decreased and QOL improved for the total sample. At study conclusion, intervention and comparison groups were not different. Intervention group males showed a transient symptom increase at 2 to 3 months. Males attended fewer intervention sessions than females. Lower attendance was associated with more symptoms and lower QOL. Higher attendance was associated with greater intervention benefits. Findings highlight the need for better understanding postdeployment interventions and facilitating attendance. Further intervention for MA soldiers is indicated. Reprint & Copyright © 2016 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

  20. Thinking Across Generations: Unique Contributions of Maternal Early Life and Prenatal Stress to Infant Physiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Sarah A O; Jones, Christopher W; Theall, Katherine P; Glackin, Erin; Drury, Stacy S

    2017-11-01

    Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is a parasympathetic-mediated biomarker of self-regulation linked to lifespan mental and physical health outcomes. Intergenerational impacts of mothers' exposure to prenatal stress have been demonstrated, but evidence for biological embedding of maternal preconception stress, including adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), on infant RSA is lacking. We examine the independent effects of maternal ACEs and prenatal stress on infant RSA, seeking to broaden the understanding of the earliest origins of mental and physical health risk. Mothers reported on ACEs and prenatal stress. RSA was recorded in a sample of 167 4-month-old infants (49% female and 51% male) during a dyadic stressor, the Still Face Paradigm. Independent contributions of maternal ACEs and prenatal stress to infant RSA were observed. High maternal ACEs were associated with lower RSA, whereas prenatal stress was associated with failure to recover following the stressor. Sex but not race differences were observed. Prenatal stress was associated with higher RSA among boys but lower RSA among girls. Infants' RSA is affected by mothers' life course experiences of stress, with ACEs predicting a lower set point and prenatal stress dampening recovery from stress. For prenatal stress but not ACEs, patterns vary across sex. Findings underscore that stress-reducing interventions for pregnant women or those considering pregnancy may lead to decreased physical and mental health risk across generations. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Repeated restraint stress exposure during early withdrawal accelerates incubation of cue-induced cocaine craving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glynn, Ryan M; Rosenkranz, J Amiel; Wolf, Marina E; Caccamise, Aaron; Shroff, Freya; Smith, Alyssa B; Loweth, Jessica A

    2018-01-01

    A major challenge for treating cocaine addiction is the propensity for abstinent users to relapse. Two important triggers for relapse are cues associated with prior drug use and stressful life events. To study their interaction in promoting relapse during abstinence, we used the incubation model of craving and relapse in which cue-induced drug seeking progressively intensifies ('incubates') during withdrawal from extended-access cocaine self-administration. We tested rats for cue-induced cocaine seeking on withdrawal day (WD) 1. Rats were then subjected to repeated restraint stress or control conditions (seven sessions held between WD6 and WD14). All rats were tested again for cue-induced cocaine seeking on WD15, 1 day after the last stress or control session. Although controls showed a time-dependent increase in cue-induced cocaine seeking (incubation), rats exposed to repeated stress in early withdrawal exhibited a more robust increase in seeking behavior between WD1 and WD15. In separate stressed and control rats, equivalent cocaine seeking was observed on WD48. These results indicate that repeated stress in early withdrawal accelerates incubation of cocaine craving, although craving plateaus at the same level were observed in controls. However, 1 month after the WD48 test, rats subjected to repeated stress in early withdrawal showed enhanced cue-induced cocaine seeking following acute (24 hours) food deprivation stress. Together, these data indicate that chronic stress exposure enhances the initial rate of incubation of craving during early withdrawal, resulting in increased vulnerability to cue-induced relapse during this period, and may lead to a persistent increase in vulnerability to the relapse-promoting effects of stress. © 2016 Society for the Study of Addiction.

  2. Exogenous determinants of early-life conditions, and mortality later in life

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van den Berg, Gerard J; Doblhammer, Gabriele; Christensen, Kaare

    2009-01-01

    based on the estimation of duration models) indicate a significant negative causal effect of economic conditions early in life on individual mortality rates at higher ages. If the national economic performance in the year of birth exceeds its trend value (i.e., if the business cycle is favorable......) then the mortality rate later in life is lower. The implied effect on the median lifetime of those who survive until age 35 is about 10 months. A systematic empirical exploration of all macro-indicators reveals that economic conditions in the first years after birth also affect mortality rates later in life.......We analyze causal effects of conditions early in life on the individual mortality rate later in life. Conditions early in life are captured by transitory features of the macro-environment around birth, notably the state of the business cycle around birth, but also food price deviations, weather...

  3. Profiles of Observed Infant Anger Predict Preschool Behavior Problems: Moderation by Life Stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooker, Rebecca J.; Buss, Kristin A.; Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn; Aksan, Nazan; Davidson, Richard J.; Goldsmith, H. Hill

    2014-01-01

    Using both traditional composites and novel profiles of anger, we examined associations between infant anger and preschool behavior problems in a large, longitudinal data set (N = 966). We also tested the role of life stress as a moderator of the link between early anger and the development of behavior problems. Although traditional measures of…

  4. Racism-Related Stress, General Life Stress, and Psychological Functioning among Black American Women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pieterse, Alex L.; Carter, Robert T.; Ray, Kilynda V.

    2013-01-01

    The relationship between general life stress, perceived racism, and psychological functioning was explored in a sample of 118 Black American women. Findings indicate that racism-related stress was not a significant predictor of psychological functioning when controlling for general life stress. Perceived racism was positively associated with…

  5. Social environment and weather during early life influence gastro-intestinal parasite loads in a group-living mammal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rödel, Heiko G; Starkloff, Anett

    2014-10-01

    Conditions experienced during early life have been frequently shown to exert long-term consequences on an animal's fitness. In mammals and birds, the time around and shortly after weaning is one of the crucial periods early in life. However, little is known about how social and abiotic environmental conditions experienced around this time affect fitness-related traits such as endoparasite loads. We studied consequences of social interactions and rainy weather conditions around and after weaning on gastro-intestinal nematode loads in juvenile European rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus. Infestations with the gastric nematode Graphidium strigosum and with the intestinal nematode Passalurus ambiguus were higher in animals experiencing more rain during early life. This might have been due to the higher persistence of nematodes' infective stages outside the host body together with the animals' lower energy allocation for immune defence under more humid and thus energetically challenging conditions. In contrast, infestations with P. ambiguus were lower in animals with more positive social interactions with mother and litter siblings. We propose that social support provided by familiar group members buffered negative stress effects on immune function, lowering endoparasite infestations. This is supported by the negative correlation between positive social behaviour and serum corticosterone concentrations, indicating lower stress in juveniles which integrated more successfully into the social network of their group. In conclusion, the findings offer a pathway showing how differences in the abiotic environment and social life conditions experienced early in life could translate into long-term fitness consequences via the effects on endoparasite loads.

  6. Relation Between Hertz Stress-Life Exponent, Ball-Race Conformity, and Ball Bearing Life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaretsky, Erwin V.; Poplawski, Joseph V.; Root, Lawrence E.

    2008-01-01

    ANSI/ABMA and ISO standards based on Lundberg-Palmgren bearing life theory are normalized for ball bearings having inner- and outerrace conformities of 52 percent (0.52) and made from pre-1940 bearing steel. The Lundberg-Palmgren theory incorporates an inverse 9th power relation between Hertz stress and fatigue life for ball bearings. The effect of race conformity on ball set life independent of race life is not incorporated into the Lundberg-Palmgren theory. In addition, post-1960 vacuum-processed bearing steel exhibits a 12th power relation between Hertz stress and life. The work reported extends the previous work of Zaretsky, Poplawski, and Root to calculate changes in bearing life--that includes the life of the ball set--caused by race conformity, Hertz stress-life exponent, ball bearing type and bearing series. The bearing fatigue life in actual application will usually be equal to or greater than that calculated using the ANSI/ABMA and ISO standards that incorporate the Lundberg-Palmgren theory. The relative fatigue life of an individual race is more sensitive to changes in race conformity for Hertz stress-life exponent n of 12 than where n = 9. However, when the effects are combined to predict actual bearing life for a specified set of conditions and bearing geometry, the predicted life of the bearing will be greater for a value of n = 12 than n = 9.

  7. Life Satisfaction and Hemodynamic Reactivity to Mental Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwerdtfeger, Andreas; Gaisbachgrabner, Kerstin; Traunmüller, Claudia

    2017-06-01

    Satisfaction with life has been considered a health-protective variable, which could impact cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, few studies have examined the physiological pathways involved in the potentially salutary effect of life satisfaction. It was hypothesized that life satisfaction should be associated with a cardiovascular response profile that signals challenge (i.e., higher cardiac output, lower peripheral resistance), rather than threat during a mental stress task. A sample of 75 healthy, medication-free men without clinical signs of psychological disorders who worked full-time and occupied highly demanding positions participated in this study. They performed two mental stress tasks (n-back) with varying degrees of difficulty. The tasks were embedded between a baseline and a recovery period. Cardiovascular and hemodynamic variables (heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac output, total peripheral resistance) were recorded by means of impedance cardiography. Individuals who were more satisfied with their life displayed higher cardiac output and lower peripheral resistance levels during the stress tasks, indicating a challenge rather than a threat profile. Findings were robust when controlled for physical activity, smoking, age, and depressive symptoms. Life satisfaction could be positively correlated with beneficial hemodynamic stress reactivity, indicating that individuals with higher levels of life satisfaction can more adaptively cope with stress. Increased cardiac output and decreased peripheral resistance during stress may constitute one route through which life satisfaction can benefit health.

  8. Early Sensory Over-Responsivity in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders as a Predictor of Family Impairment and Parenting Stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben-Sasson, A.; Soto, T. W.; Martinez-Pedraza, F.; Carter, A. S.

    2013-01-01

    Background: Sensory over-responsivity (SOR) affects many individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), often leading to stressful encounters during daily routines. Methods: This study describes the associations between early SOR symptoms and the longitudinal course of restrictions in family life activities and parenting stress across three…

  9. Early-life social experiences in mice affect emotional behaviour and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ros-Simó, Clara; Valverde, Olga

    2012-09-01

    Early-life stressful experiences are associated to alterations in behavioural responses and development of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. In rodents, individual housing is considered as a stressful condition whilst enriched environment can protect against stress and its negative consequences. Neuroendocrine responses to stress can also be altered by early-life experiences and seem to contribute to behavioural alterations induced by changes in housing conditions. To develop an improved procedure of social isolation throughout development (from pre-adolescence to adulthood) in CD1 mice and to elucidate its effects on behavioural parameters related to stress and neuroendocrine responses compared to enriched or social conditions. CD1 male mice (PND 21) were housed in social/standard conditions, enriched conditions or isolated conditions during seven weeks. After that, different relevant behaviours were evaluated, including locomotor activity, anxiety-like and despair behaviour. Levels of plasma corticosterone were also analysed before and after a stressful event. CD1 mice exposed to an isolated environment exhibited higher locomotion and anxiety-like responses than animals exposed to social or enriched conditions. In addition, isolated animals showed lower basal plasma corticosterone than social or enriched ones but after a stressful event the elevation of plasma corticosterone was higher, suggesting an enhanced response of the HPA axis to a novel and stressful situation. Social interaction is an important feature to display an appropriate behavioural and neuronal development. Habituation to novel stimuli is impaired in subjects exposed to social isolation and induces increased excitability response to stressful events. Social deprivation increases the possibility of altered neuronal function and could facilitate the development of neuropsychiatric disorders in adulthood. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. The Relations Between Maternal Prenatal Anxiety or Stress and Child's Early Negative Reactivity or Self-Regulation: A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korja, Riikka; Nolvi, Saara; Grant, Kerry Ann; McMahon, Cathy

    2017-12-01

    In the present review, we examine the association between maternal prenatal stress or anxiety and children's early negative reactivity or self-regulation. The review includes 32 studies that focus on pregnancy-related anxiety, state or trait anxiety, perceived stress, and stressful life events in relation to child's crying, temperament, or behavior during the first 2 years of life. We searched four electronic databases and 32 studies were selected based on the inclusion criteria. Twenty-three studies found an association between maternal prenatal anxiety or stress and a child's negative reactivity or self-regulation, and typically the effect sizes varied from low to moderate. The association was found regardless of the form of prenatal stress or anxiety and the trimester in which the prenatal stress or anxiety was measured. In conclusion, several forms of prenatal anxiety and stress may increase the risk of emotional and self-regulatory difficulties during the first 2 years of life.

  11. [Early Intervention and Cognitive Development: A Longitudinal Study with Psychologically Stressed Mother-Child-Dyad during Early Childhood].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zwönitzer, Annabel; Ziegenhain, Ute; Bovenschen, Ina; Pillhofer, Melanie; Spangler, Gottfried; Gerlach, Jennifer; Gabler, Sandra; Kindler, Heinz; Fegert, Jörg M; Künster, Anne Katrin

    2016-01-01

    Early intervention programs aiming at developing parents’ relationship and parenting skills and supporting young families have become increasingly established in Germany throughout the last decade. The present longitudinal study analyzed 53 children and their mothers receiving early intervention due to their psychosocially highly challenging life situations and personal circumstances. The children were examined at birth and at an age of twelve months as well as between ages two and four. The results revealed that the child’s cognitive development could be predicted by both maternal sensitivity and mother’s psychosocial stress. However, the amount, type, and intensity of early intervention did not have any effect on the child’s development. In terms of the effectiveness of early interventions the results implicate that interventions seems to be offered in an unspecific manner and does not contribute to an improvement of the child’s developmental status.

  12. Stress, Emotional Intelligence, and Life Satisfaction in College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holinka, Cassandra

    2015-01-01

    Prior studies have examined stress, life satisfaction, and emotional intelligence in college students. Research on stress in college students has focused on the sources of stress, coping styles, and relevant outcomes. Research on life satisfaction has focused on specific relationships between life satisfaction and concepts like worry,…

  13. A developmental perspective on early-life exposure to neurotoxicants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellinger, David C; Matthews-Bellinger, Julia A; Kordas, Katarzyna

    2016-09-01

    Studies of early-life neurotoxicant exposure have not been designed, analyzed, or interpreted in the context of a fully developmental perspective. The goal of this paper is to describe the key principles of a developmental perspective and to use examples from the literature to illustrate the relevance of these principles to early-life neurotoxicant exposures. Four principles are discussed: 1) the effects of early-life neurotoxicant exposure depend on a child's developmental context; 2) deficits caused by early-life exposure initiate developmental cascades that can lead to pathologies that differ from those observed initially; 3) early-life neurotoxicant exposure has intra-familial and intergenerational impacts; 4) the impacts of early-life neurotoxicant exposure influence a child's ability to respond to future insults. The first principle is supported by considerable evidence, but the other three have received much less attention. Incorporating a developmental perspective in studies of early-life neurotoxicant exposures requires prospective collection of data on a larger array of covariates than usually considered, using analytical approaches that acknowledge the transactional processes between a child and the environment and the phenomenon of developmental cascades. Consideration of early-life neurotoxicant exposure within a developmental perspective reveals that many issues remain to be explicated if we are to achieve a deep understanding of the societal health burden associated with early-life neurotoxicant exposures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Stressful life events and cancer risk

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bergelt, C; Prescott, E; Grønbaek, M

    2006-01-01

    In a prospective cohort study in Denmark of 8736 randomly selected people, no evidence was found among 1011 subjects who developed cancer that self-reported stressful major life events had increased their risk for cancer.......In a prospective cohort study in Denmark of 8736 randomly selected people, no evidence was found among 1011 subjects who developed cancer that self-reported stressful major life events had increased their risk for cancer....

  15. Life Stress and Academic Burnout

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Shu-Hui; Huang, Yun-Chen

    2014-01-01

    Stress has been shown to negatively affect learning. Academic burnout is a significant problem associated with poor academic performance. Although there has been increased attention on these two issues, literature on the relationship between students' life stress and burnout is relatively limited. This study surveys academic burnout and life…

  16. Mediating processes between stress and problematic marijuana use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ketcherside, Ariel; Filbey, Francesca M

    2015-06-01

    The literature widely reports that stress is associated with marijuana use, yet, to date, the path from stress to marijuana-related problems has not been tested. In this study, we evaluated whether negative affect mediates the relationship between stress and marijuana use. To that end, we tested models to determine mediators between problems with marijuana use (via Marijuana Problem Scale), stress (via Early Life Stress Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale), and negative affect (via Beck Depression Inventory; Beck Anxiety Inventory) in 157 current heavy marijuana users. Mediation tests and bootstrap confidence intervals were carried out via the "Mediation" package in R. Depression and anxiety scores both significantly mediated the relationship between perceived stress and problematic marijuana use. Only depression significantly mediated the relationship between early life stress and problematic marijuana use. Early life stress, perceived stress and problematic marijuana use were significant only as independent variables and dependent variables. These findings demonstrate that (1) depression mediated both early life stress and perceived stress, and problematic marijuana use, and, (2) anxiety mediated perceived stress and problematic marijuana use. This mediation analysis represents a strong first step toward understanding the relationship between these variables; however, longitudinal studies are needed to determine causality between these variables. To conclude, addressing concomitant depression and anxiety in those who report either perceived stress or early life stress is important for the prevention of cannabis use disorders. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  17. Perinatal programming of neuroendocrine mechanisms connecting feeding behavior and stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah J Spencer

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Feeding behavior is closely regulated by neuroendocrine mechanisms that can be influenced by stressful life events. However, the feeding response to stress varies among individuals with some increasing and others decreasing food intake after stress. In addition to the impact of acute lifestyle and genetic backgrounds, the early life environment can have a life-long influence on neuroendocrine mechanisms connecting stress to feeding behavior and may partially explain these opposing feeding responses to stress. In this review I will discuss the perinatal programming of adult hypothalamic stress and feeding circuitry. Specifically I will address how early life (prenatal and postnatal nutrition, early life stress, and the early life hormonal profile can program the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA axis, the endocrine arm of the body’s response to stress long-term and how these changes can, in turn, influence the hypothalamic circuitry responsible for regulating feeding behavior. Thus, over- or under-feeding and / or stressful events during critical windows of early development can alter glucocorticoid (GC regulation of the HPA axis, leading to changes in the GC influence on energy storage and changes in GC negative feedback on HPA axis-derived satiety signals such as corticotropin-releasing-hormone. Furthermore, peripheral hormones controlling satiety, such as leptin and insulin are altered by early life events, and can be influenced, in early life and adulthood, by stress. Importantly, these neuroendocrine signals act as trophic factors during development to stimulate connectivity throughout the hypothalamus. The interplay between these neuroendocrine signals, the perinatal environment, and activation of the stress circuitry in adulthood thus strongly influences feeding behavior and may explain why individuals have unique feeding responses to similar stressors.

  18. Stress and Protists: No life without stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slaveykova, Vera; Sonntag, Bettina; Gutiérrez, Juan Carlos

    2016-08-01

    We report a summary of the symposium "Stress and Protists: No life without stress", which was held in September 2015 on the VII European Congress of Protistology in partnership with the International Society of Protistologists (Seville, Spain). We present an overview on general comments and concepts on cellular stress which can be also applied to any protist. Generally, various environmental stressors may induce similar cell responses in very different protists. Two main topics are reported in this manuscript: (i) metallic nanoparticles as environmental pollutants and stressors for aquatic protists, and (ii) ultraviolet radiation - induced stress and photoprotective strategies in ciliates. Model protists such as Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Tetrahymena thermophila were used to assess stress caused by nanoparticles while stress caused by ultraviolet radiation was tested with free living planktonic ciliates as well as with the symbiont-bearing model ciliate Paramecium bursaria. For future studies, we suggest more intensive analyses on protist stress responses to specific environmental abiotic and/or biotic stressors at molecular and genetic levels up to ecological consequences and food web dynamics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  19. Relation Between Residual and Hoop Stresses and Rolling Bearing Fatigue Life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oswald, Fred B.; Zaretsky, Erwin V.; Poplawski, Joseph V.

    2015-01-01

    Rolling-element bearings operated at high speed or high vibration may require a tight interference fit between the bore of the bearing and shaft to prevent rotation of the bearing bore around the shaft and fretting damage at the interfaces. Previous work showed that the hoop stresses resulting from tight interference fits can reduce bearing lives by as much as 65 percent. Where tight interference fits are required, case-carburized steel such as AISI 9310 or M50 NiL is often used because the compressive residual stresses inhibit subsurface crack formation and the ductile core inhibits inner-ring fracture. The presence of compressive residual stress and its combination with hoop stress also modifies the Hertz stress-life relation. This paper analyzes the beneficial effect of residual stresses on rolling-element bearing fatigue life in the presence of high hoop stresses for three bearing steels. These additional stresses were superimposed on Hertzian principal stresses to calculate the inner-race maximum shearing stress and the resulting fatigue life of the bearing. The load-life exponent p and Hertz stress-life exponent n increase in the presence of compressive residual stress, which yields increased life, particularly at lower stress levels. The Zaretsky life equation is described and is shown to predict longer bearing lives and greater load- and stress-life exponents, which better predicts observed life of bearings made from vacuum-processed steel.

  20. Good daily habits during the early stages of life determine success throughout life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Kohyama

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper assesses hypothesis that sufficient sleep duration and proper circadian rhythms during the early stages of life are indispensable to a successful life. Successful life was defined according to the famous cohort studies of Mischel's and Dunedin. To assess the hypothesis, neuronal elements presumably affecting early daily habits and successful life are reviewed. The effect of sufficient sleep duration and proper circadian rhythms during early stages of life on the development of the prefrontal cortex has been found to be the key issue to verify the hypothesis. Socioeconomic status is found to be another issue to be studied.

  1. Good daily habits during the early stages of life determine success throughout life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohyama, Jun

    2016-01-01

    This paper assesses hypothesis that sufficient sleep duration and proper circadian rhythms during the early stages of life are indispensable to a successful life. Successful life was defined according to the famous cohort studies of Mischel's and Dunedin. To assess the hypothesis, neuronal elements presumably affecting early daily habits and successful life are reviewed. The effect of sufficient sleep duration and proper circadian rhythms during early stages of life on the development of the prefrontal cortex has been found to be the key issue to verify the hypothesis. Socioeconomic status is found to be another issue to be studied.

  2. Chronic early life stress induced by limited bedding and nesting (LBN) material in rodents: critical considerations of methodology, outcomes and translational potential.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Claire-Dominique; Bath, Kevin G; Joels, Marian; Korosi, Aniko; Larauche, Muriel; Lucassen, Paul J; Morris, Margaret J; Raineki, Charlis; Roth, Tania L; Sullivan, Regina M; Taché, Yvette; Baram, Tallie Z

    2017-09-01

    The immediate and long-term effects of exposure to early life stress (ELS) have been documented in humans and animal models. Even relatively brief periods of stress during the first 10 days of life in rodents can impact later behavioral regulation and the vulnerability to develop adult pathologies, in particular an impairment of cognitive functions and neurogenesis, but also modified social, emotional, and conditioned fear responses. The development of preclinical models of ELS exposure allows the examination of mechanisms and testing of therapeutic approaches that are not possible in humans. Here, we describe limited bedding and nesting (LBN) procedures, with models that produce altered maternal behavior ranging from fragmentation of care to maltreatment of infants. The purpose of this paper is to discuss important issues related to the implementation of this chronic ELS procedure and to describe some of the most prominent endpoints and consequences, focusing on areas of convergence between laboratories. Effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, gut axis and metabolism are presented in addition to changes in cognitive and emotional functions. Interestingly, recent data have suggested a strong sex difference in some of the reported consequences of the LBN paradigm, with females being more resilient in general than males. As both the chronic and intermittent variants of the LBN procedure have profound consequences on the offspring with minimal external intervention from the investigator, this model is advantageous ecologically and has a large translational potential. In addition to the direct effect of ELS on neurodevelopmental outcomes, exposure to adverse early environments can also have intergenerational impacts on mental health and function in subsequent generation offspring. Thus, advancing our understanding of the effect of ELS on brain and behavioral development is of critical concern for the health and wellbeing of both the current

  3. The Influence of Exercise Empowerment on Life Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tonya M. Parker

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Psychological stress – when an individual perceives that the environment exceeds their ability to meet the demands placed on them - is common in college students and exercise, and specifically instructional physical activity courses, is frequently cited as a one method of stress reduction. Objective: Determine any relationship between exercise empowerment and perceived life stress for those participating in instructional physical activity courses (IPAC. Methods: All undergraduate students (n = 3388 enrolled in IPAC in 15-week IPAC at a large university were surveyed on perceived life stress (PSS, empowerment in exercise (EES, and specific demographic variables. Results: 944 of 3388 enrolled students (Nov. 2015, April 2016 completed the survey. The data revealed GPA (p < 0.002, sex (p < 0.000, and EES (p < 0.001 showed differences for PSS. It was determined that EES, sex, and GPA predicted PSS differently for students according to their year in college. Conclusions: For freshman and seniors, sex and lower GPA were a stronger predictor of PSS with no mitigating effect of exercise empowerment. For sophomores and juniors the level of life stress was lower at higher levels of exercise empowerment. These findings support a complex relationship between exercise empowerment and life stress. While exercise is cited as a method for stress reduction the relationship between exercise empowerment and life stress for college-aged students is not as straightforward as it may seem.

  4. A Sikh Perspective on Life-Stress: Implications for Counselling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandhu, Jaswinder Singh

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents the Sikh life-stress model as a culture-specific intervention. The paper looks at the Sikh world-view, from which it delineates the Sikh perspective on life-stress. It further outlines a framework for incorporating the Sikh life-stress model into the Western counselling context, and concludes with a case vignette to demonstrate…

  5. College Student Stress and Satisfaction with Life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinstein, Lawrence; Laverghetta, Antonio

    2009-01-01

    The following study was performed to determine if general life satisfaction is negatively correlated with college student stress. We administered the satisfaction with life scale (Diener et al., 1985), college student stress scale (Feldt, 2008) and a brief demographics survey to a sample of college students at a regional southwestern university in…

  6. Fatigue life estimation considering welding residual stress and hot-spot stress of welded components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, S. H.; Lee, T. K.; Shin, B. C.

    2002-01-01

    The fatigue life of welded joints is sensitive to welding residual stress and complexity of their geometric shapes. To predict the fatigue life more reasonably, the effects of welding residual stress and its relaxation have to be considered quantitatively which are equivalent to mean stress by external loads. The hot-spot stress concept should be also adopted which can be reduce the dependence of fatigue strengths for various welding details. Considering the factors mentioned above, a fatigue life prediction model using the modified Goodman's diagram was proposed. In this model, an equivalent stress was introduced which are composed of the mean stress based on the hot-spot stress concept and the relaxed welding residual stress. From the verification of the proposed model to real welding details, it is confirmed that this model can be applied to predict reasonably their fatigue lives

  7. Maternal behavior of the mouse dam toward pups: implications for maternal separation model of early life stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orso, Rodrigo; Wearick-Silva, Luis Eduardo; Creutzberg, Kerstin Camile; Centeno-Silva, Anderson; Glusman Roithmann, Laura; Pazzin, Rafaelly; Tractenberg, Saulo Gantes; Benetti, Fernando; Grassi-Oliveira, Rodrigo

    2018-01-01

    Maternal care is essential for an adequate pup development, as well as for the health of the dam. Exposure to stress in early stages of life can disrupt this dam-pup relationship promoting altered neurobiological and behavioral phenotypes. However, there is a lack of consensus regarding the effects of daily maternal separation (MS) on the pattern of maternal behavior. The aim of this study is to compare the patterns of maternal behavior between mice exposed to MS and controls. BALB/c mice were subjected to MS for a period of 180 min/day from postnatal day 2-7 (n = 17) or designated to be standard animal facility reared (AFR) controls (n = 19). Maternal behaviors were computed as frequency of nursing, licking pups and contact with pups, and nonmaternal behaviors were computed as frequency of actions without interaction with pups and eating/drinking. A total of 18 daily observations of maternal behavior were conducted during these six days, and considering the proportion of maternal and nonmaternal behaviors, an index was calculated. There was no difference when comparing the global index of maternal behavior between the AFR and MS animals by the end of the observed period. However, the pattern of maternal behavior between groups was significantly different. While MS dams presented low frequency of maternal behavior within the first couple days of the stress protocol, but increasing over time, AFR dams showed higher maternal behavior at the beginning, reducing over time. Together, our results indicate that MS alters the maternal behavior of the dams toward pups throughout the first week of the stress protocol and provoked some anxiety-related traits in the dams. The inversion of maternal behavior pattern could possibly be an attempt to compensate the low levels of maternal care observed in the first days of MS.

  8. Early Stress Causes Sex-Specific, Life-Long Changes in Behaviour, Levels of Gonadal Hormones, and Gene Expression in Chickens

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Elfwing, Magnus; Natt, Daniel; Goerlich - Jansson, Vivian; Persson, Mia; Hjelm, Jonas; Jensen, Per

    2015-01-01

    Early stress can have long-lasting phenotypic effects. Previous research shows that male and female chickens differ in many behavioural aspects, and respond differently to chronic stress. The present experiment aimed to broadly characterize long-term sex differences in responses to brief events of

  9. Early life insults as determinants of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adult life

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Savran, Osman; Ulrik, Charlotte Suppli

    2018-01-01

    Background: Early life events may predispose to the development of chronic lung disease in adulthood. Aim: To provide an update on current knowledge of early nongenetic origins of COPD. Materials and methods: Systematic literature review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items...... in utero and early life is a risk factor for subsequent development of COPD. Furthermore, low birth weight, lower respiratory tract infections and asthma, including wheezy bronchitis, in childhood also seem to be important determinants for later development of COPD. Early life insults may, therefore...

  10. The relationship between early life stress and microstructural integrity of the corpus callosum in a non-clinical population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Paul

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Robert Paul1, Lorrie Henry2, Stuart M Grieve3, Thomas J Guilmette2,4, Raymond Niaura4, Richard Bryant5, Steven Bruce1, Leanne M Williams3,6, Clark C Richard7, Ronald A Cohen4, Evian Gordon3,71University of Missouri, St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; 2Providence College, Providence, RI, USA; 3The Brain Resource International Database, The Brain Resource Company, Ultimo, NSW, Australia; 4Brown Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Providence, RI, USA; 5School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 6Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Millennium Institute, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, Australia; 7Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaBackground: Previous studies have examined the impact of early life stress (ELS on the gross morphometry of brain regions, including the corpus callosum. However, studies have not examined the relationship between ELS and the microstructural integrity of the brain.Methods: In the present study we evaluated this relationship in healthy non-clinical participants using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI and self-reported history of ELS.Results: Regression analyses revealed significant reductions in fractional anisotropy (FA within the genu of the corpus callosum among those exposed to the greatest number of early life stressors, suggesting reduced microstructural integrity associated with increased ELS. These effects were most pronounced in the genu of the corpus callosum compared to the body and splenium, and were evident for females rather than males despite no differences in total ELS exposure between the sexes. In addition, a further comparison of those participants who were exposed to no ELS vs. three or more ELS events revealed lower FA in the genu of the corpus callosum among the ELS-exposed group, with trends of FA reduction in the body and the whole corpus callosum. By contrast, there were no relationships between ELS

  11. Student-Life Stress in Education and Health Service Majors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zascavage, Victoria; Winterman, Kathleen G.; Buot, Max; Wies, Jennifer R.; Lyzinski, Natalie

    2012-01-01

    In order to better understand the effects of student-life stress on Education and Health Service majors (n = 195) at a private, religious, Midwestern university in the USA, we assessed student perception of overall stress level and physical stress level using the Student-life Stress Inventory. The targeted sample consisted of students with…

  12. Early life stress accelerates behavioral and neural maturation of the hippocampus in male mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bath, K; Manzano-Nieves, G; Goodwill, H

    2016-06-01

    Early life stress (ELS) increases the risk for later cognitive and emotional dysfunction. ELS is known to truncate neural development through effects on suppressing cell birth, increasing cell death, and altering neuronal morphology, effects that have been associated with behavioral profiles indicative of precocious maturation. However, how earlier silencing of growth drives accelerated behavioral maturation has remained puzzling. Here, we test the novel hypothesis that, ELS drives a switch from growth to maturation to accelerate neural and behavioral development. To test this, we used a mouse model of ELS, fragmented maternal care, and a cross-sectional dense sampling approach focusing on hippocampus and measured effects of ELS on the ontogeny of behavioral development and biomarkers of neural maturation. Consistent with previous work, ELS was associated with an earlier developmental decline in expression of markers of cell proliferation (Ki-67) and differentiation (doublecortin). However, ELS also led to a precocious arrival of Parvalbumin-positive cells, led to an earlier switch in NMDA receptor subunit expression (marker of synaptic maturity), and was associated with an earlier rise in myelin basic protein expression (key component of the myelin sheath). In addition, in a contextual fear-conditioning task, ELS accelerated the timed developmental suppression of contextual fear. Together, these data provide support for the hypothesis that ELS serves to switch neurodevelopment from processes of growth to maturation and promotes accelerated development of some forms of emotional learning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Early intervention for post-traumatic stress disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryant, Richard A

    2007-02-01

    The potentially debilitating effect of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has created much interest in early intervention strategies that can reduce PTSD. This review critiques the evidence for psychological debriefing approaches and alternate early intervention strategies. The review critiques the randomized controlled trials of psychological debriefing, and early provision of cognitive behavior therapy. The latter approach involves therapy attention on acutely traumatized individuals who are high risk for PTSD development, and particularly in people with acute stress disorder (ASD). Psychological debriefing does not prevent PTSD. Cognitive behaviour therapy strategies have proven efficacy in reducing subsequent PTSD in ASD populations. Despite the promising evidence for early provision of CBT, many people do not benefit from CBT. This review concludes with consideration of major challenges facing early intervention approaches in the context of terrorist attacks and mass disasters.

  14. Effects of work and life stress on semen quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janevic, Teresa; Kahn, Linda G; Landsbergis, Paul; Cirillo, Piera M; Cohn, Barbara A; Liu, Xinhua; Factor-Litvak, Pam

    2014-08-01

    To evaluate associations between work-related stress, stressful life events, and perceived stress and semen quality. Cross-sectional analysis. Northern California. 193 men from the Child Health and Development Studies evaluated between 2005-2008. None. Measures of stress including job strain, perceived stress, and stressful life events; outcome measures of sperm concentration, percentage of motile sperm, and percentage of morphologically normal sperm. We found an inverse association between perceived stress score and sperm concentration (estimated coefficient b=-0.09×10(3)/mL; 95% confidence interval [CI]=-0.18, -0.01), motility (b=-0.39; 95% CI=-0.79, 0.01), and morphology (b=-0.14; 95% CI, -0.25, -0.04) in covariate-adjusted linear regression analyses. Men who experienced two or more stressful life events in the past year compared with no stressful events had a lower percentage of motile sperm (b=-8.22; 95% CI, -14.31, -2.13) and a lower percentage of morphologically normal sperm (b=-1.66; 95% CI, -3.35, 0.03) but a similar sperm concentration. Job strain was not associated with semen parameters. In this first study to examine all three domains of stress, perceived stress and stressful life events but not work-related stress were associated with semen quality. Copyright © 2014 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. The impact of post-traumatic stress disorder symptomatology on quality of life: The sentinel experience of anger, hypervigilance and restricted affect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forbes, David; Nickerson, Angela; Bryant, Richard A; Creamer, Mark; Silove, Derrick; McFarlane, Alexander C; Van Hooff, Miranda; Phelps, Andrea; Felmingham, Kim L; Malhi, Gin S; Steel, Zachary; Fredrickson, Julia; Alkemade, Nathan; O'Donnell, Meaghan

    2018-05-01

    It is unclear which specific symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder are related to poor perceived quality of life. To investigate the influence of post-traumatic stress disorder symptomatology on quality of life in traumatic injury survivors. Traumatic injury survivors completed questionnaires on post-traumatic stress disorder symptomatology and quality of life at 3 months ( n = 987), 12 months ( n = 862), 24 months ( n = 830) and 6 years ( n = 613) post trauma. Low quality of life was reported by 14.5% of injury survivors at 3 months and 8% at 6 years post event. The post-traumatic stress disorder symptom clusters that contributed most to poor perceived quality of life were numbing and arousal, the individual symptoms that contributed most were anger, hypervigilance and detachment. There was variability in the quality of life of traumatic injury survivors in the 6 years following trauma and a consistent proportion reported low quality of life. Early intervention to reduce anger, hypervigilance and detachment symptoms may provide a means to improving the quality of life of traumatic injury survivors.

  16. Stress and Life Satisfaction of Turkish College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaya, Cahit; Tansey, Timothy N.; Melekoglu, Macid; Çakiroglu, Orhan

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the association between perceived stress and life satisfaction of Turkish college students. The "Satisfaction with Life Scale" (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), the "Perceived Stress Scale" (Cohen & Williamson, 1988), and a brief demographic questionnaire were administered to 235 college…

  17. Quality of life and level of post-traumatic stress disorder among trauma patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Danielsson, F B; Schultz Larsen, M; Nørgaard, B

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess outcome in long-term quality of life (QoL) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adult survivors of trauma. Secondary aim was to compare levels of the outcome with injury severity and specialization level of two trauma centres. METHODS...... Scale. PTSD symptoms were classified according to the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL) and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV). RESULTS: A questionnaire was mailed to 774 patients at end of 2014 or early 2015, 455 were included for analysis; median...

  18. [Association of occupational stress with quality of working life].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qin; Lan, Ya-Jia; Chen, Hong-Mei

    2011-07-01

    To assess occupational stress and quality of working life (QWL) and their association in workers with different jobs. The Occupational Stress Inventory Revised Edition (OSI-R) and Quality of Working Life Scale (QWL7-32) were administered to 194 workers in the Liaohe Oilfield. The association between occupational stress and quality of working life was analysed by controlling job types and other confounding variables. Office workers had significantly lower scores in occupational role questionnaire (ORQ) and personal strain questionnaire (PSQ) and higher scores in personal resources questionnaire (PRQ) and QWL than physical laborers (P<0.05). The PSQ scores were positively correlated with the ORQ scores and negatively correlated with the PRQ scores. The QWL scores were negatively correlated with the ORQ and PSQ scores, and positively correlated with the PRQ scores (P<0.001). The QWL scores changed with job types. The QWL scores declined with the increase of stress levels (P<0.01). ORQ, role boundary (RB), role insufficiency (RI), physical environment (PE), PSQ, vocational strain (VS), interpersonal strain (IS) and PRQ had a significant impact on quality of working life (P<0.01). Occupational stress is associated with quality of working life. Quality of working life can be improved through control of occupational stress.

  19. Alterations in the hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid axis in animals submitted to early-life trauma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tania Diniz Machado

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Changes in maternal care can affect offspring’s thyroid hormone T3 levels. Pups from highly caring mothers have higher levels of thyroid hormone T3. In humans, physical abuse in childhood is related to lower levels of T3 in adolescence. This study aimed at verifying if early-life trauma in rodents is correlated with T3 levels in adulthood. Methods: From the second day of life, litters of Wistar rats were subjected to reduced nesting material (Early–Life Stress-ELS or standard care (Controls. In adult life, the animals were chronically exposed to standard diet or standard diet + palatable diet and plasma T3 levels were measured before and after the exposition to diet. Results: Thyroid hormone T3 levels in adult life correlated negatively with the licking and grooming (LG scores in the ELS group. This correlation disappeared when the animals had the opportunity to choose between two diets chronically. Conclusion: The adverse environment affected maternal behavior and caused marks on the metabolism of the intervention group (T3, which were reverted by chronic palatable food consumption. Keywords: Trauma; T3; stress

  20. Beneficial Effects of Highly Palatable Food on the Behavioral and Neural Adversities induced by Early Life Stress Experience in Female Rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jin Young; Lee, Jong-Ho; Kim, Doyun; Kim, Soung-Min; Koo, JaeHyung; Jahng, Jeong Won

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the effects of highly palatable food during adolescence on the psycho-emotional and neural disturbances caused by early life stress experience in female rats. Female Sprague-Dawley pups were separated from dam for 3 h daily during the first two weeks of birth (MS) or left undisturbed (NH). Half of MS females received free access to chocolate cookies in addition to ad libitum chow from postnatal day 28. Pups were subjected to the behavioral tests during young adulthood. The plasma corticosterone response to acute stress, ΔFosB and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in the brain regions were analyzed. Total caloric intake and body weight gain during the whole experimental period did not differ among the experimental groups. Cookie access during adolescence and youth improved anxiety-/depression-like behaviors by MS experience. ΔFosB expression was decreased, but BDNF was increased in the nucleus accumbens of MS females, and ΔFosB expression was normalized and BDNF was further increased following cookie access. Corticosterone response to acute stress was blunted by MS experience and cookie access did not improve it. Results suggest that cookie access during adolescence improves the psycho-emotional disturbances of MS females, and ΔFosB and/or BDNF expression in the nucleus accumbens may play a role in its underlying neural mechanisms.

  1. Gut microbiota modifications and weight gain in early life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emmanouil Angelakis

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Childhood and adolescent obesity is a significant public health concern and has been associated with cardiovascular disease and related metabolic sequelae later in life. In recent years, several studies have postulated an imbalance in the composition of the early life gut microbiota results in pediatric obesity and its associated diseases. The early life gut microbiota is influenced by several factors including the mode of delivery, prematurity, breastfeeding, and the use of antibiotics and probiotics. It has been proposed that, when given early in life, antibiotics and probiotics disrupt the gut microbiota and consequently its metabolic activity, promoting weight gain. Probiotics have increasingly been administrated to children and studies on the perinatal use of probiotics on low birth weight and healthy infants revealed significantly increased body length and weight later in life in comparison with infants who did not receive probiotic supplements. Similarly, exposure to antibiotics is very high perinatally and in the early periods of life and there is evidence that antibiotic treatment decreases the biodiversity of the early life gut microbiota. In addition, studies have revealed that antibiotic treatment during the first months of life is associated with being overweight later in life. In this paper we review the effects of the administration of probiotics and antibiotics in early life on the gut microbiota and discuss their effects on weight gain. Keywords: Gut microbiota, Obesity, Newborn, Antibiotics, Probiotics

  2. Life stress and atherosclerosis: a pathway through unhealthy lifestyle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mainous, Arch G; Everett, Charles J; Diaz, Vanessa A; Player, Marty S; Gebregziabher, Mulugeta; Smith, Daniel W

    2010-01-01

    To examine the relationship between a general measure of chronic life stress and atherosclerosis among middle aged adults without clinical cardiovascular disease via pathways through unhealthy lifestyle characteristics. We conducted an analysis of The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). The MESA collected in 2000 includes 5,773 participants, aged 45-84. We computed standard regression techniques to examine the relationship between life stress and atherosclerosis as well as path analysis with hypothesized paths from stress to atherosclerosis through unhealthy lifestyle. Our outcome was sub-clinical atherosclerosis measured as presence of coronary artery calcification (CAC). A logistic regression adjusted for potential confounding variables along with the unhealthy lifestyle characteristics of smoking, excessive alcohol use, high caloric intake, sedentary lifestyle, and obesity yielded no significant relationship between chronic life stress (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.80-1.08) and CAC. However, significant indirect pathways between chronic life stress and CAC through smoking (p = .007), and sedentary lifestyle (p = .03) and caloric intake (.002) through obesity were found. These results suggest that life stress is related to atherosclerosis once paths of unhealthy coping behaviors are considered.

  3. Early childhood adversity, toxic stress, and the role of the pediatrician: translating developmental science into lifelong health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garner, Andrew S; Shonkoff, Jack P

    2012-01-01

    Advances in a wide range of biological, behavioral, and social sciences are expanding our understanding of how early environmental influences (the ecology) and genetic predispositions (the biologic program) affect learning capacities, adaptive behaviors, lifelong physical and mental health, and adult productivity. A supporting technical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) presents an integrated ecobiodevelopmental framework to assist in translating these dramatic advances in developmental science into improved health across the life span. Pediatricians are now armed with new information about the adverse effects of toxic stress on brain development, as well as a deeper understanding of the early life origins of many adult diseases. As trusted authorities in child health and development, pediatric providers must now complement the early identification of developmental concerns with a greater focus on those interventions and community investments that reduce external threats to healthy brain growth. To this end, AAP endorses a developing leadership role for the entire pediatric community-one that mobilizes the scientific expertise of both basic and clinical researchers, the family-centered care of the pediatric medical home, and the public influence of AAP and its state chapters-to catalyze fundamental change in early childhood policy and services. AAP is committed to leveraging science to inform the development of innovative strategies to reduce the precipitants of toxic stress in young children and to mitigate their negative effects on the course of development and health across the life span.

  4. Effects of hydroelectric turbine passage on fish early life stages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cada, G.F.

    1991-01-01

    Turbine-passage mortality has been studied extensively for juveniles and adults of migratory fish species, but few studies have directly quantified orality of fish eggs and larvae. This paper provides an analysis of literature relating to component stresses of turbine passage (i.e., pressure changes, blade contact, and shear) which indicates that mortality of early life stages of fish would be relatively low at low-head, bulb turbine installations. The shear forces and pressure regimes normally experienced are insufficient to cause high mortality rates. The probability of contact with turbine blades is related to the size of the fish; less than 5% of entrained ichthyoplankton would be killed by the blades in a bulb turbine. Other sources of mortality (e.g., cavitation and entrainment of fish acclimated to deep water) are controlled by operation of the facility and thus are mitigable. Because turbine-passage mortality among fish early life stages can be very difficult to estimate directly, it may be more fruitful to base the need for mitigation at any given site on detailed knowledge of turbine characteristics and the susceptibility of the fish community to entrainment

  5. Work-related stress, work/life balance and personal life coaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawksley, Barbara

    2007-01-01

    Work-related stress adversely affects personal performance, organizational efficiency and patient care as well as costing the NHS millions of pounds each year. Reducing the effects of work-related stress is a legal duty for all employers. There are a number of resources available to help both employees and employers, such as the Health and Safety Executive stress management standards. Personal life coaching is one approach to reducing work-related stress, which is well established amongst business and management executives as well as some public sector organizations.

  6. Human amygdala engagement moderated by early life stress exposure is a biobehavioral target for predicting recovery on antidepressants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldstein-Piekarski, Andrea N; Korgaonkar, Mayuresh S; Green, Erin; Suppes, Trisha; Schatzberg, Alan F; Hastie, Trevor; Nemeroff, Charles B; Williams, Leanne M

    2016-10-18

    Amygdala circuitry and early life stress (ELS) are both strongly and independently implicated in the neurobiology of depression. Importantly, animal models have revealed that the contribution of ELS to the development and maintenance of depression is likely a consequence of structural and physiological changes in amygdala circuitry in response to stress hormones. Despite these mechanistic foundations, amygdala engagement and ELS have not been investigated as biobehavioral targets for predicting functional remission in translational human studies of depression. Addressing this question, we integrated human neuroimaging and measurement of ELS within a controlled trial of antidepressant outcomes. Here we demonstrate that the interaction between amygdala activation engaged by emotional stimuli and ELS predicts functional remission on antidepressants with a greater than 80% cross-validated accuracy. Our model suggests that in depressed people with high ELS, the likelihood of remission is highest with greater amygdala reactivity to socially rewarding stimuli, whereas for those with low-ELS exposure, remission is associated with lower amygdala reactivity to both rewarding and threat-related stimuli. This full model predicted functional remission over and above the contribution of demographics, symptom severity, ELS, and amygdala reactivity alone. These findings identify a human target for elucidating the mechanisms of antidepressant functional remission and offer a target for developing novel therapeutics. The results also offer a proof-of-concept for using neuroimaging as a target for guiding neuroscience-informed intervention decisions at the level of the individual person.

  7. Osteoporosis in survivors of early life starvation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weisz, George M; Albury, William R

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this study was to provide evidence for the association of early life nutritional deprivation and adult osteoporosis, in order to suggest that a history of such deprivation may be an indicator of increased risk of osteoporosis in later life. The 'fetal programming' of a range of metabolic and cardiovascular disorders in adults was first proposed in the 1990s and more recently extended to disorders of bone metabolism. Localised famines during World War II left populations in whom the long-term effects of maternal, fetal and infantile nutritional deprivation were studied. These studies supported the original concept of 'fetal programming' but did not consider bone metabolism. The present paper offers clinical data from another cohort of World War II famine survivors - those from the Holocaust. The data presented here, specifically addressing the issue of osteoporosis, report on 11 Holocaust survivors in Australia (five females, six males) who were exposed to starvation in early life. The cases show, in addition to other metabolic disorders associated with early life starvation, various levels of osteoporosis, often with premature onset. The cohort studied is too small to support firm conclusions, but the evidence suggests that the risk of adult osteoporosis in both males and females is increased by severe starvation early in life - not just in the period from gestation to infancy but also in childhood and young adulthood. It is recommended that epidemiological research on this issue be undertaken, to assist planning for the future health needs of immigrants to Australia coming from famine affected backgrounds. Pending such research, it would be prudent for primary care health workers to be alert to the prima facie association between early life starvation and adult osteoporosis, and to take this factor into account along with other indicators when assessing a patient's risk of osteoporosis in later life.

  8. Accounting for Life-Course Exposures in Epigenetic Biomarker Association Studies: Early Life Socioeconomic Position, Candidate Gene DNA Methylation, and Adult Cardiometabolic Risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jonathan Y; Gavin, Amelia R; Richardson, Thomas S; Rowhani-Rahbar, Ali; Siscovick, David S; Hochner, Hagit; Friedlander, Yechiel; Enquobahrie, Daniel A

    2016-10-01

    Recent studies suggest that epigenetic programming may mediate the relationship between early life environment, including parental socioeconomic position, and adult cardiometabolic health. However, interpreting associations between early environment and adult DNA methylation may be difficult because of time-dependent confounding by life-course exposures. Among 613 adult women (mean age = 32 years) of the Jerusalem Perinatal Study Family Follow-up (2007-2009), we investigated associations between early life socioeconomic position (paternal occupation and parental education) and mean adult DNA methylation at 5 frequently studied cardiometabolic and stress-response genes (ABCA1, INS-IGF2, LEP, HSD11B2, and NR3C1). We used multivariable linear regression and marginal structural models to estimate associations under 2 causal structures for life-course exposures and timing of methylation measurement. We also examined whether methylation was associated with adult cardiometabolic phenotype. Higher maternal education was consistently associated with higher HSD11B2 methylation (e.g., 0.5%-point higher in 9-12 years vs. ≤8 years, 95% confidence interval: 0.1, 0.8). Higher HSD11B2 methylation was also associated with lower adult weight and total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. We found that associations with early life socioeconomic position measures were insensitive to different causal assumption; however, exploratory analysis did not find evidence for a mediating role of methylation in socioeconomic position-cardiometabolic risk associations. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Early resistance change and stress/electromigrationmodeling in aluminium interconnects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Petrescu, V.; Mouthaan, A.J.; Schoenmaker, W.

    1997-01-01

    A complete description for early resistance change and two dimensional simulation of mechanical stress evolution in confined Al interconnects, related to the electromigration, is given in this paper. The model, combines the stress/ vacancy concentration evolution with the early resistance change of

  10. Exploring the Experience of Life Stress Among Black Women with a History of Fetal or Infant Death: a Phenomenological Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Kyrah K; Lewis, Rhonda K; Baumgartner, Elizabeth; Schunn, Christy; Maryman, J'Vonnah; LoCurto, Jamie

    2017-06-01

    Disparate birth outcomes among Black women continue to be a major public health problem. Whereas prior research has investigated the influence of stress on Black women's birth outcomes, few studies have explored how stress is experienced among Black women across the life course. The objectives of this study were to describe the experience of stress across the life course among Black women who reported a history of fetal or infant death and to identify stressful life events (SLE) that may not be represented in the widely used SLE inventory. Using phenomenological, qualitative research design, in-depth interviews were conducted with six Black women in Kansas who experienced a fetal or infant death. Analyses revealed that participants experienced multiple, co-occurring stressors over the course of their lives and experienced a proliferation of stress emerging in early life and persisting into adulthood. Among the types of stressors cited by participants, history of sexual assault (trauma-related stressor) was a key stressful life event that is not currently reflected in the SLE inventory. Our findings highlight the importance of using a life-course perspective to gain a contextual understanding of the experiences of stress among Black women, particularly those with a history of adverse birth outcomes. Further research investigating Black women's experiences of stress and the mechanisms by which stress impacts their health could inform efforts to reduce disparities in birth outcomes. An additional focus on the experience and impact of trauma-related stress on Black women's birth outcomes may also be warranted.

  11. Early sensory over-responsivity in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders as a predictor of family impairment and parenting stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben-Sasson, A; Soto, T W; Martínez-Pedraza, F; Carter, A S

    2013-08-01

    Sensory over-responsivity (SOR) affects many individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), often leading to stressful encounters during daily routines. This study describes the associations between early SOR symptoms and the longitudinal course of restrictions in family life activities and parenting stress across three time-points in families raising a child with ASD (n = 174). Covariates were child diagnostic severity, emotional problems, and maternal affective symptoms. At time 1 mean chronological age was 28.5 months. Children were administered the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). Parents completed the Infant Toddler Sensory Profile (ITSP), Infant-Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (ITSEA), Beck Anxiety Index (BAI), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Inventory (CES-D) at time 1; and the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) and Family Life Impairment Scale (FLIS) at the three annual time-points. Latent Growth Curve Models indicated that higher SOR scores on the ITSP at time 1 were associated with higher initial levels of family life impairment and parenting stress and with a smaller magnitude of change over time. These associations were independent of severity of ADOS social-communication symptoms, MSEL composite score, ITSEA externalizing and anxiety symptoms, and maternal affective symptoms as measured by the BAI and CES-D. On average FLIS and PSI did not change over time, however, there was significant individual variability. Concurrently, SOR at time 1 explained 39-45% of the variance in family stress and impairment variables. An evaluation of SOR should be integrated into the assessment of toddlers with ASD considering their role in family life impairment and stress. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2013 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  12. Cumulative Effects of Nutrient Enrichment and Elevated Temperature Compromise the Early Life History Stages of the Coral Acropora tenuis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noonan, Sam H. C.; Willis, Bette L.; Fabricius, Katharina E.; Negri, Andrew P.

    2016-01-01

    Inshore coral reefs are experiencing the combined pressures of excess nutrient availability associated with coastal activities and warming seawater temperatures. Both pressures are known to have detrimental effects on the early life history stages of hard corals, but studies of their combined effects on early demographic stages are lacking. We conducted a series of experiments to test the combined effects of nutrient enrichment (three levels) and elevated seawater temperature (up to five levels) on early life history stages of the inshore coral Acropora tenuis, a common species in the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea. Gamete fertilization, larval survivorship and larval settlement were all significantly reduced as temperature increased, but only fertilization was further affected by simultaneous nutrient enrichment. Combined high temperatures and nutrient enrichment affected fertilization in an additive manner, whereas embryo abnormalities increased synergistically. Higher than normal temperatures (32°C) increased coral juvenile growth rates 1.6-fold, but mortality also increased by 50%. The co-occurrence of nutrient enrichment with high temperatures reduced juvenile mortality to 36%, ameliorating temperature stress (antagonistic interaction). Overall, the types of effect (additive vs synergistic or antagonistic) and their magnitude varied among life stages. Gamete and embryo stages were more affected by temperature stress and, in some cases, also by nutrient enrichment than juveniles. The data suggest that coastal runoff events might exacerbate the impacts of warming temperatures on fertilization if these events co-occur during corals spawning. The cumulative impacts of simultaneous exposure to nutrient enrichment and elevated temperatures over all early life history stages increases the likelihood for failure of larval supply and recruitment for this coral species. Our results suggest that improving the water quality of river discharges into coastal areas might help to

  13. Cumulative Effects of Nutrient Enrichment and Elevated Temperature Compromise the Early Life History Stages of the Coral Acropora tenuis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humanes, Adriana; Noonan, Sam H C; Willis, Bette L; Fabricius, Katharina E; Negri, Andrew P

    2016-01-01

    Inshore coral reefs are experiencing the combined pressures of excess nutrient availability associated with coastal activities and warming seawater temperatures. Both pressures are known to have detrimental effects on the early life history stages of hard corals, but studies of their combined effects on early demographic stages are lacking. We conducted a series of experiments to test the combined effects of nutrient enrichment (three levels) and elevated seawater temperature (up to five levels) on early life history stages of the inshore coral Acropora tenuis, a common species in the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea. Gamete fertilization, larval survivorship and larval settlement were all significantly reduced as temperature increased, but only fertilization was further affected by simultaneous nutrient enrichment. Combined high temperatures and nutrient enrichment affected fertilization in an additive manner, whereas embryo abnormalities increased synergistically. Higher than normal temperatures (32°C) increased coral juvenile growth rates 1.6-fold, but mortality also increased by 50%. The co-occurrence of nutrient enrichment with high temperatures reduced juvenile mortality to 36%, ameliorating temperature stress (antagonistic interaction). Overall, the types of effect (additive vs synergistic or antagonistic) and their magnitude varied among life stages. Gamete and embryo stages were more affected by temperature stress and, in some cases, also by nutrient enrichment than juveniles. The data suggest that coastal runoff events might exacerbate the impacts of warming temperatures on fertilization if these events co-occur during corals spawning. The cumulative impacts of simultaneous exposure to nutrient enrichment and elevated temperatures over all early life history stages increases the likelihood for failure of larval supply and recruitment for this coral species. Our results suggest that improving the water quality of river discharges into coastal areas might help to

  14. Student-Life Stress Inventory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gadzella, Bernadette M.; And Others

    The reliability of the Student-Life Stress Inventory of B. M. Gadzella (1991) was studied. The inventory consists of 51 items listed in 9 sections indicating different types of stressors (frustrations, conflicts, pressures, changes, and self-imposed stressors) and reactions to the stressors (physiological, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive) as…

  15. Callous-unemotional traits and early life stress predict treatment effects on stress and sex hormone functioning in incarcerated male adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Megan; Vitacco, Michael J; Shirtcliff, Elizabeth A

    2018-03-01

    The stress response system is highly plastic, and hormone rhythms may "adaptively calibrate" in response to treatment. This investigation assessed whether stress and sex hormone diurnal rhythms changed over the course of behavioral treatment, and whether callous-unemotional (CU) traits and history of early adversity affected treatment results on diurnal hormone functioning in a sample of 28 incarcerated adolescent males. It was hypothesized that the treatment would have beneficial effects, such that healthier diurnal rhythms would emerge post-treatment. Diurnal cortisol, testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) were sampled two weeks after admission to the correctional/treatment facility, and again approximately four months later. Positive treatment effects were detected for the whole sample, such that testosterone dampened across treatment. CU traits predicted a non-optimal hormone response to treatment, potentially indicating biological preparedness to respond to acts of social dominance and aggression. The interaction between CU traits and adversity predicted a promising and sensitized response to treatment including increased cortisol and a steeper testosterone drop across treatment. Results suggest that stress and sex hormones are highly receptive to treatment during this window of development.

  16. Oxidative stress and the evolution of sex differences in life span and ageing in the decorated cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archer, Catharine R; Sakaluk, Scott K; Selman, Colin; Royle, Nick J; Hunt, John

    2013-03-01

    The Free Radical Theory of Ageing (FRTA) predicts that oxidative stress, induced when levels of reactive oxygen species exceed the capacity of antioxidant defenses, causes ageing. Recently, it has also been argued that oxidative damage may mediate important life-history trade-offs. Here, we use inbred lines of the decorated cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus, to estimate the genetic (co)variance between age-dependent reproductive effort, life span, ageing, oxidative damage, and total antioxidant capacity within and between the sexes. The FRTA predicts that oxidative damage should accumulate with age and negatively correlate with life span. We find that protein oxidation is greater in the shorter lived sex (females) and negatively genetically correlated with life span in both sexes. However, oxidative damage did not accumulate with age in either sex. Previously we have shown antagonistic pleiotropy between the genes for early-life reproductive effort and ageing rate in both sexes, although this was stronger in females. In females, we find that elevated fecundity early in life is associated with greater protein oxidation later in life, which is in turn positively correlated with the rate of ageing. Our results provide mixed support for the FRTA but suggest that oxidative stress may mediate sex-specific life-history strategies in G. sigillatus. © 2012 The Author(s). Evolution© 2012 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  17. Childhood maltreatment, stressful life events, and alcohol craving in adult drinkers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, June H.; Martins, Silvia S.; Shmulewitz, Dvora; Santaella, Julian; Wall, Melanie M.; Keyes, Katherine M.; Eaton, Nicholas R.; Krueger, Robert; Grant, Bridget F.; Hasin, Deborah S.

    2014-01-01

    Background Little is known about the relationship of stressful life events and alcohol craving in the general population, and whether a history of childhood maltreatment sensitizes individuals to crave alcohol after adult stressors. Methods Participants were 22,147 past-year drinkers from Wave 2 (2004-2006) of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. A structured, face-to-face interview assessed past-year stressful life events, alcohol craving, and history of childhood maltreatment. Logistic regression was used to generate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) to evaluate the relationship between stressful life events and craving, adjusting for demographic characteristics and parental history of alcoholism. Interaction between stressful life events and childhood maltreatment was also assessed. Results Compared to participants with no stressful life events, those with ≥3 events had increased odds of moderate alcohol craving (aOR=3.15 [95% CI=2.30-4.33]) and severe craving (aOR=8.47 [95% CI=4.78-15.01]). Stressful life events and childhood maltreatment interacted in predicting severe craving (p=0.017); those with ≥3 events were at higher risk for craving if they had been exposed to childhood maltreatment. Conclusion A direct relationship between stressful life events and risk for alcohol craving was observed. Further, history of childhood maltreatment increased the salience of stressful life events in adulthood. Future studies should examine the role of psychiatric comorbidity in more complex models of stress sensitization and alcohol craving. PMID:24961735

  18. Perceived life stress exposure modulates reward-related medial prefrontal cortex responses to acute stress in depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Poornima; Slavich, George M; Berghorst, Lisa H; Treadway, Michael T; Brooks, Nancy H; Dutra, Sunny J; Greve, Douglas N; O'Donovan, Aoife; Bleil, Maria E; Maninger, Nicole; Pizzagalli, Diego A

    2015-07-15

    Major depressive disorder (MDD) is often precipitated by life stress and growing evidence suggests that stress-induced alterations in reward processing may contribute to such risk. However, no human imaging studies have examined how recent life stress exposure modulates the neural systems that underlie reward processing in depressed and healthy individuals. In this proof-of-concept study, 12 MDD and 10 psychiatrically healthy individuals were interviewed using the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule (LEDS) to assess their perceived levels of recent acute and chronic life stress exposure. Additionally, each participant performed a monetary incentive delay task under baseline (no-stress) and stress (social-evaluative) conditions during functional MRI. Across groups, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) activation to reward feedback was greater during acute stress versus no-stress conditions in individuals with greater perceived stressor severity. Under acute stress, depressed individuals showed a positive correlation between perceived stressor severity levels and reward-related mPFC activation (r=0.79, p=0.004), whereas no effect was found in healthy controls. Moreover, for depressed (but not healthy) individuals, the correlations between the stress (r=0.79) and no-stress (r=-0.48) conditions were significantly different. Finally, relative to controls, depressed participants showed significantly reduced mPFC gray matter, but functional findings remained robust while accounting for structural differences. Small sample size, which warrants replication. Depressed individuals experiencing greater recent life stress recruited the mPFC more under stress when processing rewards. Our results represent an initial step toward elucidating mechanisms underlying stress sensitization and recurrence in depression. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Perceptions of Parental Awareness of Emotional Responses to Stressful Life Events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jobe-Shields, Lisa; Parra, Gilbert R; Buckholdt, Kelly E

    2013-10-01

    There is a need to better understand family processes related to recovery from past stressful life events. The present study aimed to investigate links between perceptions of parental awareness regarding stressful life events, continued event-related rumination, and current symptoms of depression. Students at a diverse, urban university completed a life events checklist and a semi-structured interview regarding family processing of stressful life events, as well as self-report measures of event-related rumination and depression. Results indicated that perceptions of mothers' and fathers' awareness of sadness regarding stressful life events as well as mothers' and fathers' verbal event processing predicted symptoms of event-related rumination and depression. Results support the inclusion of perceptions of parental awareness in the understanding of how emerging adults continue to cope with past stressful life events.

  20. Early identification of posttraumatic stress following military deployment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karstoft, Karen-Inge; Statnikov, Alexander; Andersen, Søren B

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Pre-deployment identification of soldiers at risk for long-term posttraumatic stress psychopathology after home coming is important to guide decisions about deployment. Early post-deployment identification can direct early interventions to those in need and thereby prevents...... the development of chronic psychopathology. Both hold significant public health benefits given large numbers of deployed soldiers, but has so far not been achieved. Here, we aim to assess the potential for pre- and early post-deployment prediction of resilience or posttraumatic stress development in soldiers...... by application of machine learning (ML) methods. METHODS: ML feature selection and prediction algorithms were applied to a prospective cohort of 561 Danish soldiers deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 to identify unique risk indicators and forecast long-term posttraumatic stress responses. RESULTS: Robust pre...

  1. Adiposity moderates links from early adversity and depressive symptoms to inflammatory reactivity to acute stress during late adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiang, Jessica J; Bower, Julienne E; Irwin, Michael R; Taylor, Shelley E; Fuligni, Andrew J

    2017-11-01

    Both early adversity and depression are associated with heightened inflammation. However, few studies have focused on inflammatory reactivity to psychosocial stress and examined adiposity as a potential moderator. Yet, repeated heightened inflammatory reactivity over time is thought to contribute to low-grade chronic inflammation and adipose tissue is a key source of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether early adversity and depressive symptoms were related to stress-induced inflammation and whether these associations varied by total body and abdominal adiposity as measured by body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in a sample of late adolescents. Participants reported on their early family environment and current depressive symptoms, had their height, weight, and WC assessed for adiposity markers, and provided blood samples for IL-6 assessment before and after a standardized laboratory stress task. No main effect of early adversity on IL-6 reactivity to acute stress was observed. However, significant interactions between early adversity and BMI and WC emerged. Greater exposure to early adversity was associated with greater IL-6 responses only among adolescents with higher BMI or WC. The same pattern of findings was observed for depressive symptoms. Additionally, moderated mediation analyses indicated that among adolescents with greater adiposity, early adversity indirectly influenced IL-6 reactivity via current depressive symptoms. These findings contribute to our understanding of vulnerability factors that may amplify the associations between early adversity and depressive symptoms and inflammation during relatively early stages of life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Chemogenetic activation of the lateral hypothalamus reverses early life stress-induced deficits in motivational drive.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Erin J; Mitchell, Caitlin S; Adams, Cameron D; Yeoh, Jiann Wei; Hodgson, Deborah M; Graham, Brett A; Dayas, Christopher V

    2017-10-01

    Altered motivated behaviour is a cardinal feature of several neuropsychiatric conditions including mood disorders. One well-characterized antecedent to the development of mood disorders is exposure to early life stress (ELS). A key brain substrate controlling motivated behaviour is the lateral hypothalamus (LH). Here, we examined the effect of ELS on LH activation and the motivation to self-administer sucrose. We tested whether chemogenetic activation of LH circuits could modify sucrose responding in ELS rats and examined the impact on LH cell populations. Male rat pups were maternally separated for 0 or 3 h on postnatal days 2-14. During adolescence, rats received bilateral injections of hM3D(Gq), the excitatory designer receptor exclusively activated by designer drugs, into LH. In adulthood, rats were trained to self-administer sucrose and tested under a progressive ratio schedule to determine their motivation for reward following injection with either vehicle or 5 mg/kg clozapine-N-oxide. Brains were processed for Fos-protein immunohistochemistry. ELS significantly suppressed lever responding for sucrose, indicating a long-lasting impact of ELS on motivation circuits. hM3D(Gq) activation of LH increased responding, normalizing deficits in ELS rats, and increased Fos-positive orexin and MCH cell numbers within LH. Our findings indicate that despite being susceptible to environmental stressors, LH circuits retain the capacity to overcome ELS-induced deficits in motivated behaviour. © 2017 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Effects of early life factors on the health and quality of life of older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yilmaz, Fikriye; N Tekin, Rukiye

    2018-01-01

    Few studies on the effects of early life factors on the health and quality of life of adults have been conducted in Turkey. We aimed to investigate the effects of early life factors on the health and quality of life of older adults. We administered a questionnaire to 350 adults, aged 50-89 years, living in Cankaya, Ankara. The questionnaire covered sociodemographic characteristics, early life characteristics, health status, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Ageing scale. Data were analyzed using χ 2 tests, independent samples t-tests, one-way anova, and binary logistic regression analysis. The analyses showed that the most important risk factors for chronic disease were being ≥65 years (odds ratio (OR) = 2.34), having a chronic health problem before 18 years of age (OR = 2.48), experiencing prolonged hospitalization or bed rest before 18 years of age (OR = 2.65), and experiencing parental unconcern during early life (OR = 2.13) (P quality of life (P life factors are among the important determinants of the health and quality of life of older adults in Turkey. © 2017 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

  4. Patterns of neuroendocrine coupling in 9-year-old children: Effects of sex, body-mass index, and life stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Sarah R; Lerner, Matthew D; Shirtcliff, Elizabeth A; Klein, Daniel N

    2018-02-01

    Previous investigations have explored stress and pubertal hormones in parallel; it has been a recent development, however, to explore the relationships between different hormones during puberty, and how this hormonal cross-talk may be influenced by the environment. The current study investigated neuroendocrine coupling, or the extent to which hormones are correlated within the individual, and also investigated early life stressors that may influence coupling. Participants were 405 adrenarcheal children (mean Tanner stage=1.73 for girls and 1.38 for boys) from a longitudinal study who provided saliva samples for analysis of cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and testosterone. Saliva was collected when children were 9-years-old, while early life stressors were assessed at each longitudinal assessment (ages 3, 6, and 9). Results from multi-level modeling (MLM) analyses provided evidence of positive cortisol-dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and cortisol-testosterone coupling in middle childhood, and identified body mass index as a predictor of the strength of hormone coordination. While exposure to stressful life events did not impact cortisol-DHEA coupling patterns, stress interacted with sex to predict looser cortisol-testosterone coupling in girls, but not boys. The current study adds to the existing literature on the development of neuroendocrine coupling, and provided further evidence of sex differences in the impact of stress. Furthermore, hormone coupling may be investigated in the future as a mechanism by which puberty is associated with negative behavioral outcomes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Evaluating personality as a moderator of the association between life events stress and cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Stephen; O'Riordan, Adam; McMahon, Grace; Creaven, Ann-Marie

    2018-04-01

    The present study investigated the possible interaction between life events stress and personality in predicting cardiovascular stress responses. Participants (N = 184) completed psychometric measures of life event stress and personality styles and had cardiovascular responses monitored during a standardised stress testing protocol. In adjusted models, the observed blunted association between life event stress and SBP and DBP was moderated by openness; this was more evident at -1SD below the mean openness value. Further, the association between life event stress and TPR vascular resistance was found to be moderated by conscientiousness. In particular, we found conscientiousness at both the mean and 1SD above the mean buffered against the negative impact of life stress on TPR reactivity. The findings are discussed in relation to theory and future directions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Chemical defense of early life stages of benthic marine invertebrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindquist, Niels

    2002-10-01

    Accurate knowledge of factors affecting the survival of early life stages of marine invertebrates is critically important for understanding their population dynamics and the evolution of their diverse reproductive and life-history characteristics. Chemical defense is an important determinant of survival for adult stages of many sessile benthic invertebrates, yet relatively little consideration has been given to chemical defenses at the early life stages. This review examines the taxonomic breadth of early life-stage chemical defense in relation to various life-history and reproductive characteristics, as well as possible constraints on the expression of chemical defense at certain life stages. Data on the localization of defensive secondary metabolites in larvae and the fitness-related consequences of consuming even a small amount of toxic secondary metabolites underpin proposals regarding the potential for Müllerian and Batesian mimicry to occur among marine larvae. The involvement of microbial symbionts in the chemical defense of early life stages illustrates its complexity for some species. As our knowledge of chemical defenses in early life stages grows, we will be able to more rigorously examine connections among phylogeny, chemical defenses, and the evolution of reproductive and life-history characteristics among marine invertebrates.

  7. Negative life events and symptoms of depression and anxiety: stress causation and/or stress generation

    OpenAIRE

    Phillips, Anna C.; Carroll, Douglas; Der, Geoffrey

    2015-01-01

    Background and Objectives: Stressful life events are known to contribute to development of depression, however, it is possible this link is bi-directional. The present study examined whether such stress generation effects are greater than the effects of stressful life events on depression, and whether stress generation is also evident with anxiety. Design: Participants were two large age cohorts (N = 732 aged 44 years; N = 705 aged 63 years) from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 study. Methods:...

  8. Fatigue life estimation of welded components considering welding residual stress relaxation and its mean stress effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Seung Ho; Han, Jeong Woo; Shin, Byung Chun; Kim, Jae Hoon

    2003-01-01

    The fatigue life of welded joints is sensitive to welding residual stress and complexity of their geometric shapes. To predict the fatigue life more reasonably, the effects of welding residual stress and its relaxation on their fatigue strengths should be considered quantitatively, which are often regarded to be equivalent to the effects of mean stresses by external loads. The hot-spot stress concept should be also adopted which can reduce the dependence of fatigue strengths for various welding details. Considering the factors mentioned above, a fatigue life prediction model using the modified Goodman's diagram was proposed. In this model, an equivalent stress was introduced which is composed of the mean stress based on the hot-spot stress concept and the relaxed welding residual stress. From the verification of the proposed model to real welding details, it is proved that this model can be applied to predict reasonably their fatigue lives

  9. Assessing College Student-Athletes' Life Stress: Initial Measurement Development and Validation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Frank Jing-Horng; Hsu, Ya-Wen; Chan, Yuan-Shuo; Cheen, Jang-Rong; Kao, Kuei-Tsu

    2012-01-01

    College student-athletes have unique life stress that warrants close attention. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid measurement assessing college student-athletes' life stress. In Study 1, a focus group discussion and Delphi method produced a questionnaire draft, termed the College Student-Athletes' Life Stress Scale. In…

  10. The Association of Sever Stressful Life Events and Multiple Sclerosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rozita Naeeni

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Stressful life events have suggested as one of etiologic cause of the disease from the middle of last century, but controversies still is going on. Materials and Methods: This study is a case- control study conducted on 100 MS patients in neurology clinic of Shariati Hospital during one year. History of stressful life events one year before beginning of the disease was questioned. These events, according to Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, were severe and affected the disease progression. The analysis of data was performed using SPSS 15. Results: The mean age of patients was 30.9 ± 7.1. Most of them (n=87 had relapsing- remitting MS. 51% of patients and 26% of controls had stressful life events (P<0.001. Odd's Ratio with confidence interval of 95% was 2.71. The most frequent stressful events were family problems and death of first degree relatives. Conclusion: This study showed that stressful life events were significantly more prevalent in MS, but we cannot conclude that stress lonely is a cause of MS. Although, major stress along with multiple other risk factors may be related to MS.

  11. Maternal separation with early weaning: a novel mouse model of early life neglect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elwafi Hani M

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Childhood adversity is associated with increased risk for mood, anxiety, impulse control, and substance disorders. Although genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of such disorders, the neurobiological mechanisms involved are poorly understood. A reliable mouse model of early life adversity leading to lasting behavioral changes would facilitate progress in elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying these adverse effects. Maternal separation is a commonly used model of early life neglect, but has led to inconsistent results in the mouse. Results In an effort to develop a mouse model of early life neglect with long-lasting behavioral effects in C57BL/6 mice, we designed a new maternal separation paradigm that we call Maternal Separation with Early Weaning (MSEW. We tested the effects of MSEW on C57BL/6 mice as well as the genetically distinct DBA/2 strain and found significant MSEW effects on several behavioral tasks (i.e., the open field, elevated plus maze, and forced swim test when assessed more than two months following the MSEW procedure. Our findings are consistent with MSEW causing effects within multiple behavioral domains in both strains, and suggest increased anxiety, hyperactivity, and behavioral despair in the MSEW offspring. Analysis of pup weights and metabolic parameters showed no evidence for malnutrition in the MSEW pups. Additionally, strain differences in many of the behavioral tests suggest a role for genetic factors in the response to early life neglect. Conclusions These results suggest that MSEW may serve as a useful model to examine the complex behavioral abnormalities often apparent in individuals with histories of early life neglect, and may lead to greater understanding of these later life outcomes and offer insight into novel therapeutic strategies.

  12. Early life traumatic stressors and the mediating role of PTSD in incident HIV infection among US men, comparisons by sexual orientation and race/ethnicity: results from the NESARC, 2004-2005.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reisner, Sari L; Falb, Kathryn L; Mimiaga, Matthew J

    2011-08-01

    Stressful life events in childhood during critical periods of development have long-term psychological and neurobiological sequelae, which may affect risk for HIV infection across the life course. Data were from a nationally representative sample of 13,274 US men (National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, 2004-2005). Weighted multivariable logistic regression models examined (1) the association of childhood violent events before age 18 on 12-month incident HIV infection and (2) whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis (clinical interview) mediated the association between early life events and HIV. Overall, the 12-month HIV incidence was incident HIV infection (aOR = 5.75; 95% CI: 4.76 to 6.95). There was evidence that PTSD partially mediated the relationship between early life events and HIV (aOR = 1.14; 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.28). Experiencing early life violent family stressors was associated with HIV infection among men. Early life events and HIV infection were mediated by PTSD, which has implications for understanding disparities in HIV infection. Interventions are urgently needed that address the long-term sequelae of childhood violence.

  13. Prenatal stress may increase vulnerability to life events

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hougaard, Karin S; Andersen, Maibritt B; Kjaer, Sanna L

    2005-01-01

    Prenatal stress has been associated with a variety of alterations in the offspring. The presented observations suggest that rather than causing changes in the offspring per se, prenatal stress may increase the organism's vulnerability to aversive life events. Offspring of rat dams stressed...

  14. Life stress and hysterectomy-oophorectomy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kraaimaat, F.W.; Veeninga, A.T.

    1984-01-01

    The effects of hysterectomy-oophorectomy and life stress in regard to physical and psychological discomfort were investigated. Oophorectomized women reported more physical complaints and more frequent loss of sexual interest than a control group of cholecystectomized women. No differences between

  15. Perceptions of Parental Awareness of Emotional Responses to Stressful Life Events

    OpenAIRE

    Jobe-Shields, Lisa; Parra, Gilbert R.; Buckholdt, Kelly E.

    2013-01-01

    There is a need to better understand family processes related to recovery from past stressful life events. The present study aimed to investigate links between perceptions of parental awareness regarding stressful life events, continued event-related rumination, and current symptoms of depression. Students at a diverse, urban university completed a life events checklist and a semi-structured interview regarding family processing of stressful life events, as well as self-report measures of eve...

  16. Oxidative stress and life histories: unresolved issues and current needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Speakman, John R; Blount, Jonathan D; Bronikowski, Anne M; Buffenstein, Rochelle; Isaksson, Caroline; Kirkwood, Tom B L; Monaghan, Pat; Ozanne, Susan E; Beaulieu, Michaël; Briga, Michael; Carr, Sarah K; Christensen, Louise L; Cochemé, Helena M; Cram, Dominic L; Dantzer, Ben; Harper, Jim M; Jurk, Diana; King, Annette; Noguera, Jose C; Salin, Karine; Sild, Elin; Simons, Mirre J P; Smith, Shona; Stier, Antoine; Tobler, Michael; Vitikainen, Emma; Peaker, Malcolm; Selman, Colin

    2015-12-01

    Life-history theory concerns the trade-offs that mold the patterns of investment by animals between reproduction, growth, and survival. It is widely recognized that physiology plays a role in the mediation of life-history trade-offs, but the details remain obscure. As life-history theory concerns aspects of investment in the soma that influence survival, understanding the physiological basis of life histories is related, but not identical, to understanding the process of aging. One idea from the field of aging that has gained considerable traction in the area of life histories is that life-history trade-offs may be mediated by free radical production and oxidative stress. We outline here developments in this field and summarize a number of important unresolved issues that may guide future research efforts. The issues are as follows. First, different tissues and macromolecular targets of oxidative stress respond differently during reproduction. The functional significance of these changes, however, remains uncertain. Consequently there is a need for studies that link oxidative stress measurements to functional outcomes, such as survival. Second, measurements of oxidative stress are often highly invasive or terminal. Terminal studies of oxidative stress in wild animals, where detailed life-history information is available, cannot generally be performed without compromising the aims of the studies that generated the life-history data. There is a need therefore for novel non-invasive measurements of multi-tissue oxidative stress. Third, laboratory studies provide unrivaled opportunities for experimental manipulation but may fail to expose the physiology underpinning life-history effects, because of the benign laboratory environment. Fourth, the idea that oxidative stress might underlie life-history trade-offs does not make specific enough predictions that are amenable to testing. Moreover, there is a paucity of good alternative theoretical models on which contrasting

  17. Transactional relations between caregiving stress, executive functioning, and problem behavior from early childhood to early adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaGasse, Linda L.; Conradt, Elisabeth; Karalunas, Sarah L.; Dansereau, Lynne M.; Butner, Jonathan E.; Shankaran, Seetha; Bada, Henrietta; Bauer, Charles R.; Whitaker, Toni M.; Lester, Barry M.

    2016-01-01

    Developmental psychopathologists face the difficult task of identifying the environmental conditions that may contribute to early childhood behavior problems. Highly stressed caregivers can exacerbate behavior problems, while children with behavior problems may make parenting more difficult and increase caregiver stress. Unknown is: (1) how these transactions originate, (2) whether they persist over time to contribute to the development of problem behavior and (3) what role resilience factors, such as child executive functioning, may play in mitigating the development of problem behavior. In the present study, transactional relations between caregiving stress, executive functioning, and behavior problems were examined in a sample of 1,388 children with prenatal drug exposures at three developmental time points: early childhood (birth-age 5), middle childhood (ages 6 to 9), and early adolescence (ages 10 to 13). Transactional relations differed between caregiving stress and internalizing versus externalizing behavior. Targeting executive functioning in evidence-based interventions for children with prenatal substance exposure who present with internalizing problems and treating caregiving psychopathology, depression, and parenting stress in early childhood may be particularly important for children presenting with internalizing behavior. PMID:27427803

  18. Impact of chronic maternal stress during early gestation on maternal-fetal stress transfer and fetal stress sensitivity in sheep.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dreiling, Michelle; Schiffner, Rene; Bischoff, Sabine; Rupprecht, Sven; Kroegel, Nasim; Schubert, Harald; Witte, Otto W; Schwab, Matthias; Rakers, Florian

    2018-01-01

    Acute stress-induced reduction of uterine blood flow (UBF) is an indirect mechanism of maternal-fetal stress transfer during late gestation. Effects of chronic psychosocial maternal stress (CMS) during early gestation, as may be experienced by many working women, on this stress signaling mechanism are unclear. We hypothesized that CMS in sheep during early gestation augments later acute stress-induced decreases of UBF, and aggravates the fetal hormonal, cardiovascular, and metabolic stress responses during later development. Six pregnant ewes underwent repeated isolation stress (CMS) between 30 and 100 days of gestation (dGA, term: 150 dGA) and seven pregnant ewes served as controls. At 110 dGA, ewes were chronically instrumented and underwent acute isolation stress. The acute stress decreased UBF by 19% in both the CMS and control groups (p stress-induced cortisol and norepinephrine concentrations indicating a hyperactive hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis and sympathetic-adrenal-medullary system. Increased fetal norepinephrine is endogenous as maternal catecholamines do not cross the placenta. Cortisol in the control but not in the CMS fetuses was correlated with maternal cortisol blood concentrations; these findings indicate: (1) no increased maternal-fetal cortisol transfer with CMS, (2) cortisol production in CMS fetuses when the HPA-axis is normally inactive, due to early maturation of the fetal HPA-axis. CMS fetuses were better oxygenated, without shift towards acidosis compared to the controls, potentially reflecting adaptation to repeated stress. Hence, CMS enhances maternal-fetal stress transfer by prolonged reduction in UBF and increased fetal HPA responsiveness.

  19. The Intestinal Microbiome in Early Life: Health and Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie-Claire eArrieta

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Human microbial colonization begins at birth and continues to develop and modulate in species abundance for about three years, until the microbiota becomes adult-like. During the same time period, children experience significant developmental changes that influence their current health status as well as their immune system. An ever-expanding number of articles associate several diseases with early life imbalances of the gut microbiota, also referred to as gut microbial dysbiosis. Whether early life dysbiosis precedes and plays a role in disease pathogenesis, or simply originates from the disease process itself is a question that is beginning to be answered in a few diseases, including IBD, obesity and asthma. This review describes the gut microbiome structure and function during the formative first years of life, as well as the environmental factors that determine its composition. It also aims to discuss the recent advances in understanding the role of the early life gut microbiota in the development of immune-mediated, metabolic, and neurological diseases. A greater understanding of how the early life gut microbiota impacts our immune development could potentially lead to novel microbial-derived therapies that target disease prevention at an early age.

  20. Perceived pregnancy stress and quality of life amongst Iranian women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shishehgar, Sara; Dolatian, Mahrokh; Majd, Hamid Alavi; Bakhtiary, Maryam

    2014-04-24

    Stress during pregnancy can result in critical negative outcomes on the mother, the fetus, the newborn, the child and even the adolescent. Quality of life has been recognized as a predictor of stress amongst pregnant women. The first aim of this study was to investigate the role of quality of life in pregnancy stress rates. The second aim was to explore the relationship between maternal stress rate and the four domains of quality of life namely physical health, psychological status, social relationships and environmental conditions. The present study was a quantitative cross-sectional research. It was conducted on 210 pregnant women in all trimesters of pregnancy who attended a hospital located in the west of Tehran for prenatal care between August and October 2012. Two questionnaires of The WHO QOL-BREF and Specific Pregnancy Stress were given to respondents to complete. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS version 22 using one-way ANOVA and Spearman correlation and Lisrel 8.8 using statistical path analyzing to describe the direct dependencies among variables. In the current study, we hypothesized that quality of life may influence the perceived stress during pregnancy. The mean age of the women surveyed was estimated 27±4.8 years. The ultimate result showed that there is a significant relationship between quality of life and pregnancy stress level (Pvalue life and the financial and environmental dimensions of specific pregnancy stress (Pvalue < 0.05, r=-0.365, r=-0.181). Further investigations may be considered for extending the results to all pregnant women. Thus, further research across country would be required to validate the results of this study and to generalize the findings to wider population.

  1. Effects of Early-Life Adversity on Hippocampal Structures and Associated HPA Axis Functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahmen, Brigitte; Puetz, Vanessa B; Scharke, Wolfgang; von Polier, Georg G; Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate; Konrad, Kerstin

    2018-01-01

    Early-life adversity (ELA) is one of the major risk factors for serious mental and physical health risks later in life. ELA has been associated with dysfunctional neurodevelopment, especially in brain structures such as the hippocampus, and with dysfunction of the stress system, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Children who have experienced ELA are also more likely to suffer from mental health disorders such as depression later in life. The exact interplay of aberrant neurodevelopment and HPA axis dysfunction as risks for psychopathology is not yet clear. We investigated volume differences in the bilateral hippocampus and in stress-sensitive hippocampal subfields, behavior problems, and diurnal cortisol activity in 24 children who had experienced documented ELA (including out-of-home placement) in a circumscribed duration of adversity only in their first 3 years of life in comparison to data on 25 control children raised by their biological parents. Hippocampal volumes and stress-sensitive hippocampal subfields (Cornu ammonis [CA]1, CA3, and the granule-cell layer of the dentate gyrus [GCL-DG]) were significantly smaller in children who had experienced ELA, taking psychiatric diagnoses and dimensional psychopathological symptoms into account. ELA moderated the relationship between left hippocampal volume and cortisol: in the control group, hippocampal volumes were not related to diurnal cortisol, while in ELA children, a positive linear relationship between left hippocampal volume and diurnal cortisol was present. Our findings show that ELA is associated with altered development of the hippocampus, and an altered relationship between hippocampal volume and HPA axis activity in youth in care, even after they have lived in stable and caring foster family environments for years. Altered hippocampal development after ELA could thus be associated with a risk phenotype for the development of psychiatric disorders later in life. © 2017 S. Karger

  2. Trans-Agency Early-Life Exposures and Cancer Working Group

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Trans-Agency Early-Life Exposures and Cancer Working Group promotes integration of early-life events and exposures into public health cancer research, control, prevention, and policy strategies to reduce the cancer burden in the United States and globally.

  3. Composite Overwrap Pressure Vessels: Mechanics and Stress Rupture Lifing Philosophy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thesken, John C.; Murthy, Pappu L. N.; Phoenix, Leigh

    2007-01-01

    The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has been conducting an independent technical assessment to address safety concerns related to the known stress rupture failure mode of filament wound pressure vessels in use on Shuttle and the International Space Station. The Shuttle's Kevlar-49 fiber overwrapped tanks are of particular concern due to their long usage and the poorly understood stress rupture process in Kevlar-49 filaments. Existing long term data show that the rupture process is a function of stress, temperature and time. However due to the presence of load sharing liners and the complex manufacturing procedures, the state of actual fiber stress in flight hardware and test articles is not clearly known. Indeed non-conservative life predictions have been made where stress rupture data and lifing procedures have ignored the contribution of the liner in favor of applied pressure as the controlling load parameter. With the aid of analytical and finite element results, this paper examines the fundamental mechanical response of composite overwrapped pressure vessels including the influence of elastic-plastic liners and degraded/creeping overwrap properties. Graphical methods are presented describing the non-linear relationship of applied pressure to Kevlar-49 fiber stress/strain during manufacturing, operations and burst loadings. These are applied to experimental measurements made on a variety of vessel systems to demonstrate the correct calibration of fiber stress as a function of pressure. Applying this analysis to the actual qualification burst data for Shuttle flight hardware revealed that the nominal fiber stress at burst was in some cases 23% lower than what had previously been used to predict stress rupture life. These results motivate a detailed discussion of the appropriate stress rupture lifing philosophy for COPVs including the correct transference of stress rupture life data between dissimilar vessels and test articles.

  4. Psychotherapeutic Methods of Coping with Stress in Everyday Life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Senol TURAN

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Stress is an inevitable part of life. Knowing the ways of coping with stress are necessary to preserve our mental and physical health and to maintain good social and/or occupational functioning in daily life activities. Different ways of coping with stress have been developed throughout history. Various type of therapies offer quite effective remedies for coping with stress in everyday life. Among psychotherapeutic treatments cognitive behavioral therapy which involves teaching stressful individuals to develop coping strategies have yielded very promising results. It is helpful to determine first whether stress source can be changed, several therapeutic approaches may then be used. Lazarus and Folkman have identified two major approaches for coping with stress so-called "problem-focused" and "emotion-focused". In "problem-focused" approaches targets are acquiring time management, self-monitoring, problem-solving skills, while in "emotion-focused" approaches, through ways of accepting or rejecting of stress associated negative emotions, or reconciling with these emotions, the target is learning how to keep emotions under control. "Problem-focused" and "emotion-focused" approaches may independently be used effectively in appropriate cases, their simultaneous practice may increase chances of successful treatment. Apart from this methods, psychodynamic therapy may be indicated in some cases. [JCBPR 2015; 4(3.000: 133-140

  5. Self-esteem, narcissism, and stressful life events: Testing for selection and socialization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orth, Ulrich; Luciano, Eva C

    2015-10-01

    We examined whether self-esteem and narcissism predict the occurrence of stressful life events (i.e., selection) and whether stressful life events predict change in self-esteem and narcissism (i.e., socialization). The analyses were based on longitudinal data from 2 studies, including samples of 328 young adults (Study 1) and 371 adults (Study 2). The effects of self-esteem and narcissism were mutually controlled for each other and, moreover, controlled for effects of depression. After conducting the study-level analyses, we meta-analytically aggregated the findings. Self-esteem had a selection effect, suggesting that low self-esteem led to the occurrence of stressful life events; however, this effect became nonsignificant when depression was controlled for. Regardless of whether depression was controlled for or not, narcissism had a selection effect, suggesting that high narcissism led to the occurrence of stressful life events. Moreover, stressful life events had a socialization effect on self-esteem, but not on narcissism, suggesting that the occurrence of stressful life events decreased self-esteem. Analyses of trait-state models indicated that narcissism consisted almost exclusively of perfectly stable trait variance, providing a possible explanation for the absence of socialization effects on narcissism. The findings have significant implications because they suggest that a person's level of narcissism influences whether stressful life events occur, and that self-esteem is shaped by the occurrence of stressful life events. Moreover, we discuss the possibility that depression mediates the selection effect of low self-esteem on stressful life events. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Early-life medical care and human capital accumulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Daysal, N. Meltem

    2015-01-01

    that both types of interventions may benefit not only child health but also long-term educational outcomes. In addition, early-life medical interventions may improve the educational outcomes of siblings. These findings can be used to design policies that improve long-term outcomes and reduce economic......Ample empirical evidence links adverse conditions during early childhood (the period from conception to age five) to worse health outcomes and lower academic achievement in adulthood. Can early-life medical care and public health interventions ameliorate these effects? Recent research suggests...

  7. Stress Sensitivity, Aberrant Salience, and Threat Anticipation in Early Psychosis: An Experience Sampling Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reininghaus, Ulrich; Kempton, Matthew J.; Valmaggia, Lucia; Craig, Tom K. J.; Garety, Philippa; Onyejiaka, Adanna; Gayer-Anderson, Charlotte; So, Suzanne H.; Hubbard, Kathryn; Beards, Stephanie; Dazzan, Paola; Pariante, Carmine; Mondelli, Valeria; Fisher, Helen L.; Mills, John G.; Viechtbauer, Wolfgang; McGuire, Philip; van Os, Jim; Murray, Robin M.; Wykes, Til; Myin-Germeys, Inez; Morgan, Craig

    2016-01-01

    While contemporary models of psychosis have proposed a number of putative psychological mechanisms, how these impact on individuals to increase intensity of psychotic experiences in real life, outside the research laboratory, remains unclear. We aimed to investigate whether elevated stress sensitivity, experiences of aberrant novelty and salience, and enhanced anticipation of threat contribute to the development of psychotic experiences in daily life. We used the experience sampling method (ESM) to assess stress, negative affect, aberrant salience, threat anticipation, and psychotic experiences in 51 individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP), 46 individuals with an at-risk mental state (ARMS) for psychosis, and 53 controls with no personal or family history of psychosis. Linear mixed models were used to account for the multilevel structure of ESM data. In all 3 groups, elevated stress sensitivity, aberrant salience, and enhanced threat anticipation were associated with an increased intensity of psychotic experiences. However, elevated sensitivity to minor stressful events (χ2 = 6.3, P = 0.044), activities (χ2 = 6.7, P = 0.036), and areas (χ2 = 9.4, P = 0.009) and enhanced threat anticipation (χ2 = 9.3, P = 0.009) were associated with more intense psychotic experiences in FEP individuals than controls. Sensitivity to outsider status (χ2 = 5.7, P = 0.058) and aberrantly salient experiences (χ2 = 12.3, P = 0.002) were more strongly associated with psychotic experiences in ARMS individuals than controls. Our findings suggest that stress sensitivity, aberrant salience, and threat anticipation are important psychological processes in the development of psychotic experiences in daily life in the early stages of the disorder. PMID:26834027

  8. Relationship of early-life trauma, war-related trauma, personality traits, and PTSD symptom severity: a retrospective study on female civilian victims of war

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksandra Stevanović

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Consequences of war-related traumatisation have mostly been investigated in military and predominant male populations, while research on female civilian victims of war has been neglected. Furthermore, research of post-war posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD in women has rarely included early-life trauma in their prediction models, so the contribution of trauma in childhood and early youth is still unexplored. Objective: To examine the relationship of early-life trauma, war-related trauma, personality traits, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress among female civilian victims of the recent war in Croatia. Method: The cross-sectional study included 394 participants, 293 war-traumatised adult women civilians, and 101 women without war-related trauma. Participants were recruited using the snowball sampling method. The applied instruments included the Clinician-Administrated PTSD Scale (CAPS, the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R, the War Stressors Assessment Questionnaire (WSAQ, and the Early Trauma Inventory Self Report-Short Form (ETISR-SF. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the prediction model of PTSD symptom severity measured by CAPS score for current PTSD. Results: The prevalence of current PTSD (CAPS cut-off score=65 in this cohort was 20.7%. The regression model that included age, early-life trauma, war-related trauma, neuroticism, and extraversion as statistically significant predictors explained 45.8% of variance in PTSD symptoms. Conclusions: Older age, exposure to early-life trauma, exposure to war-related traumatic events, high neuroticism, and low extraversion are independent factors associated with higher level of PTSD symptoms among women civilian victims of war.

  9. Life stress versus traumatic stress: The impact of life events on psychological functioning in children with and without serious illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willard, Victoria W; Long, Alanna; Phipps, Sean

    2016-01-01

    To determine the differential impact of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and other stressful life events on psychological functioning in 2 groups of children: those with cancer and those without history of serious illness. Children with cancer age 8-17 (n = 254) and age-, sex-, and race/ethnicity-matched controls (n = 142) completed self-report measures of stressful life events and psychological functioning. Stressful life events included those that may meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) A1 criteria (PTEs; 9 events) and others that would likely not (other events; 21 events). Children with cancer endorsed significantly more PTEs than control children. There were no differences between groups in number of other events experienced. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that number of other events accounted for significant variance in psychological functioning, above and beyond group status, demographic factors (age and socioeconomic status), and number of PTEs. The number of cumulative other events experienced is a significant predictor of psychological functioning in both youth with serious illness and controls. In contrast, cumulative PTEs appear to have a minor (albeit significant) impact on children's psychological functioning. Assessment of psychological functioning would benefit from a thorough history of stressful life events, regardless of their potential traumatic impact. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. Early Life Stress-Related Elevations in Reaction Time Variability Are Associated with Brain Volume Reductions in HIV+ Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uraina S. Clark

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available There is burgeoning evidence that, among HIV+ adults, exposure to high levels of early life stress (ELS is associated with increased cognitive impairment as well as brain volume abnormalities and elevated neuropsychiatric symptoms. Currently, we have a limited understanding of the degree to which cognitive difficulties observed in HIV+ High-ELS samples reflect underlying neural abnormalities rather than increases in neuropsychiatric symptoms. Here, we utilized a behavioral marker of cognitive function, reaction time intra-individual variability (RT-IIV, which is sensitive to both brain volume reductions and neuropsychiatric symptoms, to elucidate the unique contributions of brain volume abnormalities and neuropsychiatric symptoms to cognitive difficulties in HIV+ High-ELS adults. We assessed the relation of RT-IIV to neuropsychiatric symptom levels and total gray and white matter volumes in 44 HIV+ adults (26 with high ELS. RT-IIV was examined during a working memory task. Self-report measures assessed current neuropsychiatric symptoms (depression, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to quantify total gray and white matter volumes. Compared to Low-ELS participants, High-ELS participants exhibited elevated RT-IIV, elevated neuropsychiatric symptoms, and reduced gray and white matter volumes. Across the entire sample, RT-IIV was significantly associated with gray and white matter volumes, whereas significant associations with neuropsychiatric symptoms were not observed. In the High-ELS group, despite the presence of elevated neuropsychiatric symptom levels, brain volume reductions explained more than 13% of the variance in RT-IIV, whereas neuropsychiatric symptoms explained less than 1%. Collectively, these data provide evidence that, in HIV+ High-ELS adults, ELS-related cognitive difficulties (as indexed by RT-IIV exhibit strong associations with global brain volumes, whereas ELS-related elevations in

  11. Experiencing El Niño conditions during early life reduces recruiting probabilities but not adult survival

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez, Cristina; Drummond, Hugh

    2018-01-01

    In wild long-lived animals, analysis of impacts of stressful natal conditions on adult performance has rarely embraced the entire age span, and the possibility that costs are expressed late in life has seldom been examined. Using 26 years of data from 8541 fledglings and 1310 adults of the blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii), a marine bird that can live up to 23 years, we tested whether experiencing the warm waters and food scarcity associated with El Niño in the natal year reduces recruitment or survival over the adult lifetime. Warm water in the natal year reduced the probability of recruiting; each additional degree (°C) of water temperature meant a reduction of roughly 50% in fledglings' probability of returning to the natal colony as breeders. Warm water in the current year impacted adult survival, with greater effect at the oldest ages than during early adulthood. However, warm water in the natal year did not affect survival at any age over the adult lifespan. A previous study showed that early recruitment and widely spaced breeding allow boobies that experience warm waters in the natal year to achieve normal fledgling production over the first 10 years; our results now show that this reproductive effort incurs no survival penalty, not even late in life. This pattern is additional evidence of buffering against stressful natal conditions via life-history adjustments. PMID:29410788

  12. Development of Life on Early Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Everett K.; McKay, David S.; Thomas-Keprta, Kathie L.; Clemett, Simon J.; Wentworth, Susan J.

    2009-01-01

    Exploration of Mars has begun to unveil the history of the planet. Combinations of remote sensing, in situ compositional measurements and photographic observations have shown Mars had a dynamic and active geologic evolution. Mars geologic evolution encompassed conditions that were suitable for supporting life. A habitable planet must have water, carbon and energy sources along with a dynamic geologic past. Mars meets all of these requirements. The first 600 My of Martian history were ripe for life to develop because of the abundance of (i) Water- as shown by carved canyons and oceans or lakes with the early presence of near surface water shown by precipitated carbonates in ALH84001, well-dated at 3.9 Gy, (ii) Energy from the original accretional processes, a molten core which generated a strong magnetic field leaving a permanent record in the early crust, active volcanism continuing throughout Martian history, and continuing impact processes, (iii) Carbon, water and a likely thicker atmosphere from extensive volcanic outgassing (i.e. H20, CO2, CH4, CO, O2, N2, H2S, SO2, etc.) and (iv) crustal tectonics as revealed by faulting and possible plate movement reflected by the magnetic pattern in the crust [1]. The question arises: "Why would life not develop from these favorable conditions on Mars in its first 600 My?" During this period, environmental near-surface conditions on Mars were more favorable to life than at any later time. Standing bodies of water, precipitation and flowing surface water, and possibly abundant hydrothermal energy would favor the formation of early life. (Even if life developed elsewhere on Earth, Venus, or on other bodies-it was transported to Mars where surface conditions were suitable for life to evolve). The commonly stated requirement that life would need hundreds of millions of year to get started is only an assumption; we know of no evidence that requires such a long interval for the development of life, if the proper habitable

  13. Long-lasting effects of Early-life Antibiotic Treatment and routine Animal Handling on Gut Microbiota Composition and Immune System in Pigs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schokker, D.; Zhang, J.; Vastenhouw, S.A.; Heilig, G.H.J.; Smidt, H.; Rebel, J.M.J.; Smits, M.A.

    2015-01-01

    Background In intensive pig husbandry systems, antibiotics are frequently administrated during early life stages to prevent respiratory and gastro-intestinal tract infections, often in combination with stressful handlings. The immediate effects of these treatments on microbial colonization and

  14. The role of maternal care in borderline personality disorder and dependent life stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ball Cooper, Ericka; Venta, Amanda; Sharp, Carla

    2018-01-01

    Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) affects 0.9%-3.2% of adolescents, and more than 20% of inpatient adolescents. Life stress has been linked to BPD across the lifespan, and previous research in adults has linked BPD to dependent stress (i.e., stress induced by the individual). However, prior research has not examined dependent stress alongside BPD in adolescents. Additionally, the potential protective effect of maternal care has not been considered in this relation. This study tested a moderation model expecting that (1) BPD would be positively associated with dependent life stress, (2) maternal care would be negatively associated with BPD, and (3) maternal care would moderate the relation between BPD and dependent life stress. The sample consisted of 184 adolescents recruited from an inpatient psychiatric facility serving a diverse population in the Southwestern United States. Dependent life stress, BPD, and maternal care were measured using the UCLA Life Stress Interview, DSM-IV Childhood Interview for BPD, and Kerns Security Scale, respectively. Results supported the first two hypotheses; BPD diagnosis was significantly, positively associated with dependent life stress, and negatively associated with maternal availability and dependability. Contrary to the third hypothesis, no significant evidence that maternal care acts as a buffer in the relation between BPD and dependent life stress was found. Although maternal care was not found to moderate the association between BPD and dependent life stress, results supported previously found relations between BPD, dependent life stress, and maternal care, and did so within a diverse inpatient adolescent sample.

  15. Life stress as potential risk factor for depression and burnout

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Plieger

    2015-03-01

    Conclusion: By considering the influence of life stress it could be demonstrated that depression and burnout are not identical although they share substantial phenotypic variance (r = .46–.61. Most important, the trivariate associations are the same in a representative employee sample and in an inpatient clinical sample suggesting the same underlying mechanisms covering the whole range from normal behavior to psychopathology. However, only longitudinal data can show if burnout necessarily turns into depression with the consequence that the burnout – life stress association approaches the depression – life stress association over time.

  16. Conditions on Early Mars Might Have Fostered Rapid and Early Development of Life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Everett K.; McKay, David S.; Thomas-Keprta, Kathie L.; Clemett, Simon J.; Wentworth, Susan J.

    2007-01-01

    The exploration of Mars during the past decades has begun to unveil the history of the planet. The combinations of remote sensing, in situ geochemical compositional measurements and photographic observations from both above and on the surface have shown Mars to have a dynamic and active geologic evolution. Mars geologic evolution clearly had conditions that were suitable for supporting life. For a planet to be able to be habitable, it must have water, carbon sources, energy sources and a dynamic geologic past. Mars meets all of these requirements. The first 600 My of Martian history were ripe for life to develop because of the abundance of (i) Water-carved canyons and oceans or lakes with the early presence of near surface water shown by precipitated carbonates in ALH84001 well-dated at approx.3.9 Gy., (ii) Energy from the original accretional processes, a molten core which generated a strong magnetic field leaving a permanent record in the early crust, early active volcanism continuing throughout Martian history, and, and continuing impact processes, (iii) Carbon and water from possibly extensive volcanic outgassing (i.e. H2O, CO2, CH4, CO, O2, N2, H2S, SO2, etc.) and (iv) some crustal tectonics as revealed by faulting and possible plate movement reflected by the magnetic pattern in the crust. The question arises: "Why would life not evolve from these favorable conditions on early Mars in its first 600 My?" During this period, it seems likely that environmental near-surface conditions on Mars were more favorable to life than at any later time. Standing bodies of water, precipitation and flowing surface water, and possibly abundant hydrothermal energy would all favor the formation of early life. Even if life developed elsewhere (on Earth, Venus, or on other solar systems) and was transported to Mars, the surface conditions were likely very hospitable for that introduced life to multiply and evolve.

  17. Life Balance and Stress in Adults With Medical Conditions or Obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matuska, Kathleen; Bass, Julie

    2016-04-01

    This cross-sectional research examined differences in life balance and perceived stress by body mass index (BMI) levels and self-reported medical conditions that limited physical activity. The sample consisted of 2,338 participants between the ages of 18 and 49 years who took the Life Balance Inventory, the Perceived Stress Scale, and provided demographic information including height and weight. Findings showed that individuals who were obese (BMI > 30.0) reported significantly lower life balance scores and higher stress scores than participants without obesity (p life balance and more stress than individuals without medical conditions (p < .001). These findings highlight the importance of addressing activity participation as a means to promote health and wellness. © The Author(s) 2016.

  18. Early life physical activity and cognition at old age

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dik, Miranda; Deeg, Dorly J H; Visser, Marjolein; Jonker, Cees

    Physical activity has shown to be inversely associated with cognitive decline in older people. Whether this association is already present in early life has not been investigated previously. The association between early life physical activity and cognition was studied in 1,241 subjects aged 62-85

  19. Suicide in Relation to the Experience of Stressful Life Events

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fjeldsted, Rita; Teasdale, Thomas William; Jensen, Martin

    2017-01-01

    Stressful life events have been associated with high risk of suicidal behavior. The aim of this study was to examine whether persons who died by suicide in Denmark had more frequently been exposed to stressful life events, specifically divorce, death of a close relative, exposure to violence......, and imprisonment, when compared to gender and age-matched controls. Data from Danish national registers were obtained for the period of 2000-2010 and a nested case-control design was applied. The association between exposure to stressful life events and suicide was examined using logistic regression analysis...... compared to controls. People who died by suicide had 1.5-fold (CI-95%: 1.3-1.6) higher risk of having experienced a divorce. Stressful life events, such as divorce and imprisonment, were more frequent in temporal proximity to the date of death among the suicide cases than for end of exposure for controls...

  20. The Social and Spatial Patterning of Life Stress Among Immigrants in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lu; Palacios, Elmer Lara

    2017-06-01

    While much literature has examined immigrants' health in Canada, less attention has focused specifically on the life stress, an important yet understudied post-migration challenge which may lead to poor coping strategies and negative health consequences. For this study, the pooled 2009-2014 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) was analyzed, using multilevel logistic regression to examine the compositional effects (at an individual level) and areal effects (at a CMA/CA level) on reported high life stress. Separate models have been run for immigrants and non-immigrants for comparative purposes. The results reveal different ways in which select individual socioeconomic and lifestyle factors affect life stress. A statistically significant yet small areal effect at the CMA/CA level on life stress was identified for both immigrants and non-immigrants. When comparing immigrants to non-immigrants, factors such as smoking, length of residency in Canada, and mental health status were found to be particularly informative for predicting high life stress among immigrants. A Healthy Immigrant Effect (HIE) is partially evident, as immigrants with a longer stay in Canada are more likely to be highly stressed than recent arrivals. The areal effect on variances in high life stress is minimal, suggesting the importance of focusing on individual-level effects as stress predictors.

  1. Oxidative stress tolerance of early stage diabetic endothelial progenitor cell

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dewi Sukmawati

    2015-06-01

    Conclusions: Primitive BM-EPCs showed vasculogenic dysfunction in early diabetes. However the oxidative stress is not denoted as the major initiating factor of its cause. Our results suggest that primitive BM-KSL cell has the ability to compensate oxidative stress levels in early diabetes by increasing the expression of anti-oxidative enzymes.

  2. Enduring neurobehavioral effects of early life trauma mediated through learning and corticosterone suppression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephanie Moriceau

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Early life trauma alters later life emotions, including fear. To better understand mediating mechanisms, we subjected pups to either predictable or unpredictable trauma, in the form of paired or unpaired odor-0.5mA shock conditioning which, during a sensitive period, produces an odor preference and no learning respectively. Fear conditioning and its neural correlates were then assessed after the sensitive period at postnatal day (PN13 or in adulthood, ages when amygdala-dependent fear occurs. Our results revealed that paired odor-shock conditioning starting during the sensitive period (PN8-12 blocked fear conditioning in older infants (PN13 and pups continued to express olfactory bulb-dependent odor preference learning. This PN13 fear learning inhibition was also associated with suppression of shock-induced corticosterone, although the age appropriate amygdala-dependent fear learning was reinstated with systemic corticosterone (3mg/kg during conditioning. On the other hand, sensitive period odor-shock conditioning did not prevent adult fear conditioning, although freezing, amygdala and hippocampal 2-DG uptake and corticosterone levels were attenuated compared to adult conditioning without infant conditioning. Normal levels of freezing, amygdala and hippocampal 2-DG uptake were induced with systemic corticosterone (5mg/kg during adult conditioning. These results suggest that the contingency of early life trauma mediates at least some effects of early life stress through learning and suppression of corticosterone levels. However, developmental differences between infants and adults are expressed with PN13 infants’ learning consistent with the original learned preference, while adult conditioning overrides the original learned preference with attenuated amygdala-dependent fear learning.

  3. The Impact of Student Life Stress on Health Related Quality of Life Among Doctor of Pharmacy Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupchup, Gireesh V.; Borrego, Matthew E.; Konduri, Niranjan

    2004-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the association between student-life stress and health related quality of life (HRQOL) among Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) students. Data were collected for 166 students in the first three years of a Pharm.D. curriculum. Student-Life Stress Inventory scores were significantly negatively correlated to mental…

  4. Proteomic responses reveal the differential effects induced by cadmium in mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis at early life stages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Lanlan; Peng, Xiao; Yu, Deliang; Ji, Chenglong; Zhao, Jianmin; Wu, Huifeng

    2016-08-01

    Cadmium (Cd) has become an important metal contaminant and posed severe risk on the organisms in the coastal environments of the Bohai Sea. Marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis is widely distributed along the Bohai coast and consumed as seafood by local residents. Evidences indicate that the early stages of marine organisms are more sensitive to metal contaminants. In this study, we applied two-dimensional electrophoresis-based proteomics to characterize the biological effects of Cd (50 μg L(-1)) in the early life stages (D-shape larval and juvenile) of mussels. The different proteomic responses demonstrated the differential responsive mechanisms to Cd exposure in these two early life stages of mussels. In details, results indicated that Cd mainly induced immune and oxidative stresses in both D-shape larval and juvenile mussels via different pathways. In addition, the significant up-regulation of triosephosphate isomerase and metallothionein confirmed the enhanced energy demand and mobilized detoxification mechanism in D-shape larval mussels exposed to Cd. In juvenile mussels, Cd exposure also induced clear apoptosis. Overall, this work suggests that Cd is a potential immune toxicant to mussel M. galloprovincialis at early life stages. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Stress responsiveness and anxiety-like behavior: The early social environment differentially shapes stability over time in a small rodent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sangenstedt, Susanne; Jaljuli, Iman; Sachser, Norbert; Kaiser, Sylvia

    2017-04-01

    The early social environment can profoundly affect behavioral and physiological phenotypes. We investigated how male wild cavy offspring, whose mothers had either lived in a stable (SE) or an unstable social environment (UE) during pregnancy and lactation, differed in their anxiety-like behavior and stress responsiveness. At two different time points in life, we tested the offspring's anxiety-like behavior in a dark-light test and their endocrine reaction to challenge in a cortisol reactivity test. Furthermore, we analyzed whether individual traits remained stable over time. There was no effect of the early social environment on anxiety-like behavior and stress responsiveness. However, at an individual level, anxiety-like behavior was stable over time in UE- but not in SE-sons. Stress responsiveness, in turn, was rather inconsistent in UE-sons and temporally stable in SE-sons. Conclusively, we showed for the first time that the early social environment differentially shapes the stability of behavioral and endocrine traits. At first glance, these results may be surprising, but they can be explained by the different functions anxiety-like behavior and stress responsiveness have. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Effects of Early-Life Stress on Actions, Habits, and the Neural Systems Supporting Instrumental Behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Patterson, Tara

    2017-01-01

    Factors contributing to the formation of habits, defined as the stimulus-response associations that form the basis of much human and animal behavior, are not well understood, and although habits are believed to underlie many negative health behaviors such as addictions, the extent to which findings from animal research on habits apply in the human is largely unknown. In Study 1 (Chapter 2), we conducted two experiments on appetitive habit formation in adults with a history of early-life stres...

  7. Quality of Life and Stressful Life Events in First and Second Generation Immigrant Adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ida Lemos

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to examine differences in quality of life and stressful life events, in first and second generation immigrant adolescents living in Algarve. A total of 172 immigrant adolescents participated in the study, completing the kidscreen-52, the stressful and negative life events inventory and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Results suggest that younger immigrant adolescents report more physical well-being and a higher mood level. Concerning gender differences, girls scored higher than boys in physical well-being, mood and self-perception, but no differences were found on the other kidscreen subscales. First generation immigrants scored significantly higher than second generation ones on the general quality of life index, psychological well-being, autonomy, financial resources and school environment. However, the second-generation immigrants did not seem to be more exposed to stressful life events than the first-generation group. When selecting relevant variables for well-being promotion and for intervention, we must consider that immigrants are more exposed to economic vulnerability, may experience difficulties in adapting to a different school context, and are at higher risk of social exclusion.

  8. Occupational Stress and Quality of Life in Nursing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aline Moraes da Silva

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract To reduce the work related to stress and the psychosocial risk is not only an imperative question, but also moral. This epistemological study aims to verify the presence of the occupational stress and quality of life related to health in nursing professionals. We used three questionnaires: (a Socio Demographic Questionnaire, (b Job Strain Scale, and (c Item Short Form Health Survey. Statistical analysis was performed between the questionnaires, analysis of variance (ANOVA and simple and multiple linear regression. It was found that 60.8% of the participants see the high demand of work, 71.8% high control on the developed activity and 85.5% low social support. Related to eight dominant of quality of life, the most damaged are: pain (µ = 61.87 and vitality (µ = 62.25. It was concluded that although in most sample experiences an intermediary risk situation to stress, the quality of life showed a damaged.

  9. Stress Sensitivity, Aberrant Salience, and Threat Anticipation in Early Psychosis: An Experience Sampling Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reininghaus, Ulrich; Kempton, Matthew J; Valmaggia, Lucia; Craig, Tom K J; Garety, Philippa; Onyejiaka, Adanna; Gayer-Anderson, Charlotte; So, Suzanne H; Hubbard, Kathryn; Beards, Stephanie; Dazzan, Paola; Pariante, Carmine; Mondelli, Valeria; Fisher, Helen L; Mills, John G; Viechtbauer, Wolfgang; McGuire, Philip; van Os, Jim; Murray, Robin M; Wykes, Til; Myin-Germeys, Inez; Morgan, Craig

    2016-05-01

    While contemporary models of psychosis have proposed a number of putative psychological mechanisms, how these impact on individuals to increase intensity of psychotic experiences in real life, outside the research laboratory, remains unclear. We aimed to investigate whether elevated stress sensitivity, experiences of aberrant novelty and salience, and enhanced anticipation of threat contribute to the development of psychotic experiences in daily life. We used the experience sampling method (ESM) to assess stress, negative affect, aberrant salience, threat anticipation, and psychotic experiences in 51 individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP), 46 individuals with an at-risk mental state (ARMS) for psychosis, and 53 controls with no personal or family history of psychosis. Linear mixed models were used to account for the multilevel structure of ESM data. In all 3 groups, elevated stress sensitivity, aberrant salience, and enhanced threat anticipation were associated with an increased intensity of psychotic experiences. However, elevated sensitivity to minor stressful events (χ(2)= 6.3,P= 0.044), activities (χ(2)= 6.7,P= 0.036), and areas (χ(2)= 9.4,P= 0.009) and enhanced threat anticipation (χ(2)= 9.3,P= 0.009) were associated with more intense psychotic experiences in FEP individuals than controls. Sensitivity to outsider status (χ(2)= 5.7,P= 0.058) and aberrantly salient experiences (χ(2)= 12.3,P= 0.002) were more strongly associated with psychotic experiences in ARMS individuals than controls. Our findings suggest that stress sensitivity, aberrant salience, and threat anticipation are important psychological processes in the development of psychotic experiences in daily life in the early stages of the disorder. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center.

  10. Personality, Stressful Life Events, and Treatment Response in Major Depression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulmash, Eric; Harkness, Kate L.; Stewart, Jeremy G.; Bagby, R. Michael

    2009-01-01

    The current study examined whether the personality traits of self-criticism or dependency moderated the effect of stressful life events on treatment response. Depressed outpatients (N = 113) were randomized to 16 weeks of cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, or antidepressant medication (ADM). Stressful life events were…

  11. Association of PER2 genotype and stressful life events with alcohol drinking in young adults.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorothea Blomeyer

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Clock genes govern circadian rhythms and shape the effect of alcohol use on the physiological system. Exposure to severe negative life events is related to both heavy drinking and disturbed circadian rhythmicity. The aim of this study was 1 to extend previous findings suggesting an association of a haplotype tagging single nucleotide polymorphism of PER2 gene with drinking patterns, and 2 to examine a possible role for an interaction of this gene with life stress in hazardous drinking. METHODS: Data were collected as part of an epidemiological cohort study on the outcome of early risk factors followed since birth. At age 19 years, 268 young adults (126 males, 142 females were genotyped for PER2 rs56013859 and were administered a 45-day alcohol timeline follow-back interview and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT. Life stress was assessed as the number of severe negative life events during the past four years reported in a questionnaire and validated by interview. RESULTS: Individuals with the minor G allele of rs56013859 were found to be less engaged in alcohol use, drinking at only 72% of the days compared to homozygotes for the major A allele. Moreover, among regular drinkers, a gene x environment interaction emerged (p = .020. While no effects of genotype appeared under conditions of low stress, carriers of the G allele exhibited less hazardous drinking than those homozygous for the A allele when exposed to high stress. CONCLUSIONS: These findings may suggest a role of the circadian rhythm gene PER2 in both the drinking patterns of young adults and in moderating the impact of severe life stress on hazardous drinking in experienced alcohol users. However, in light of the likely burden of multiple tests, the nature of the measures used and the nominal evidence of interaction, replication is needed before drawing firm conclusions.

  12. Early life hormetic treatments decrease irradiation-induced oxidative damage, increase longevity, and enhance sexual performance during old age in the Caribbean fruit fly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    López-Martínez, Giancarlo; Hahn, Daniel A.

    2014-01-01

    Early life events can have dramatic consequences on performance later in life. Exposure to stressors at a young age affects development, the rate of aging, risk of disease, and overall lifespan. In spite of this, mild stress exposure early in life can have beneficial effects on performance later in life. These positive effects of mild stress are referred to as physiological conditioning hormesis. In our current study we used anoxia conditioning hormesis as a pretreatment to reduce oxidative stress and improve organismal performance, lifespan, and healthspan of Caribbean fruit flies. We used gamma irradiation to induce mild oxidative damage in a low-dose experiment, and massive oxidative damage in a separate high-dose experiment, in pharate adult fruit flies just prior to adult emergence. Irradiation-induced oxidative stress leads to reduced adult emergence, flight ability, mating performance, and lifespan. We used a hormetic approach, one hour of exposure to anoxia plus irradiation in anoxia, to lower post-irradiation oxidative damage. We have previously shown that this anoxic-conditioning treatment elevates total antioxidant capacity and lowers post-irradiation oxidative damage to lipids and proteins. In this study, conditioned flies had lower mortality rates and longer lifespan compared to those irradiated without hormetic conditioning. As a metric of healthspan, we tracked mating both at a young age (10 d) and old age (30 d). We found that anoxia-conditioned male flies were more competitive at young ages when compared to unconditioned irradiation stressed male flies, and that the positive effects of anoxic conditioning hormesis on mating success were even more pronounced in older males. Our data shows that physiological conditioning hormesis at a young age, not only improves immediate metrics of organismal performance (emergence, flight, mating), but the beneficial effects also carry into old age by reducing late life oxidative damage and improving lifespan and

  13. Accounting Early for Life Long Learning: The AcE Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    University Coll. Worcester (England). Centre for Research in Early Childhood Education.

    Building upon the work of the Effective Early Learning (EEL) Project in raising the quality of early learning for young children in the United Kingdom, the 3-year Accounting Early for Life Long Learning Project (AcE Project) focuses on enhancing in 3- to 6-year-olds those attitudes and dispositions that are important to life-long learning. This…

  14. Global life satisfaction predicts ambulatory affect, stress, and cortisol in daily life in working adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smyth, Joshua M; Zawadzki, Matthew J; Juth, Vanessa; Sciamanna, Christopher N

    2017-04-01

    Global life satisfaction has been linked with long-term health advantages, yet how life satisfaction impacts the trajectory of long-term health is unclear. This paper examines one such possible mechanism-that greater life satisfaction confers momentary benefits in daily life that accumulate over time. A community sample of working adults (n = 115) completed a measure of life satisfaction and then three subsequent days of ecological momentary assessment surveys (6 times/day) measuring affect (i.e., emotional valence, arousal), and perceived stress, and also provided salivary cortisol samples. Multilevel models indicated that people with higher (vs. lower) levels of life satisfaction reported better momentary affect, less stress, marginally lower momentary levels and significantly altered diurnal slopes of cortisol. Findings suggest individuals with high global life satisfaction have advantageous daily experiences, providing initial evidence for potential mechanisms through which global life satisfaction may help explain long-term health benefits.

  15. The impact of developmental timing for stress and recovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dylan G. Gee

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Stress can have lasting effects on the brain and behavior. Delineating the impact of stress on the developing brain is fundamental for understanding mechanisms through which stress induces persistent effects on behavior that can lead to psychopathology. The growing field of translational developmental neuroscience has revealed a significant role of the timing of stress on risk, resilience, and neuroplasticity. Studies of stress across species have provided essential insight into the mechanisms by which the brain changes and the timing of those changes on outcome. In this article, we review the neurobiological effects of stress and propose a model by which sensitive periods of neural development interact with stressful life events to affect plasticity and the effects of stress on functional outcomes. We then highlight how early-life stress can alter the course of brain development. Finally, we examine mechanisms of buffering against early-life stress that may promote resilience and positive outcomes. The findings are discussed in the context of implications for early identification of risk and resilience factors and development of novel interventions that target the biological state of the developing brain to ultimately ameliorate the adverse consequences of stress during childhood and adolescence.

  16. Early resistance change and stress/electromigration evolution in near bamboo interconnects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Petrescu, V.; Mouthaan, A.J.; Dima, G.; Govoreanu, B.; Mitrea, O.; Profirescu, M.

    1997-01-01

    A complete description for early resistance change and mechanical stress evolution in near-bamboo interconnects, related to the electromigration, is given in this paper. The proposed model, for the first time, combines the stress/vacancy concentration evolution with the early resistance change of

  17. Early Triassic wrinkle structures on land: stressed environments and oases for life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, Daoliang; Tong, Jinnan; Song, Haijun; Benton, Michael J.; Bottjer, David J.; Song, Huyue; Tian, Li

    2015-06-01

    Wrinkle structures in rocks younger than the Permian-Triassic (P-Tr) extinction have been reported repeatedly in marine strata, but rarely mentioned in rocks recording land. Here, three newly studied terrestrial P-Tr boundary rock succession in North China have yielded diverse wrinkle structures. All of these wrinkles are preserved in barely bioturbated shore-shallow lacustrine siliciclastic deposits of the Liujiagou Formation. Conversely, both the lacustrine siliciclastic deposits of the underlying Sunjiagou Formation and the overlying Heshanggou Formation show rich bioturbation, but no wrinkle structures or other microbial-related structures. The occurrence of terrestrial wrinkle structures in the studied sections reflects abnormal hydrochemical and physical environments, presumably associated with the extinction of terrestrial organisms. Only very rare trace fossils occurred in the aftermath of the P-Tr extinction, but most of them were preserved together with the microbial mats. This suggests that microbial mats acted as potential oases for the surviving aquatic animals, as a source of food and oxygen. The new finds suggests that extreme environmental stresses were prevalent both in the sea and on land through most of the Early Triassic.

  18. Effect of Early- and Adult-Life Socioeconomic Circumstances on Physical Inactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheval, Boris; Sieber, Stefan; Guessous, Idris; Orsholits, Dan; Courvoisier, Delphine S; Kliegel, Matthias; Stringhini, Silvia; Swinnen, Stephan P; Burton-Jeangros, Claudine; Cullati, Stéphane; Boisgontier, Matthieu P

    2018-03-01

    This study aimed to investigate the associations between early- and adult-life socioeconomic circumstances and physical inactivity (level and evolution) in aging using large-scale longitudinal data. This study used the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe, a 10-yr population-based cohort study with repeated measurements in five waves, every 2 yr between 2004 and 2013. Self-reported physical inactivity (waves 1, 2, 4, and 5), household income (waves 1, 2, 4, and 5), educational attainment (wave of the first measurement occasion), and early-life socioeconomic circumstance (wave 3) were collected in 22,846 individuals 50 to 95 yr of age. Risk of physical inactivity was increased for women with the most disadvantaged early-life socioeconomic circumstances (odds ratio [OR], 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20-1.86). With aging, the risk of physical inactivity increased for both sexes and was strongest for those with the most disadvantaged early-life socioeconomic circumstances (OR, 1.04 (95% CI, 1.02-1.06) for women; OR, 1.02 (95% CI, 1.00-1.05) for men), with the former effect being more robust than the latter one. The association between early-life socioeconomic circumstances and physical inactivity was mediated by adult-life socioeconomic circumstances, with education being the strongest mediator. Early-life socioeconomic circumstances predicted high levels of physical inactivity at older ages, but this effect was mediated by socioeconomic indicators in adult life. This finding has implications for public health policies, which should continue to promote education to reduce physical inactivity in people at older ages and to ensure optimal healthy aging trajectories, especially among women with disadvantaged early-life socioeconomic circumstances.

  19. Stress and Quality of Life for Taiwanese Women Who Underwent Infertility Treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Ching-Yu; Stevenson, Eleanor Lowndes; Yang, Cheng-Ta; Liou, Shwu-Ru

    2018-04-28

    To describe the psychological stress and quality of life experienced by women who underwent fertility treatment in Taiwan. Cross-sectional, correlational study. Recruitment was conducted and questionnaires administered at a reproductive medicine center in Chiayi City, Taiwan. Informed consent to participate was obtained from 126 women who sought fertility treatment at the center. The Chinese Fertility Problem Inventory and Fertility Quality of Life scale were used to measure participants' levels of fertility-related stress and fertility-related quality of life. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis were used. Overall, participants reported low levels of fertility-related stress and fertility-related quality of life; however, they had relatively high levels of stress related to need for parenthood. Women who were older, had greater body mass indexes, and consumed coffee regularly had lower fertility-related quality of life. Social and relationship concerns and stress related to need for parenthood were significant predictors of low fertility-related quality of life. In a culture in which childbearing is generally an expectation and an important part of family life, women who experience infertility are at risk to experience fertility-related stress. Social support and family consultation might be offered to improve women's fertility-related quality of life. Copyright © 2018 AWHONN, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Disturbance of the gut microbiota in early-life selectively affects visceral pain in adulthood without impacting cognitive or anxiety-related behaviors in male rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Mahony, S M; Felice, V D; Nally, K; Savignac, H M; Claesson, M J; Scully, P; Woznicki, J; Hyland, N P; Shanahan, F; Quigley, E M; Marchesi, J R; O'Toole, P W; Dinan, T G; Cryan, J F

    2014-09-26

    Disruption of bacterial colonization during the early postnatal period is increasingly being linked to adverse health outcomes. Indeed, there is a growing appreciation that the gut microbiota plays a role in neurodevelopment. However, there is a paucity of information on the consequences of early-life manipulations of the gut microbiota on behavior. To this end we administered an antibiotic (vancomycin) from postnatal days 4-13 to male rat pups and assessed behavioral and physiological measures across all aspects of the brain-gut axis. In addition, we sought to confirm and expand the effects of early-life antibiotic treatment using a different antibiotic strategy (a cocktail of pimaricin, bacitracin, neomycin; orally) during the same time period in both female and male rat pups. Vancomycin significantly altered the microbiota, which was restored to control levels by 8 weeks of age. Notably, vancomycin-treated animals displayed visceral hypersensitivity in adulthood without any significant effect on anxiety responses as assessed in the elevated plus maze or open field tests. Moreover, cognitive performance in the Morris water maze was not affected by early-life dysbiosis. Immune and stress-related physiological responses were equally unaffected. The early-life antibiotic-induced visceral hypersensitivity was also observed in male rats given the antibiotic cocktail. Both treatments did not alter visceral pain perception in female rats. Changes in visceral pain perception in males were paralleled by distinct decreases in the transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1, the α-2A adrenergic receptor and cholecystokinin B receptor. In conclusion, a temporary disruption of the gut microbiota in early-life results in very specific and long-lasting changes in visceral sensitivity in male rats, a hallmark of stress-related functional disorders of the brain-gut axis such as irritable bowel disorder. Copyright © 2014 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All

  1. Work-related psychosocial stress and the risk of type 2 diabetes in later life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, K-Y; Xu, W; Mangialasche, F; Fratiglioni, L; Wang, H-X

    2017-06-01

    Although work-related psychosocial stress and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have been investigated, the association between lifelong work stress and T2DM in later life remains unclear. This study examined whether high work stress increased the risk of T2DM risk in later life, accounting also for other sources of stress outside work, such as burden from household chores. From the population-based prospective study SNAC-K, 2719 diabetes-free participants aged ≥60 years were identified and followed up for 6 years. T2DM was ascertained by glycated haemoglobin level, self-report, hypoglycaemic medication use and clinical records. Levels of job control and demands over the whole working life were assessed by a validated matrix. Household chores load was assessed by hours spent on such chores. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between job strain and T2DM. During the 6-year follow-up, 154 incident cases of T2DM were identified. High job strain was associated with T2DM occurrence amongst the 60-year-old cohort (OR = 3.14, 95% CI: 1.27-7.77), and only amongst women (OR = 6.18, 95% CI: 1.22-31.26), but not in men. When taking into account household chores load, a more pronounced risk of T2DM was associated with high job strain in combination with heavy household chores load in women aged 60 years at baseline (OR = 9.45, 95% CI: 1.17-76.53). Work-related psychosocial stress may increase the risk of T2DM only amongst women in their early 60s. The risk can be amplified by high household chores load. © 2017 The Association for the Publication of the Journal of Internal Medicine.

  2. Occupational stress and its association with early retirement and subjective need for occupational rehabilitation in cancer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Böttcher, Hilke M; Steimann, Monika; Rotsch, Martin; Zurborn, Karl-Heinz; Koch, Uwe; Bergelt, Corinna

    2013-08-01

    Returning to work often plays an important role for cancer survivors. Occupational stress may hamper a successful return to work, so cancer survivors should be given the opportunity to address occupational stress issues before returning to work. We investigated the amount of occupational stress among cancer patients and whether it is associated with their well-being, their subjective need for occupational rehabilitation and elevations in their risk of early retirement. At the beginning of rehabilitation, we asked cancer patients to respond to occupation-related and health-related questionnaires. We used t-tests, chi-square tests, and logistic regression analyses to address our research questions. A total of 477 patients participated in the study. Of these, 19% were occupationally stressed, and 26% reported subjective need for occupational rehabilitation. Patients who reported work-related stress had a diminished quality of life, were more likely to report subjective need for occupational rehabilitation (OR = 2.16), and had a higher risk of early retirement (OR = 5.44). Furthermore, cancer patients reported deficits in both active coping abilities and mental stability at work. Because occupational stress is associated with a higher risk of early retirement, both patients and physicians should take work-related problems seriously. Screening patients for occupational stress may help physicians identify patients who are at risk of experiencing problematic work re-entries. Furthermore, the results of the study suggest that cancer patients might have problems maintaining confidence in their abilities to solve work-related problems. Therefore, facilitating the development of a perception of self-efficacy might be an important treatment goal. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Life Stress and Health: A Review of Conceptual Issues and Recent Findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slavich, George M

    2016-10-01

    Life stress is a central construct in many models of human health and disease. The present article reviews research on stress and health, with a focus on (a) how life stress has been conceptualized and measured over time, (b) recent evidence linking stress and disease, and (c) mechanisms that might underlie these effects. Emerging from this body of work is evidence that stress is involved in the development, maintenance, or exacerbation of several mental and physical health conditions, including asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, anxiety disorders, depression, cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, human immunodeficiency virus/AIDS, stroke, and certain types of cancer. Stress has also been implicated in accelerated biological aging and premature mortality. These effects have been studied most commonly using self-report checklist measures of life stress exposure, although interview-based approaches provide a more comprehensive assessment of individuals' exposure to stress. Most recently, online systems like the Stress and Adversity Inventory (STRAIN) have been developed for assessing lifetime stress exposure, and such systems may provide important new information to help advance our understanding of how stressors occurring over the life course get embedded in the brain and body to affect lifespan health.

  4. Stressful life events and depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers of young children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flouri, Eirini; Narayanan, Martina K; Nærde, Ane

    2018-04-01

    Parents of young children generally report more depressive symptoms than parents of adult children or people without children, mainly because the presence of young children increases exposure to significant stressors (such as stressful life events). However, most studies on the depressogenic role of stressful life events in parents of young children have focussed on mothers. Using data from 1138 families with young children in Norway, we investigated gender differences in the effect of stressful life events after a child's birth on the development of parental depressive symptoms in 3 follow-ups at child's ages 3-6 years. We also explored if gender differences in disposition (personality) may explain any gender differences in the depressogenic effect of life events. Nesting parents within families, we found a female gender bias for both neuroticism and depressive symptoms but no gender difference in the number of life events reported. Importantly, the number of stressful life events predicted the level and course of depressive symptoms similarly for mothers and fathers. Personality traits did not change the association between stressful life events and depressive symptoms in either mothers or fathers. Given the study design, causality cannot be inferred. There was no gender difference in the depressogenic effect of stressful life events in our sample. There was no evidence for a female dispositional sensitivity to the depressogenic effect of stressful life events, either. Stressful life events put both mothers and fathers of young children at risk of depression. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Bipolar affective disorder and borderline personality disorder: Differentiation based on the history of early life stress and psychoneuroendocrine measures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazer, Angela Kaline; Cleare, Anthony J; Young, Allan H; Juruena, Mario F

    2018-04-24

    Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Bipolar Affective Disorder (BD) have clinical characteristics in common which often make their differential diagnosis difficult. The history of early life stress (ELS) may be a differentiating factor between BPD and BD, as well as its association with clinical manifestations and specific neuroendocrine responses in each of these diagnoses. Assessing and comparing patients with BD and BPD for factors related to symptomatology, etiopathogenesis and neuroendocrine markers. The study sample consisted of 51 women, divided into 3 groups: patients with a clinical diagnosis of BPD (n = 20) and BD (n = 16) and healthy controls (HC, n = 15). Standardized instruments were used for the clinical evaluation, while the history of ELS was quantified with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and classified according to the subtypes: emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect and physical neglect. The functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis was evaluated by measuring a single plasma cortisol sample. Patients with BPD presented with more severe psychiatric symptoms of: anxiety, impulsivity, depression, hopelessness and suicidal ideation than those with BD. The history of ELS was identified as significantly more prevalent and more severe in patients (BPD and BP) than in HC. Emotional abuse, emotional neglect and physical neglect also showed differences and were higher in BPD than BD patients. BPD patients had greater severity of ELS overall and in the subtypes of emotional abuse, emotional neglect and physical neglect than BD patients. The presence of ELS in patients with BPD and BP showed significant difference with lower cortisol levels when compared to HC. The endocrine evaluation showed no significant differences between the diagnoses of BPD and BD. Cortisol measured in patients with BPD was significantly lower compared to HC in the presence of emotional neglect and physical

  6. Early biotic stress detection in tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) by BVOC emissions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kasal-Slavik, Tina; Eschweiler, Julia; Kleist, Einhard; Mumm, Roland; Goldbach, Heiner E.; Schouten, Sander; Wildt, Jürgen

    2017-01-01

    We investigated impacts of early and mild biotic stress on Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOC) emissions from tomato in order to test their potential for early (biotic) stress detection. Tomato plants were exposed to two common fungal pathogens, Botrytis cinerea and Oidium neolycopesici and

  7. Risk factors and life processes associated with the onset of suicidal behaviour during adolescence and early adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fergusson, D M; Woodward, L J; Horwood, L J

    2000-01-01

    This study examined associations between childhood circumstances, adolescent mental health and life events, and the development of suicidal behaviour in young people aged between 15 and 21 years. Data were gathered over the course of a 21-year longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1265 children born in New Zealand. The measures collected included: (1) patterns of suicidal behaviour (ideation, attempt) (15-21 years); (2) social background, family functioning, parental and individual adjustment during childhood (0-16 years); and (3) time dynamics of mental health and stressful life events during adolescence and early adulthood (15-21 years). By the age of 21 years, 28.8% of the sample reported having thought about killing themselves and 7.5% reported having made a suicide attempt. The childhood profile of those at greatest risk of suicidal behaviour was that of a young person reared in a family environment characterized by socio-economic adversity, marital disruption, poor parent-child attachment and exposure to sexual abuse, and who as a young adolescent showed high rates of neuroticism and novelty seeking. With the exception of the socio-economic and personality measures, the effects of childhood factors were largely mediated by mental health problems and exposure to stressful life events during adolescence and early adulthood. Mental health problems including depression, anxiety disorders, substance use disorder, and to some extent conduct disorder, in addition to exposure to adverse life events, were significantly associated with the onset of suicidal behaviours. Findings support a life course model of the aetiology of suicidal behaviour in which risk of developing suicidal behaviour depends on accumulative exposure to a series of social, family, personality and mental health factors.

  8. Development of the Life Story in Early Adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steiner, Kristina L.; Pillemer, David B.

    2018-01-01

    Life span developmental psychology proposes that the ability to create a coherent life narrative does not develop until early adolescence. Using a novel methodology, 10-, 12-, and 14-year-old participants were asked to tell their life stories aloud to a researcher. Later, participants separated their transcribed narratives into self-identified…

  9. Irreversibility of a bad start: early exposure to osmotic stress limits growth and adaptive developmental plasticity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Chi-Shiun; Gomez-Mestre, Ivan; Kam, Yeong-Choy

    2012-05-01

    Harsh environments experienced early in development have immediate effects and potentially long-lasting consequences throughout ontogeny. We examined how salinity fluctuations affected survival, growth and development of Fejervarya limnocharis tadpoles. Specifically, we tested whether initial salinity effects on growth and rates of development were reversible and whether they affected the tadpoles' ability to adaptively accelerate development in response to deteriorating conditions later in development. Tadpoles were initially assigned to either low or high salinity, and then some were switched between salinity levels upon reaching either Gosner stage 30 (early switch) or 38 (late switch). All tadpoles initially experiencing low salinity survived whereas those initially experiencing high salinity had poor survival, even if switched to low salinity. Growth and developmental rates of tadpoles initially assigned to high salinity did not increase after osmotic stress release. Initial low salinity conditions allowed tadpoles to attain a fast pace of development even if exposed to high salinity afterwards. Tadpoles experiencing high salinity only late in development metamorphosed faster and at a smaller size, indicating an adaptive acceleration of development to avoid osmotic stress. Nonetheless, early exposure to high salinity precluded adaptive acceleration of development, always causing delayed metamorphosis relative to those in initially low salinity. Our results thus show that stressful environments experienced early in development can critically impact life history traits, having long-lasting or irreversible effects, and restricting their ability to produce adaptive plastic responses.

  10. The relationship between sex life satisfaction and job stress of married nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hsiu-Hui; Lung, For-Wey; Lee, Pei-Rong; Kao, Wei-Tsung; Lee, Yu-Lan

    2012-08-19

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among work stress, sex life satisfaction, and mental health of married nurses. Demographic information, work stress, sex life satisfaction, sexual desire and mental health measured using the Chinese Health Questionnaire, data were collected from 100 married nurses in Taiwan. Sex life satisfaction and age were negatively correlated, but sex life satisfaction and sexual desire were positively correlated. The mental health of over-committed nursing staff was not affected. Higher reward for effort was positively correlated with sex life satisfaction. No matter whether job stress was high or low, receiving a higher reward for effort led to better sex life satisfaction, which had a satisfying positive effect on the nurses' lives. To improve nursing care quality at the hospital, nursing administrators should assist nurses in confronting work stress via positive adjustment, which is associated with the nurses' sexual harmony, and quality of life.

  11. The relationship between sex life satisfaction and job stress of married nurses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lee Hsiu-Hui

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among work stress, sex life satisfaction, and mental health of married nurses. Demographic information, work stress, sex life satisfaction, sexual desire and mental health measured using the Chinese Health Questionnaire, data were collected from 100 married nurses in Taiwan. Findings Sex life satisfaction and age were negatively correlated, but sex life satisfaction and sexual desire were positively correlated. The mental health of over-committed nursing staff was not affected. Higher reward for effort was positively correlated with sex life satisfaction. Conclusions No matter whether job stress was high or low, receiving a higher reward for effort led to better sex life satisfaction, which had a satisfying positive effect on the nurses' lives. To improve nursing care quality at the hospital, nursing administrators should assist nurses in confronting work stress via positive adjustment, which is associated with the nurses’ sexual harmony, and quality of life.

  12. Life Stress and Health: A Review of Conceptual Issues and Recent Findings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slavich, George M.

    2016-01-01

    Life stress is a central construct in many models of human health and disease. The present article reviews research on stress and health, with a focus on (a) how life stress has been conceptualized and measured over time, (b) recent evidence linking stress and disease, and (c) mechanisms that might underlie these effects. Emerging from this body…

  13. Effect of heating method on stress-rupture life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bizon, P. T.; Calfo, F. D.

    1977-01-01

    The effect of radiant(furnace), resistance(electric current), burner(hot gas stream), and a combination of resistance and burner heating on intermediate time (100 to 300 hr) stress-rupture life and reduction of area was evaluated. All heating methods were studied using the nickel-based alloy Udimet 700 while all but burner heating were evaluated with the cobalt-based alloy Mar-M 509. Limited test results of eight other superalloys were also included in this study. Resistance heated specimens had about 20 to 30 percent of the stress-rupture life of radiant heated specimens. The limited burner heating data showed about a 50 percent life reduction as compared to the radiant heated tests. A metallurgical examination gave no explanation for these reductions.

  14. Stressful Life Events and Child Anxiety: Examining Parent and Child Mediators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Platt, Rheanna; Williams, Sarah R.; Ginsburg, Golda S.

    2015-01-01

    While a number of factors have been linked with excessive anxiety (e.g., parenting, child temperament), the impact of stressful life events remains under-studied. Moreover, much of this literature has examined bivariate associations rather than testing more complex theoretical models. The current study extends the literature on life events and child anxiety by testing a theory-driven meditational model. Specifically, one child factor (child cognitions/locus of control), two parent factors (parent psychopathology and parenting stress), and two parent-child relationship factors (parent-child dysfunctional interaction and parenting style) were examined as mediators in the relationship between stressful life events and severity of child anxiety. One hundred and thirty anxious parents and their nonanxious, high-risk children (ages ranged from 7 to 13 years) participated in this study. Results indicated that levels of parenting stress, parental anxious rearing, and dysfunctional parent-child interaction mediated the association between stressful life events and severity of anxiety symptoms. Child cognition and parent psychopathology factors failed to emerge as mediators. Findings provide support for more complex theoretical models linking life events and child anxiety and suggest potential targets of intervention. PMID:25772523

  15. Dissecting molecular stress networks: identifying nodes of divergence between life-history phenotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwartz, Tonia S; Bronikowski, Anne M

    2013-02-01

    The complex molecular network that underlies physiological stress response is comprised of nodes (proteins, metabolites, mRNAs, etc.) whose connections span cells, tissues and organs. Variable nodes are points in the network upon which natural selection may act. Thus, identifying variable nodes will reveal how this molecular stress network may evolve among populations in different habitats and how it might impact life-history evolution. Here, we use physiological and genetic assays to test whether laboratory-born juveniles from natural populations of garter snakes (Thamnophis elegans), which have diverged in their life-history phenotypes, vary concomitantly at candidate nodes of the stress response network, (i) under unstressed conditions and (ii) in response to an induced stress. We found that two common measures of stress (plasma corticosterone and liver gene expression of heat shock proteins) increased under stress in both life-history phenotypes. In contrast, the phenotypes diverged at four nodes both under unstressed conditions and in response to stress: circulating levels of reactive oxygen species (superoxide, H(2)O(2)); liver gene expression of GPX1 and erythrocyte DNA damage. Additionally, allele frequencies for SOD2 diverge from neutral markers, suggesting diversifying selection on SOD2 alleles. This study supports the hypothesis that these life-history phenotypes have diverged at the molecular level in how they respond to stress, particularly in nodes regulating oxidative stress. Furthermore, the differences between the life-history phenotypes were more pronounced in females. We discuss the responses to stress in the context of the associated life-history phenotype and the evolutionary pressures thought to be responsible for divergence between the phenotypes. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  16. Bottom of the heap: having heavier competitors accelerates early-life telomere loss in the European starling, Sturnus vulgaris.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Nettle

    Full Text Available Early-life adversity is associated with poorer health and survival in adulthood in humans and other animals. One pathway by which early-life environmental stressors could affect the adult phenotype is via effects on telomere dynamics. Several studies have shown that early-life adversity is associated with relatively short telomeres, but these are often cross-sectional and usually correlational in design. Here, we present a novel experimental system for studying the relationship between early-life adversity and telomere dynamics using a wild bird, the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris. We used cross-fostering to experimentally assign sibling chicks to either small or large broods for twelve days of the growth period. We measured telomere length in red blood cells using quantitative PCR near the beginning of the experimental manipulation (4 days old, at the end of the experimental manipulation (15 days old, and once the birds were independent (55 days old. Being in a larger brood slowed growth and retarded wing development and the timing of fledging. We found no evidence that overall brood size affected telomere dynamics. However, the greater the number of competitors above the focal bird in the within-brood size hierarchy, the greater was the telomere loss during the period of the experimental manipulation. The number of competitors below the focal in the hierarchy had no effect. The effect of heavier competitors was still evident when we controlled for the weight of the focal bird at the end of the manipulation, suggesting it was not due to retarded growth per se. Moreover, the impact of early competition on telomeres was still evident at independence, suggesting persistence beyond early life. Our study provides experimental support for the hypothesis that social stress, in this case induced by the presence of a greater number of dominant competitors, accelerates the rate of telomere loss.

  17. Coping with stress and quality of life in women with stress urinary incontinence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jolanta Adamczuk

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Urinary incontinence (UI involves uncontrolled leakage of urine through the urethra as a result of damage to its sphincter muscle and a disturbed function of the urogenital diaphragm within the pelvis minor. The symptoms of UI radically impair psychological, somatic, and social functioning. The aim of each disease stress coping process is to reduce the impact of harmful agents as well as the acquisition of necessary preventive measures in order to combat the disorder. Aim of the study was to assess the relationship between coping styles used when dealing with stress associated with disease and the quality of life. Material and methods: The study was carried out at an outpatients’ clinic located in the Lublin Province (eastern Poland, covering 150 women with diagnosed stress urinary incontinence, aged between 32 and 79. The following methods were used: (a Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (Endler, Parker to assess coping styles, (b CASP-19 scale (Higgins, Hyde, Wiggins, Blade to measure the overall quality of life, and (c Urinary Incontinence Life Quality Scale (Szymona-Pałkowska, Kraczkowski. Results : The preferred style in the studied group of women was Task-Oriented Coping. This style is associated with a low score on the Independence from Symptoms scale and low Control, being simultaneously correlated with Autonomy and Self-Realisation. Emotion-Oriented Coping is associated with low psychological, physical and social well-being, as well as with little independence from the disease symptoms, little pleasure and self-realisation, but it gives a sense of internal control. Avoidance-Oriented Coping does not significantly correlate with any of the Overall Quality of Life dimensions. Conclusions : Women suffering from UI tend to try to solve their problem by means of cognitive transformation. In their situation, clinging to the problem turns out to be a depressing factor and entails a lower quality of their life.

  18. Can environmental conditions experienced in early life influence future generations?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burton, Tim; Metcalfe, Neil B

    2014-06-22

    The consequences of early developmental conditions for performance in later life are now subjected to convergent interest from many different biological sub-disciplines. However, striking data, largely from the biomedical literature, show that environmental effects experienced even before conception can be transmissible to subsequent generations. Here, we review the growing evidence from natural systems for these cross-generational effects of early life conditions, showing that they can be generated by diverse environmental stressors, affect offspring in many ways and can be transmitted directly or indirectly by both parental lines for several generations. In doing so, we emphasize why early life might be so sensitive to the transmission of environmentally induced effects across generations. We also summarize recent theoretical advancements within the field of developmental plasticity, and discuss how parents might assemble different 'internal' and 'external' cues, even from the earliest stages of life, to instruct their investment decisions in offspring. In doing so, we provide a preliminary framework within the context of adaptive plasticity for understanding inter-generational phenomena that arise from early life conditions.

  19. The Association of Sever Stressful Life Events and Multiple Sclerosis

    OpenAIRE

    Rozita Naeeni; Zlbar Soltanzadeh; Homan Salimipour; Zahra Vahhabi; Samira Yadegari

    2015-01-01

    Background: Stressful life events have suggested as one of etiologic cause of the disease from the middle of last century, but controversies still is going on. Materials and Methods: This study is a case- control study conducted on 100 MS patients in neurology clinic of Shariati Hospital during one year. History of stressful life events one year before beginning of the disease was questioned. These events, according to Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, were severe and affected the disease progres...

  20. Prediction of life stress on athletes’ burnout: the dual role of perceived stress

    OpenAIRE

    Chyi, Theresa; Lu, Frank Jing-Horng; Wang, Erica T.W.; Hsu, Ya-Wen; Chang, Ko-Hsin

    2018-01-01

    Although many studies adopted Smith’s (1986) cognitive–affective model of athletic burnout in examining stress–burnout relationship, very few studies examined the mediating/moderating role of perceived stress on the stress–burnout relationship. We sampled 195 college student-athletes and assessed their life stress, perceived stress, and burnout. Correlation analyses found all study variables correlated. Two separate hierarchical regression analyses found that the “distress” component of perce...

  1. Work stress and cardiovascular disease: a life course perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jian; Loerbroks, Adrian; Bosma, Hans; Angerer, Peter

    2016-05-25

    Individuals in employment experience stress at work, and numerous epidemiological studies have documented its negative health effects, particularly on cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although evidence on the various interrelationships between work stress and CVD has been accumulated, those observations have not yet been conceptualized in terms of a life course perspective. Using the chain of risk model, we would like to propose a theoretical model incorporating six steps: (1) work stress increases the risk of incident CVD in healthy workers. (2) Among those whose work ability is not fully and permanently damaged, work stress acts as a determinant of the process of return to work after CVD onset. (3) CVD patients experience higher work stress after return to work. (4) Work stress increases the risk of recurrent CVD in workers with prior CVD. (5) CVD patients who fully lose their work ability transit to disability retirement. (6) Disability retirees due to CVD have an elevated risk of CVD mortality. The life course perspective might facilitate an in-depth understanding of the diverse interrelationships between work stress and CVD, thereby leading to work stress management interventions at each period of the lifespan and three-level prevention of CVD.

  2. Stressful life events and Graves' disease: Results of a case control study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pintor, A.B.; Barrenechea, E.A.; Laureta, E.G.; Ligon, R.A.

    2003-01-01

    Prolonged worry has generally been acknowledged as one of the main precipitating factors of the onset of Graves' disease. A review of literature reveals that emotional stresses of considerable severity precede the onset of hyperthyroidism in about 90% of cases. However, not everyone subscribes to the Stress/Graves' disease hypothesis. Attempts to resolve this issue have tended to focus on whether a correlation can be shown between the magnitude of antecedent life events and the disease. Hence the main objective of the present study was to identify the possible association between stressful life events and Graves' disease. This paper presents the results of a case-control study, involving patents and subjects from the Veterans Memorial Medical Centre of Manila. A total of 224 patients of Graves' disease, newly or previously diagnosed, representing the 'patient's' arm were interviewed. All patients were questioned regarding various stresses, which greatly affected their life style spanning over a 12-month period prior to the onset of the disease. Simultaneously, 224 control subjects were also interviewed, and their stresses spanning over a similar period preceding the dates of interviews were recorded in quantifiable terms. Different stresses were given different intensity scores based on a social readjustment scale taking into consideration the life situations, emotions and diseases. In cases of multiple stresses, intensity scores were added to obtain the total stress intensity. Results were expressed as mean, standard deviation, median, frequency and percent distribution. Scatter plot was also constructed for intensity of stressful life events. To determine association of different factors with Graves' disease, Students t-test and chi-square tests were applied to the data. Odds ratio (OR) was also computed to determine risk attributed to each factor. Since there was significant difference in gender distribution between the patients and controls, stratified Mantel

  3. The effects of poverty on childhood brain development: the mediating effect of caregiving and stressful life events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luby, Joan; Belden, Andy; Botteron, Kelly; Marrus, Natasha; Harms, Michael P; Babb, Casey; Nishino, Tomoyuki; Barch, Deanna

    2013-12-01

    IMPORTANCE The study provides novel data to inform the mechanisms by which poverty negatively impacts childhood brain development. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether the income-to-needs ratio experienced in early childhood impacts brain development at school age and to explore the mediators of this effect. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This study was conducted at an academic research unit at the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis. Data from a prospective longitudinal study of emotion development in preschool children who participated in neuroimaging at school age were used to investigate the effects of poverty on brain development. Children were assessed annually for 3 to 6 years prior to the time of a magnetic resonance imaging scan, during which they were evaluated on psychosocial, behavioral, and other developmental dimensions. Preschoolers included in the study were 3 to 6 years of age and were recruited from primary care and day care sites in the St Louis metropolitan area; they were annually assessed behaviorally for 5 to 10 years. Healthy preschoolers and those with clinical symptoms of depression participated in neuroimaging at school age/early adolescence. EXPOSURE Household poverty as measured by the income-to-needs ratio. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Brain volumes of children's white matter and cortical gray matter, as well as hippocampus and amygdala volumes, obtained using magnetic resonance imaging. Mediators of interest were caregiver support/hostility measured observationally during the preschool period and stressful life events measured prospectively. RESULTS Poverty was associated with smaller white and cortical gray matter and hippocampal and amygdala volumes. The effects of poverty on hippocampal volume were mediated by caregiving support/hostility on the left and right, as well as stressful life events on the left. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The finding that exposure to poverty in early childhood materially impacts brain

  4. Stressful life events are not associated with the development of dementia

    OpenAIRE

    Sundstr?m, Anna; R?nnlund, Michael; Adolfsson, Rolf; Nilsson, Lars-G?ran

    2014-01-01

    Background: The impact of stressful life events as a risk factor of dementia diseases is inconclusive. We sought to determine whether stressful negative life events are associated with incidental dementia in a population-based study with long-term follow-up. We also tested the hypothesis that the occurrence of positive life events could mitigate or overcome the possible adverse effects of negative life events on dementia conversion. Methods: The study involved 2,462 dementia-free participants...

  5. Long-term Neurotoxic Effects of Early-life Exposure to Tetrachloroethylene-contaminated Drinking Water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aschengrau, Ann; Janulewicz, Patricia A; White, Roberta F; Vieira, Veronica M; Gallagher, Lisa G; Getz, Kelly D; Webster, Thomas F; Ozonoff, David M

    2016-01-01

    Tetrachloroethene (PCE) is a common environmental and occupational contaminant and an acknowledged neurotoxicant. From 1968 through 1983, widespread contamination of public drinking water supplies with PCE occurred in the Cape Cod region of Massachusetts. The source of the contamination was a vinyl liner applied to the inner surface of water distribution pipes. A retrospective cohort study (the Cape Cod Health Study) was undertaken to examine possible health consequences of early-life exposure to PCE-contaminated drinking water. This review describes the study methods and findings regarding the effects of prenatal and childhood exposure on neurologic outcomes during early adulthood, including vision, neuropsychological functioning, brain structure, risky behaviors, and mental illness. The review also describes the strengths and challenges of conducting population-based epidemiologic research in this unique setting. Participants were identified by cross-matching birth certificates and water system data. Information on health outcomes and confounding variables was collected from self-administered surveys (n = 1689), neuropsychological tests (n = 63), vision examinations (n = 63), and magnetic resonance imaging (n = 42). Early-life exposure to PCE was estimated using a leaching and transport model. The data analysis compared the occurrence of each health outcome among individuals with prenatal and early childhood PCE exposure to unexposed individuals while considering the effect of confounding variables. The study found evidence that early-life exposure to PCE-contaminated drinking water has long-term neurotoxic effects. The strongest associations were seen with illicit drug use, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Key strengths of the study were availability of historical data on affected water systems, a relatively high exposure prevalence and wide range of exposure levels, and little confounding. Challenges arose mainly from the historical

  6. Associations among everyday stress, critical life events, and sexual problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bodenmann, Guy; Ledermann, Thomas; Blattner, Denise; Galluzzo, Claudia

    2006-07-01

    This study addresses the question of how stress is linked to sexual problems among women and men in close relationships. Psychological symptoms, relationship quality, internal daily stress (i.e., originating within the couple such as conflicts, worry for the partner), external daily stress (i.e., stress arising outside the couple such as job stress, stressful relatives, and so forth), and critical life events were examined with regard to their association with different sexual problems. The results support the hypotheses that (1) there is an incremental effect of stress on sexual problems after controlling for psychological symptoms and relationship quality, and that (2) it is primarily internal daily stress and in some cases critical life events rather than external daily stress that are related to sexual problems, particularly hypoactive sexual desire in women and men, sexual aversion in women, vaginismus in women, and premature ejaculation in men. Our findings indicate that the treatment of these sexual problems should address relationship issues and include a focus on helping individuals improve their stress management skills within their couple relationship.

  7. Endogenous ROS levels in C. elegans under exogenous stress support revision of oxidative stress theory of life-history tradeoffs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Samson W; Latta, Leigh C; Denver, Dee R; Estes, Suzanne

    2014-07-24

    The oxidative stress theory of life-history tradeoffs states that oxidative stress caused by damaging free radicals directly underpins tradeoffs between reproduction and longevity by altering the allocation of energetic resources between these tasks. We test this theory by characterizing the effects of exogenous oxidative insult and its interaction with thermal stress and diet quality on a suite of life-history traits and correlations in Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes. We also quantify demographic aging rates and endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in live animals. Our findings indicate a tradeoff between investment in reproduction and antioxidant defense (somatic maintenance) consistent with theoretical predictions, but correlations between standard life-history traits yield little evidence that oxidative stress generates strict tradeoffs. Increasing oxidative insult, however, shows a strong tendency to uncouple positive phenotypic correlations and, in particular, to reduce the correlation between reproduction and lifespan. We also found that mild oxidative insult results in lower levels of endogenous ROS accompanied by hormetic changes in lifespan, demographic aging, and reproduction that disappear in combined-stress treatments--consistent with the oxidative stress theory of aging. Our findings demonstrate that oxidative stress is a direct contributor to life-history trait variation and that traditional tradeoffs are not necessary to invoke oxidative stress as a mediator of relationships between life-history traits, supporting previous calls for revisions to theory.

  8. Early life stress in rats sex-dependently affects remote endocrine rather than behavioral consequences of adult exposure to contextual fear conditioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuentes, Sílvia; Daviu, Núria; Gagliano, Humberto; Belda, Xavier; Armario, Antonio; Nadal, Roser

    2018-05-30

    Exposure to electric foot-shocks can induce in rodents contextual fear conditioning, generalization of fear to other contexts and sensitization of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to further stressors. All these aspects are relevant for the study of post-traumatic stress disorder. In the present work we evaluated in rats the sex differences and the role of early life stress (ELS) in fear memories, generalization and sensitization. During the first postnatal days subjects were exposed to restriction of nesting material along with exposure to a "substitute" mother. In the adulthood they were exposed to (i) a contextual fear conditioning to evaluate long-term memory and extinction and (ii) to a novel environment to study cognitive fear generalization and HPA axis heterotypic sensitization. ELS did not alter acquisition, expression or extinction of context fear conditioned behavior (freezing) in either sex, but reduced activity in novel environments only in males. Fear conditioning associated hypoactivity in novel environments (cognitive generalization) was greater in males than females but was not specifically affected by ELS. Although overall females showed greater basal and stress-induced levels of ACTH and corticosterone, an interaction between ELS, shock exposure and sex was found regarding HPA hormones. In males, ELS did not affect ACTH response in any situation, whereas in females, ELS reduced both shock-induced sensitization of ACTH and its conditioned response to the shock context. Also, shock-induced sensitization of corticosterone was only observed in males and ELS specifically reduced corticosterone response to stressors in males but not females. In conclusion, ELS seems to have only a minor impact on shock-induced behavioral conditioning, while affecting the unconditioned and conditioned responses of HPA hormones in a sex-dependent manner. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  9. CO2-level Dependent Effects of Ocean Acidification on Squid, Doryteuthis pealeii, Early Life History

    KAUST Repository

    Zakroff, Casey J.

    2013-12-01

    Ocean acidification is predicted to lead to global oceanic decreases in pH of up to 0.3 units within the next 100 years. However, those levels are already being reached currently in coastal regions due to natural CO2 variability. Squid are a vital component of the pelagic ecosystem, holding a unique niche as a highly active predatory invertebrate and major prey stock for upper trophic levels. This study examined the effects of a range of ocean acidification regimes on the early life history of a coastal squid species, the Atlantic longfin squid, Doryteuthis pealeii. Eggs were raised in a flow-through ocean acidification system at CO2 levels ranging from ambient (400ppm) to 2200ppm. Time to hatching, hatching efficiency, and hatchling mantle lengths, yolk sac sizes, and statoliths were all examined to elucidate stress effects. Delays in hatching time of at least a day were seen at exposures above 1300ppm in all trials under controlled conditions. Mantle lengths were significantly reduced at exposures above 1300 ppm. Yolk sac sizes varied between CO2 treatments, but no distinct pattern emerged. Statoliths were increasingly porous and malformed as CO2 exposures increased, and were significantly reduced in surface area at exposures above 1300ppm. Doryteuthis pealeii appears to be able to withstand acidosis stress without major effects up to 1300ppm, but is strongly impacted past that threshold. Since yolk consumption did not vary among treatments, it appears that during its early life stages, D. pealeii reallocates its available energy budget away from somatic growth and system development in order to mitigate the stress of acidosis.

  10. Stress and Quality of Life Among University Students: A Systematic Literature Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ícaro J.S. Ribeiro

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Excessive and continuous stress has effects that go beyond mere health commitment, by triggering various diseases, and it is well stablish that this stress-related somatic events can affect the quality of life. Based on the exposed, the following questions were raised: There is association between quality of life and stress level in university students? What are the potential variables that influences this association? Therefore, this research aimed to analyze recent scientific productions about stress and quality of life in university students. Methods: A systematic review was conducted on the recent scientific production (i.e., published papers along the last five (5 years in Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed and Virtual Health Library (BVS. For this it was used the following search terms: ''quality of life'', restricted to the title, ''Stress'' and ''students'' in the title, abstract or keywords, all entered in a single search and connected by the Boolean operator ''AND''. Results: This study identified 142 articles in the scientific literature, but only 13 articles were classified as eligible according to the previously established criteria, highlighting the lack of studies that address the theme under investigation. Among these, quality of life was frequently negatively associated to stress and factors as insomnia and burnout were also associated with its deterioration. Discussion: This systematic review highlights the negative association between stress and QoL in university students, through the deterioration of various aspects related to physical and mental health. Keywords: Quality of life, Psychological stress, Undergraduate

  11. Linguistic ability in early life and cognitive function and Alzheimer's disease in late life. Findings from the Nun Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snowdon, D A; Kemper, S J; Mortimer, J A; Greiner, L H; Wekstein, D R; Markesbery, W R

    1996-02-21

    To determine if linguistic ability in early life is associated with cognitive function and Alzheimer's disease in late life. Two measures of linguistic ability in early life, idea density and grammatical complexity, were derived from autobiographies written at a mean age of 22 years. Approximately 58 years later, the women who wrote these autobiographies participated in an assessment of cognitive function, and those who subsequently died were evaluated neuropathologically. Convents in the United States participating in the Nun Study; primarily convents in the Milwaukee, Wis, area. Cognitive function was investigated in 93 participants who were aged 75 to 95 years at the time of their assessments, and Alzheimer's disease was investigated in the 14 participants who died at 79 to 96 years of age. Seven neuropsychological tests and neuropathologically confirmed Alzheimer's disease. Low idea density and low grammatical complexity in autobiographies written in early life were associated with low cognitive test scores in late life. Low idea density in early life had stronger and more consistent associations with poor cognitive function than did low grammatical complexity. Among the 14 sisters who died, neuropathologically confirmed Alzheimer's disease was present in all of those with low idea density in early life and in none of those with high idea density. Low linguistic ability in early life was a strong predictor of poor cognitive function and Alzheimer's disease in late life.

  12. Life Stress and Health: A Review of Conceptual Issues and Recent Findings

    OpenAIRE

    Slavich, George M.

    2016-01-01

    Life stress is a central construct in many models of human health and disease. The present article reviews research on stress and health, with a focus on (a) how life stress has been conceptualized and measured over time, (b) recent evidence linking stress and disease, and (c) mechanisms that might underlie these effects. Emerging from this body of work is evidence that stress is involved in the development, maintenance, or exacerbation of several mental and physical health conditions, includ...

  13. Prenatal maternal stress associated with ADHD and autistic traits in early childhood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angelica eRonald

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Research suggests that offspring of mothers who experience high levels of stress during pregnancy are more likely to have problems in neurobehavioural development. There is preliminary evidence that prenatal maternal stress (PNMS is a risk factor for both autism and ADHD, however most studies do not control for confounding factors and no study has investigated PNMS as a risk factor for behaviors characteristic of these disorders in early childhood. A population cohort of 2900 pregnant women were recruited before their 18th week of pregnancy and investigated prospectively. Maternal experience of stressful life events was assessed during pregnancy. When offspring were age 2-years, mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist. Multiple regression showed that maternal stressful events during pregnancy significantly predicted ADHD behaviours in offspring, after controlling for autistic traits and other confounding variables, in both males (p= .03 and females (p= .01. Similarly, stressful events during pregnancy significantly predicted autistic traits in the offspring after controlling for ADHD behaviours and confounding variables, in males only (p= .04. In conclusion, this study suggests that PNMS, in the form of typical stressful live events such as divorce or a residential move, show a small but significant association with both autistic traits and ADHD behaviours independently, in offspring at age 2 years, after controlling for multiple antenatal, obstetric, postnatal and sociodemographic covariates. This finding supports future research using epigenetic, cross-fostering, and gene-environment interaction designs to identify the causal processes underlying this association.

  14. Early-Life Nutritional Programming of Health and Disease in The Gambia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Sophie E

    2017-01-01

    Exposures during early life are increasingly being recognised as factors that play an important role in the aetiology of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The "Developmental Origins of Health and Disease" (DOHaD) hypothesis asserts that adverse early-life exposures - most notably unbalanced nutrition - leads to an increased risk for a range of NCDs and that disease risk is highest when there is a "mismatch" between the early- and later-life environments. Thus, the DOHaD hypothesis would predict highest risk in settings undergoing a rapid nutrition transition. We investigated the link between early-life nutritional exposures and long-term health in rural Gambia, West Africa. Using demographic data dating back to the 1940s, the follow-up of randomised controlled trials of nutritional supplementation in pregnancy, and the "experiment of nature" that seasonality in this region provides, we investigated the DOHaD hypothesis in a population with high rates of maternal and infant under-nutrition, a high burden from infectious disease, and an emerging risk of NCDs. Key Messages: Our work in rural Gambia suggests that in populations with high rates of under-nutrition in early life, the immune system may be sensitive to nutritional deficiencies early in life, resulting in a greater susceptibility to infection-related morbidity and mortality. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  15. Early-life gut microbiome and egg allergy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazlollahi, M; Chun, Y; Grishin, A; Wood, R A; Burks, A W; Dawson, P; Jones, S M; Leung, D Y M; Sampson, H A; Sicherer, S H; Bunyavanich, S

    2018-07-01

    Gut microbiota may play a role in egg allergy. We sought to examine the association between early-life gut microbiota and egg allergy. We studied 141 children with egg allergy and controls from the multicenter Consortium of Food Allergy Research study. At enrollment (age 3 to 16 months), fecal samples were collected, and clinical evaluation, egg-specific IgE measurement, and egg skin prick test were performed. Gut microbiome was profiled by 16S rRNA sequencing. Analyses for the primary outcome of egg allergy at enrollment, and the secondary outcomes of egg sensitization at enrollment and resolution of egg allergy by age 8 years, were performed using Quantitative Insights into Microbial Ecology, Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States, and Statistical Analysis of Metagenomic Profiles. Compared to controls, increased alpha diversity and distinct taxa (PERMANOVA P = 5.0 × 10 -4 ) characterized the early-life gut microbiome of children with egg allergy. Genera from the Lachnospiraceae, Streptococcaceae, and Leuconostocaceae families were differentially abundant in children with egg allergy. Predicted metagenome functional analyses showed differential purine metabolism by the gut microbiota of egg-allergic subjects (Kruskal-Wallis P adj  = 0.021). Greater gut microbiome diversity and genera from Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae were associated with egg sensitization (PERMANOVA P = 5.0 × 10 -4 ). Among those with egg allergy, there was no association between early-life gut microbiota and egg allergy resolution by age 8 years. The distinct early-life gut microbiota in egg-allergic and egg-sensitized children identified by our study may point to targets for preventive or therapeutic intervention. © 2018 EAACI and John Wiley and Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

  16. Perinatal BPA Exposure Induces Hyperglycemia, Oxidative Stress and Decreased Adiponectin Production in Later Life of Male Rat Offspring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shunzhe Song

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The main object of the present study was to explore the effect of perinatal bisphenol A (BPA exposure on glucose metabolism in early and later life of male rat offspring, and to establish the potential mechanism of BPA-induced dysglycemia. Pregnant rats were treated with either vehicle or BPA by drinking water at concentrations of 1 and 10 µg/mL BPA from gestation day 6 through the end of lactation. We measured the levels of fasting serum glucose, insulin, adiponectin and parameters of oxidative stress on postnatal day (PND 50 and PND100 in male offspring, and adiponectin mRNA and protein expression in adipose tissue were also examined. Our results showed that perinatal exposure to 1 or 10 µg/mL BPA induced hyperglycemia with insulin resistance on PND100, but only 10 µg/mL BPA exposure had similar effects as early as PND50. In addition, increased oxidative stress and decreased adiponectin production were also observed in BPA exposed male offspring. Our findings indicated that perinatal exposure to BPA resulted in abnormal glucose metabolism in later life of male offspring, with an earlier and more exacerbated effect at higher doses. Down-regulated expression of adiponectin gene and increased oxidative stress induced by BPA may be associated with insulin resistance.

  17. Better executive function under stress mitigates the effects of recent life stress exposure on health in young adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shields, Grant S; Moons, Wesley G; Slavich, George M

    2017-01-01

    Executive function is a neuropsychological construct that enables controlled cognitive processing, which has been hypothesized to enhance individuals' resilience to stress. However, little empirical work has directly examined how executive function under different conditions mitigates the negative effects of stress exposure on health. To address this issue, we recruited 110 healthy young adults and assessed their recent life stress exposure, executive function in either a stressful or non-stressful context, and current health complaints. Based on existing research, we hypothesized that individuals exhibiting better executive function following a laboratory-based stressor (but not a control task) would demonstrate weaker associations between recent stress exposure and health because they perceived recent life stressors as being less severe. Consistent with this hypothesis, better executive function during acute stress, but not in the absence of stress, was associated with an attenuated link between participants' recent life stress exposure and their current health complaints. Moreover, this attenuating effect was mediated by lesser perceptions of stressor severity. Based on these data, we conclude that better executive function under stress is associated with fewer health complaints and that these effects may occur by reducing individuals' perceptions of stressor severity. The data thus suggest the possibility of reducing stress-related health problems by enhancing executive function.

  18. Sex-specific impact of early-life adversity on chronic pain: a large population-based study in Japan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yamada K

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Keiko Yamada,1,2 Ko Matsudaira,3,4 Eizaburo Tanaka,1,5 Hiroyuki Oka,3 Junji Katsuhira,3,6 Hiroyasu Iso1 1Public Health, Department of Social Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka, 2Center for Pain Management, Osaka University Hospital, Suita, Osaka, 3Department of Medical Research and Management for Musculoskeletal Pain, 22nd Century Medical and Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 4Japan Labour Health & Welfare Organization, Tokyo, 5Hyogo Institute for Traumatic Stress, Kobe, 6Department of Prosthetics & Orthotics and Assistive Technology, Faculty of Medical Technology, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan Background: Responses to early-life adversity may differ by sex. We investigated the ­sex-specific impact of early-life adversity on chronic pain, chronic multisite pain, and somatizing tendency with chronic pain. Methods: We examined 4229 respondents aged 20–79 years who participated in the Pain Associated Cross-Sectional Epidemiological Survey in Japan. Outcomes were: 1 chronic pain prevalence, 2 multisite pain (≥3 sites prevalence, and 3 multiple somatic symptoms (≥3 symptoms among respondents with chronic pain related to the presence or absence of early-life adversity. Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs were calculated with 95% confidence intervals using a logistic regression model including age, smoking status, exercise routine, sleep time, body mass index, household expenditure, and the full distribution of scores on the Mental Health Inventory-5. We further adjusted for pain intensity when we analyzed the data for respondents with chronic pain. Results: The prevalence of chronic pain was higher among respondents reporting the presence of early-life adversity compared with those reporting its absence, with multivariable ORs of 1.62 (1.22–2.15, p<0.01 in men and 1.47 (1.13–1.90, p<0.01 in women. Among women with chronic pain, early-life

  19. Stressful life events in pregnancy and head circumference at birth

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Obel, Carsten; Hedegaard, Morten; Henriksen, Tine Brink

    2003-01-01

    A strong association between stress in pregnancy and small head circumference in infants at birth was reported in 1994. This important finding has never been replicated. In a follow-up study of 4211 participants with singleton pregnancies, information on life events was collected twice during...... pregnancy and head circumference measured shortly after birth following standard procedures. No association was found between experienced or perceived stress as a result of life events during pregnancy and head circumference in the infants. In conclusion, stress in pregnancy may influence foetal brain...

  20. The OBELIX project: early life exposure to endocrine disruptors and obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legler, Juliette; Hamers, Timo; van Eck van der Sluijs-van de Bor, Margot; Schoeters, Greet; van der Ven, Leo; Eggesbo, Merete; Koppe, Janna; Feinberg, Max; Trnovec, Tomas

    2011-12-01

    The hypothesis of whether early life exposure (both pre- and early postnatal) to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may be a risk factor for obesity and related metabolic diseases later in life will be tested in the European research project OBELIX (OBesogenic Endocrine disrupting chemicals: LInking prenatal eXposure to the development of obesity later in life). OBELIX is a 4-y project that started in May 2009 and which has the following 5 main objectives: 1) to assess early life exposure in humans to major classes of EDCs identified as potential inducers of obesity (ie, dioxin-like compounds, non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, brominated flame retardants, phthalates, and perfluorinated compounds) by using mother-child cohorts from 4 European regions with different food-contaminant exposure patterns; 2) to relate early life exposure to EDCs with clinical markers, novel biomarkers, and health-effect data related to obesity; 3) to perform hazard characterization of early life exposure to EDCs for the development of obesity later in life by using a mouse model; 4) to determine mechanisms of action of obesogenic EDCs on developmental programming with in vivo and in vitro genomics and epigenetic analyses; and 5) to perform risk assessments of prenatal exposure to obesogenic EDCs in food by integrating maternal exposure through food-contaminant exposure and health-effect data in children and hazard data in animal studies.

  1. Exposure to stress across the life course and its association with anxiety and depressive symptoms: Results from the Australian Women's Wellness After Cancer Program (WWACP).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seib, Charrlotte; McCarthy, Alexandra; McGuire, Amanda; Porter-Steele, Janine; Balaam, Sarah; Ware, Robert S; Anderson, Debra

    2017-11-01

    Earlier life stressors can increase the risk of persistent anxiety and depressive symptoms in women after cancer, though our understanding of the underlying mechanisms is limited. In this study, we tested alternative life course models to determine which best described associations between exposure to stressors in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and self-reported health in women previously treated for breast, gynaecological, and blood cancer. Data were drawn from 351 Australian women within 2 years of completing active cancer treatment who were participating in the Women's Wellness After Cancer Program (WWACP) randomised controlled trial. A model-building framework compared "accumulative risk" and "sensitive period" stress exposure hypotheses with the saturated model to determine best fit. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). Participants with the greatest number of stressful life events (SLEs) reported higher anxiety scores and more depressive symptoms. Alternative life course models for psychological distress (measured through the CES-D and SAS) and stress were compared with the saturated model (i.e., the accumulative risk). The more restrictive "sensitive period" models were the best fit for depressive symptoms though none was significantly better than another. In contrast, an "early sensitive" model provided the best fit for anxiety data. Anxiety scores were higher in women with early life stressors. This study highlights the need for whole-of-life supportive care approaches for women previously treated for cancer, which should include targeted strategies for effective management of stress, anxiety and depression. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  2. Monitoring of lipoxygenase-related plant emission for early detection of drought stress in greenhouse

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Takayama, K.; Jansen, R.M.C.; Verstappen, F.W.A.; Bouwmeester, H.J.

    2008-01-01

    Early detection of plant stress is a key to effective plant management for crop production. Drought stress is a common abiotic stress in crop production and early detection of drought stress allows us to improve water usage effi ciency and crop quality by demandbased irrigation. This study

  3. Early life linguistic ability, late life cognitive function, and neuropathology: findings from the Nun Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley, Kathryn P; Snowdon, David A; Desrosiers, Mark F; Markesbery, William R

    2005-03-01

    The relationships between early life variables, cognitive function, and neuropathology were examined in participants in the Nun Study who were between the ages of 75 and 95. Our early life variable was idea density, which is a measure of linguistic ability, derived from autobiographies written at a mean age of 22 years. Six discrete categories of cognitive function, including mild cognitive impairments, were evaluated, using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) battery of cognitive tests. Neuropathologic data included Braak staging, neurofibrillary tangle and senile plaque counts, brain weight, degree of cerebral atrophy, severity of atherosclerosis, and the presence of brain infarcts. Early-life idea density was significantly related to the categories of late-life cognitive function, including mild cognitive impairments: low idea density was associated with greater impairment. Low idea density also was significantly associated with lower brain weight, higher degree of cerebral atrophy, more severe neurofibrillary pathology, and the likelihood of meeting neuropathologic criteria for Alzheimer's disease.

  4. Effects of stress management training and problem solving on quality of life and life expectancy among infertile women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Reza Zarbakhsh Bahri

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of stress management training and problem-solving training on quality of life and life expectancy of infertile women was conducted.Material and Methods: The method of this study was experimental with pretest – posttest design with a control group. population of 400 infertile women who referred to infertility center in Rasht were randomized to 250 of them were selected and the quality of life and life expectancy of the study were the 45 members of the quality of life and life expectancy lower were more randomly in three groups of 15 people, including two experimental groups and one control group were replaced. Each experimental groups were trained for 10 sessions of 90 minutes, respectively, stress management and problem-solving. Upon completion of the training program, participants were assessed again.Results: The result of present study showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental groups and control group in the scores of quality of life and life expectancy (p0.05.Conclusion: Stress management and problem solving training were effective on life expectancy and quality of life of infertile women but there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of these two methods on life expectancy and quality of life of infertile women.

  5. Gender/Sex Differences in the Relationship between Psychosocial Work Exposures and Work and Life Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padkapayeva, Kathy; Gilbert-Ouimet, Mahée; Bielecky, Amber; Ibrahim, Selahadin; Mustard, Cameron; Brisson, Chantal; Smith, Peter

    2018-04-18

    Stress is an important factor affecting the health of working population. While work exposures are determinants of levels of work and life stress, we do not know whether similar or different exposures are related to stress levels for men and women. This study aimed to formally examine male/female differences in the relationships between psychosocial work exposures and work and life stress in a representative sample of Canadian labour market participants. We used data from 2012 cycle of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), a representative population-based survey conducted by Statistics Canada. The sample was restricted to employed labour force participants working 15+ hours per week (N = 8328, 48% female). To examine the relationship between work exposures and work and life stress, we conducted path analyses. Psychosocial work exposures included social support, job insecurity, job control, and job strain. Differences between estimates for men and women were explored using multigroup analyses, constraining paths between male and female models to be equivalent and examining the impact on change in model fit. Male/female differences were observed in the relationships between supervisor support and work stress levels as well as between job control, job insecurity, job strain, and life stress levels. Higher levels of supervisor support at work were associated with lower work stress among women, but not among men. Low job control had a direct protective effect on life stress for men but not for women, while high job strain had a direct adverse effect on life stress among women but not among men. Higher job insecurity was more strongly associated with higher life stress among men compared with women. The relationship between work stress and life stress was similar among men and women. The findings of this study suggest that the relationships between psychosocial exposures and work and life stress differ for men and women. Our study also raised important questions

  6. Results of fatigue tests and prediction of fatigue life under superposed stress wave and combined superposed stress wave

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takasugi, Shunji; Horikawa, Takeshi; Tsunenari, Toshiyasu; Nakamura, Hiroshi

    1983-01-01

    In order to examine fatigue life prediction methods at high temperatures where creep damage need not be taken into account, fatigue tests were carried out on plane bending specimens of alloy steels (SCM 435, 2 1/4Cr-1Mo) under superposed and combined superposed stress waves at room temperature and 500 0 C. The experimental data were compared with the fatigue lives predicted by using the cycle counting methods (range pair, range pair mean and zero-cross range pair mean methods), the modified Goodman's equation and the modified Miner's rule. The main results were as follows. (1) The fatigue life prediction method which is being used for the data at room temperature is also applicable to predict the life at high temperatures. The range pair mean method is especially better than other cycle counting methods. The zero-cross range pair mean method gives the estimated lives on the safe side of the experimental lives. (2) The scatter bands of N-bar/N-barsub(es) (experimental life/estimated life) becomes narrower when the following equation is used instead of the modified Goodman's equation for predicting the effect of mean stress on fatigue life. σ sub(t) = σ sub(a) / (1 - Sigma-s sub(m) / kσ sub(B)) σ sub(t); stress amplitude at zero mean stress (kg/mm 2 ) σ sub(B); tensile strength (kg/mm 2 ) σ sub(m); mean stress (kg/mm 2 ) σ sub(a); stress amplitude (kg/mm 2 ) k; modified coefficient of σ sub(B) (author)

  7. Epigenomic mechanisms of early adversity and HPA dysfunction: Considerations for PTSD research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick O McGowan

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Childhood adversity can have life-long consequences for the response to stressful events later in life. Abuse or severe neglect are well known risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD, at least in part via changes in neural systems mediating the endocrine response to stress. Determining the biological signatures of risk for stress-related mental disorders such as PTSD is important for identifying homogenous subgroups and improving treatment options. This review will focus on epigenetic regulation in early life by adversity and parental care – prime mediators of offspring neurodevelopment - in order to address several questions: (1 what have studies of humans and analogous animal models taught us about molecular mechanisms underlying changes in stress-sensitive physiological systems in response to early life trauma? (2 What are the considerations for studies relating early adversity and PTSD risk, going forward? I will summarize studies in animals and humans that address the epigenetic response to early adversity in the brain and in peripheral tissues. In so doing, I will describe work on the Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR and other well-characterized genes within the stress response pathway and then turn to genomic studies to illustrate the use of increasingly powerful high-throughput approaches to the study of epigenomic mechanisms.

  8. Relationship between the quality of life and stress in health area students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rita de Cassia Calderani Borine

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The present work aimed to comprehend the relationship between quality of life and the stress of healthcare academics from a private college in the interior of Rondônia. Were involved 208 students, with 133 females and 75 males between 17 to 55 years old. To achieve the research proposal the scale used was Whogol-Bref to evaluate the quality of live and the Inventário de Sintomas de Stress para Adultos for the respondent the level of stress. The conclusion is that academics as higher level quality of life lower stress levels, the course of Veterinary Medicine presents highest life quality and the Physiotherapy course is the with highest level of stress, there is also a significant difference between genders, where the female presented more levels of stress comparing to male gender.

  9. Associations of life course socioeconomic position and job stress with carotid intima-media thickness. The Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camelo, Lidyane V; Giatti, Luana; Chor, Dóra; Griep, Rosane Härter; Benseñor, Isabela M; Santos, Itamar S; Kawachi, Ichiro; Barreto, Sandhi Maria

    2015-09-01

    The association between life course socioeconomic position (SEP) and subclinical atherosclerosis is not consistent across studies. Socioeconomic adversities early in life are related to an increased probability of a low occupational grade and more stressful jobs in adulthood. However, the role of job stress in explaining the life course social gradient in subclinical atherosclerosis is unknown. To examine whether life course SEP is associated with carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and to investigate whether this association is partially mediated by job stress. This study used baseline data (2008-2010) for 8806 current workers from ELSA-Brasil. Maternal education, social class of first occupation and social class of current occupation were used to evaluate childhood, youth and adulthood SEP, respectively. Accumulation of risk across the life course was also evaluated. Job stress was assessed by the Swedish Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire. Directed acyclic graph and linear regression models were used. Low childhood SEP was associated with increased IMT only in women, but low youth and adulthood SEP were associated with higher IMT in both genders. The simultaneous adjustment for all SEP indicators showed that only adulthood SEP continued to be associated with IMT. However, higher IMT values were observed among men and women sequentially exposed to low SEP in more than one period of life. High-strain jobs and low job control were not associated with IMT independent of SEP. Our results support a model of the cumulative effects of exposures to SEP across the life span because the highest IMT values were observed in individuals sequentially exposed to low SEP in more than one period of life. We did not find that job stress explained the association between life course SEP and IMT, suggesting that strategies to address socioeconomic inequalities in CVD should target additional steps beyond reducing job stress. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. World assumptions, posttraumatic stress and quality of life after a natural disaster: A longitudinal study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Changes in world assumptions are a fundamental concept within theories that explain posttraumatic stress disorder. The objective of the present study was to gain a greater understanding of how changes in world assumptions are related to quality of life and posttraumatic stress symptoms after a natural disaster. Methods A longitudinal study of 574 Norwegian adults who survived the Southeast Asian tsunami in 2004 was undertaken. Multilevel analyses were used to identify which factors at six months post-tsunami predicted quality of life and posttraumatic stress symptoms two years post-tsunami. Results Good quality of life and posttraumatic stress symptoms were negatively related. However, major differences in the predictors of these outcomes were found. Females reported significantly higher quality of life and more posttraumatic stress than men. The association between level of exposure to the tsunami and quality of life seemed to be mediated by posttraumatic stress. Negative perceived changes in the assumption “the world is just” were related to adverse outcome in both quality of life and posttraumatic stress. Positive perceived changes in the assumptions “life is meaningful” and “feeling that I am a valuable human” were associated with higher levels of quality of life but not with posttraumatic stress. Conclusions Quality of life and posttraumatic stress symptoms demonstrate differences in their etiology. World assumptions may be less specifically related to posttraumatic stress than has been postulated in some cognitive theories. PMID:22742447

  11. Early Mars: A Warm Wet Niche for Life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Everett K.; McKay, David S.; Thomas-Keprta, Kathie L.; Clemett, Simon J.

    2010-01-01

    Exploration of Mars has begun to unveil the history of the planet. Combinations of remote sensing, in situ compositional measurements and photographic observations have shown Mars had a dynamic and active geologic evolution. Mars geologic evolution had conditions that were suitable for supporting life. A habitable planet must have water, carbon and energy sources along with a dynamic geologic past. Mars meets all of these requirements. The first 600 Ma of Martian history were ripe for life to develop because of the abundance of: (i) Water-as shown by carved canyons and oceans or lakes with the early presence of near surface water shown by precipitated carbonates in ALH84001, well-dated at approx.3.9 Ga, (ii) Energy from the original accretional processes, a molten core which generated a strong magnetic field leaving a permanent record in the early crust, active volcanism continuing throughout Martian history, and continuing impact processes, (iii) Carbon, water and a likely thicker atmosphere from extensive volcanic outgassing (i.e. H2O, CO2, CH4, CO, O2, N2, H2S, SO2, etc.) and (iv) crustal tectonics as revealed by faulting and possible plate movement reflected by the magnetic patterns in the crust [1]. The question arises: "Why would life not develop from these favorable conditions on Mars in its first 600 Ma?" During this period, environmental near-surface conditions on Mars were more favorable to life than at any later time. Standing bodies of water, precipitation and flowing surface water, and possibly abundant hydrothermal energy would favor the formation of early life. (Even if life developed elsewhere on Earth, Venus, or on other bodies-it was transported to Mars where surface conditions were suitable for life to evolve)

  12. The composition of the gut microbiota throughout life, with an emphasis on early life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Miguel Rodríguez

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The intestinal microbiota has become a relevant aspect of human health. Microbial colonization runs in parallel with immune system maturation and plays a role in intestinal physiology and regulation. Increasing evidence on early microbial contact suggest that human intestinal microbiota is seeded before birth. Maternal microbiota forms the first microbial inoculum, and from birth, the microbial diversity increases and converges toward an adult-like microbiota by the end of the first 3–5 years of life. Perinatal factors such as mode of delivery, diet, genetics, and intestinal mucin glycosylation all contribute to influence microbial colonization. Once established, the composition of the gut microbiota is relatively stable throughout adult life, but can be altered as a result of bacterial infections, antibiotic treatment, lifestyle, surgical, and a long-term change in diet. Shifts in this complex microbial system have been reported to increase the risk of disease. Therefore, an adequate establishment of microbiota and its maintenance throughout life would reduce the risk of disease in early and late life. This review discusses recent studies on the early colonization and factors influencing this process which impact on health.

  13. The composition of the gut microbiota throughout life, with an emphasis on early life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez, Juan Miguel; Murphy, Kiera; Stanton, Catherine; Ross, R. Paul; Kober, Olivia I.; Juge, Nathalie; Avershina, Ekaterina; Rudi, Knut; Narbad, Arjan; Jenmalm, Maria C.; Marchesi, Julian R.; Collado, Maria Carmen

    2015-01-01

    The intestinal microbiota has become a relevant aspect of human health. Microbial colonization runs in parallel with immune system maturation and plays a role in intestinal physiology and regulation. Increasing evidence on early microbial contact suggest that human intestinal microbiota is seeded before birth. Maternal microbiota forms the first microbial inoculum, and from birth, the microbial diversity increases and converges toward an adult-like microbiota by the end of the first 3–5 years of life. Perinatal factors such as mode of delivery, diet, genetics, and intestinal mucin glycosylation all contribute to influence microbial colonization. Once established, the composition of the gut microbiota is relatively stable throughout adult life, but can be altered as a result of bacterial infections, antibiotic treatment, lifestyle, surgical, and a long-term change in diet. Shifts in this complex microbial system have been reported to increase the risk of disease. Therefore, an adequate establishment of microbiota and its maintenance throughout life would reduce the risk of disease in early and late life. This review discusses recent studies on the early colonization and factors influencing this process which impact on health. PMID:25651996

  14. Stressful Life Events in Children With Functional Defecation Disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philips, Elise M; Peeters, Babette; Teeuw, Arianne H; Leenders, Arnold G E; Boluyt, Nicole; Brilleslijper-Kater, Sonja N; Benninga, Marc A

    2015-10-01

    The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of stressful life events including (sexual) abuse in children with functional defecation disorders by performing a systematic review. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO for cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies investigating the prevalence of stressful life events, including (sexual) abuse in children with functional defecation disorders. The search yielded 946 articles, of which 8 were included with data from 654 children with functional constipation and 1931 children with (constipation-associated) fecal incontinence (FI). Overall, children with functional defecation disorders had been significantly more exposed to stressful life events than healthy children, with prevalence rates ranging from 1.6% to 90.9%. Being bullied, being a relational victim, interruption of toilet training, punishment by parents during toilet training, and hospitalization were significantly related to FI, whereas separation from the best friend, failure in an examination, severe illness in a close family member, loss of job by a parent, frequent punishment, and living in a war-affected area were significantly related to constipation. Only 1 study measured the prevalence of child abuse, which reported a significantly higher prevalence of child (sexual) abuse in children with FI compared with controls. The prevalence of stressful life events, including (sexual) abuse is significantly higher in children with functional defecation disorders compared with healthy children. To gain more insight into the true prevalence of child (sexual) abuse in children with functional defecation disorders, more studies are clearly needed.

  15. Stress, depression, quality of life and salivary cortisol levels in community health agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knuth, Berenice Scaletzky; Cocco, Rafaela Abreu; Radtke, Vinicius Augusto; Medeiros, João Ricardo Carvalho; Oses, Jean Pierre; Wiener, Carolina David; Jansen, Karen

    2016-06-01

    To determine the prevalence of and factors associated with depression and stress with perceived quality of life and the salivary cortisol levels in Community Health Agent (CHA). Materials and Methods Cross-sectional descriptive study of CHAs in Pelotas-RS, Brazil. Data collection, including sociodemographic information and factors related to work and health. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) II was used to assess depressive symptoms, Inventory of Stress Symptoms Lipp (ISSL) was used for the analysis of stress and the WHOQOL-BREF was used to investigate quality of life. Salivary cortisol was quantified via ELISA test. The assessments showed that 71.0% are in a state of stress resistance, 30.5% were in the alert state of stress and 32.8% were in the stress state of exhaustion. Depressive episodes (BDI≥12) were observed in 28.2%. The environmental domain had the lowest score for quality of life. We observed significantly higher salivary cortisol levels in CHAs with less than 1 year of service and with the lowest quality of life scores in the environmental subsection. A high prevalence of stress and depression was observed in this sample of CHAs. In addition, the worst levels of quality of life were identified in the environmental subsection. Cortisol levels corroborate these findings regarding quality of life within the environmental domain and began working less than a year previously.

  16. The die is cast - Arsenic exposure in early life and disease susceptibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abstract Early life exposure to arsenic in humans and mice produces similar patterns of disease in later life. Given the long interval between exposure and effect, epigenetic effects of early life exposure to arsenic may account for development and progression of disease in bo...

  17. Early life trauma, depression and the glucocorticoid receptor gene--an epigenetic perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smart, C; Strathdee, G; Watson, S; Murgatroyd, C; McAllister-Williams, R H

    2015-12-01

    Hopes to identify genetic susceptibility loci accounting for the heritability seen in unipolar depression have not been fully realized. Family history remains the 'gold standard' for both risk stratification and prognosis in complex phenotypes such as depression. Meanwhile, the physiological mechanisms underlying life-event triggers for depression remain opaque. Epigenetics, comprising heritable changes in gene expression other than alterations of the nucleotide sequence, may offer a way to deepen our understanding of the aetiology and pathophysiology of unipolar depression and optimize treatments. A heuristic target for exploring the relevance of epigenetic changes in unipolar depression is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) gene (NR3C1) has been found to be susceptible to epigenetic modification, specifically DNA methylation, in the context of environmental stress such as early life trauma, which is an established risk for depression later in life. In this paper we discuss the progress that has been made by studies that have investigated the relationship between depression, early trauma, the HPA axis and the NR3C1 gene. Difficulties with the design of these studies are also explored. Future efforts will need to comprehensively address epigenetic natural histories at the population, tissue, cell and gene levels. The complex interactions between the epigenome, genome and environment, as well as ongoing nosological difficulties, also pose significant challenges. The work that has been done so far is nevertheless encouraging and suggests potential mechanistic and biomarker roles for differential DNA methylation patterns in NR3C1 as well as novel therapeutic targets.

  18. Overexpression of Mineralocorticoid Receptors in the Mouse Forebrain Partly Alleviates the Effects of Chronic Early Life Stress on Spatial Memory, Neurogenesis and Synaptic Function in the Dentate Gyrus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sofia Kanatsou

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Evidence from human studies suggests that high expression of brain mineralocorticoid receptors (MR may promote resilience against negative consequences of stress exposure, including childhood trauma. We examined, in mice, whether brain MR overexpression can alleviate the effects of chronic early life stress (ELS on contextual memory formation under low and high stress conditions, and neurogenesis and synaptic function of dentate gyrus granular cells. Male mice were exposed to ELS by housing the dam with limited nesting and bedding material from postnatal day (PND 2 to 9. We investigated the moderating role of MRs by using forebrain-specific transgenic MR overexpression (MR-tg mice. Low-stress contextual (i.e., object relocation memory formation was hampered by ELS in wildtype but not MR-tg mice. Anxiety like behavior and high-stress contextual (i.e., fear memory formation were unaffected by ELS and/or MR expression level. At the cellular level, an interaction effect was observed between ELS and MR overexpression on the number of doublecortin-positive cells, with a significant difference between the wildtype ELS and MR-tg ELS groups. No interaction was found regarding Ki-67 and BrdU staining. A significant interaction between ELS and MR expression was further observed with regard to mEPSCs and mIPSC frequency. The ratio of evoked EPSC/IPSC or NMDA/AMPA responses was unaffected. Overall, these results suggest that ELS affects contextual memory formation under low stress conditions as well as neurogenesis and synaptic transmission in dentate granule cells, an effect that can be alleviated by MR-overexpression.

  19. Depression, anxiety and stress as negative predictors of life satisfaction in university students

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bukhari, S.R.; Saba, F.

    2017-01-01

    Objective: To study the role of depression, anxiety and stress in prediction of life satisfaction in male and female university students. Methodology: The study involved 200 students, 100 males and 100 females selected by using purposive sampling technique from different universities of Islamabad. Age range of participants was 19-30 years (mean 21.79+-2.970). Depression anxiety stress scale-21 (DASS-21 and Life Satisfaction scale were administered. Data were analyzed on SPSS version 19. Results: The result of present study indicated that depression anxiety and stress significantly predict life satisfaction among male and female university students. Conclusion: University students who are facing depression, anxiety and stress are more vulnerable to low levels of life satisfaction. (author)

  20. The early Earth atmosphere and early life catalysts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramírez Jiménez, Sandra Ignacia

    2014-01-01

    Homochirality is a property of living systems on Earth. The time, the place, and the way in which it appeared are uncertain. In a prebiotic scenario two situations are of interest: either an initial small bias for handedness of some biomolecules arouse and progressed with life, or an initial slight excess led to the actual complete dominance of the known chiral molecules. A definitive answer can probably never be given, neither from the fields of physics and chemistry nor biology. Some arguments can be advanced to understand if homochirality is necessary for the initiation of a prebiotic homochiral polymer chemistry, if this homochirality is suggesting a unique origin of life, or if a chiral template such as a mineral surface is always required to result in an enantiomeric excess. A general description of the early Earth scenario will be presented in this chapter, followed by a general description of some clays, and their role as substrates to allow the concentration and amplification of some of the building blocks of life.

  1. Early life adversity potentiates the effects of later life stress on cumulative physiological dysregulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dich, Nadya; Hansen, Åse Marie; Avlund, Kirsten

    2015-01-01

    tested this hypothesis by investigating whether experience of stressful events and circumstances (SEC) in childhood or adolescence amplified the effect of adulthood SEC on physiological dysregulation (allostatic load, AL) in later midlife. Design: Observational data were used in the present study....... Physiological functioning was measured in later midlife (participants' age ranged from 49 to 63). Both childhood/adolescence and adulthood SEC were reported retrospectively on the same occasion. Methods: Participants were 5,309 Danish men and women from Copenhagen Ageing and Midlife Biobank. SEC included socio......: The results provide further insight into the mechanisms behind the "biological embedding" of childhood stress....

  2. The major stressful life events and cancer: stress history and cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tas, Faruk; Karalar, Umran; Aliustaoglu, Mehmet; Keskin, Serkan; Can, Gulbeyaz; Cinar, Fatma Ebru

    2012-06-01

    The objective of this study was to analyze the extent of stressful life events' etiology and to compare socio-demographic and medical characteristics of the presence and absence of stress in Turkish cancer patients. Patients with cancer who attended ambulatory patient care units answered the questionnaires. Medical information was reviewed from chart data. The study population comprised 465 women (60.5%) and 303 men (39.5%), in total 768 cases. The median age was 53 years, ranging between 18 and 94. Three-hundred and twenty patients (41.7%) had at least one type of stress since last year of the time of initial diagnosis. Among patients had stress, the median number of stress modalities presented was 1 (range 1-6). Death, lack of livelihood, quarrel, illness, and debt almost always consisted of stress types. History of stress within last year was found more in women (66.3% vs. 56.5%, P = 0.006) and overweight patients (57.5% vs. 47.2%, P = 0.005). Similarly, among cancer types, only patients with breast cancer (41.9% vs. 31.7%, P = 0.04) had lived more stressful situation. However, the married patients (72.2% vs. 80.6%, P = 0.03) had less stress. Patients with gastric cancer had more frequent debt (29.0%, P history (21.4%, P = 0.001). Additionally, in lung cancer patients, their rate of livelihood difficulty was highly less than average (2.4%, P = 0.003). We found that overweight patients had more illness history (68.9% vs. 51.6%, P = 0.004), patients who were not working had more death history (89.7% vs. 78%, P = 0.01), and female patients had more quarrel history (78.2% vs. 60.5%, P = 0.002). Likewise, history of debt in patients who is a member of large family (56.2% vs. 27.4%, P = 0.01) was more frequent. Additionally, the lack of livelihood was prominent in urban patients (92.8% vs. 78.6%, P = 0.002) and in patients with low income (48.5% vs. 66.7%, P = 0.004). The question of whether or not psychological factors originated from stressful life events have an

  3. Early life adversity and serotonin transporter gene variation interact at the level of the adrenal gland to affect the adult hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Doelen, R.H.A. van der; Deschamps, W.; D'Annibale, C.; Peeters, D.; Wevers, R.A.; Zelena, D.; Homberg, J.R.; Kozicz, L.T.

    2014-01-01

    The short allelic variant of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) promoter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) has been associated with the etiology of major depression by interaction with early life stress (ELS). Furthermore, 5-HTTLPR has been associated with abnormal functioning of the

  4. The long-term impact of early life poverty on orbitofrontal cortex volume in adulthood: results from a prospective study over 25 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holz, Nathalie E; Boecker, Regina; Hohm, Erika; Zohsel, Katrin; Buchmann, Arlette F; Blomeyer, Dorothea; Jennen-Steinmetz, Christine; Baumeister, Sarah; Hohmann, Sarah; Wolf, Isabella; Plichta, Michael M; Esser, Günter; Schmidt, Martin; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas; Banaschewski, Tobias; Brandeis, Daniel; Laucht, Manfred

    2015-03-01

    Converging evidence has highlighted the association between poverty and conduct disorder (CD) without specifying neurobiological pathways. Neuroimaging research has emphasized structural and functional alterations in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) as one key mechanism underlying this disorder. The present study aimed to clarify the long-term influence of early poverty on OFC volume and its association with CD symptoms in healthy participants of an epidemiological cohort study followed since birth. At age 25 years, voxel-based morphometry was applied to study brain volume differences. Poverty (0=non-exposed (N=134), 1=exposed (N=33)) and smoking during pregnancy were determined using a standardized parent interview, and information on maternal responsiveness was derived from videotaped mother-infant interactions at the age of 3 months. CD symptoms were assessed by diagnostic interview from 8 to 19 years of age. Information on life stress was acquired at each assessment and childhood maltreatment was measured using retrospective self-report at the age of 23 years. Analyses were adjusted for sex, parental psychopathology and delinquency, obstetric adversity, parental education, and current poverty. Individuals exposed to early life poverty exhibited a lower OFC volume. Moreover, we replicated previous findings of increased CD symptoms as a consequence of childhood poverty. This effect proved statistically mediated by OFC volume and exposure to life stress and smoking during pregnancy, but not by childhood maltreatment and maternal responsiveness. These findings underline the importance of studying the impact of early life adversity on brain alterations and highlight the need for programs to decrease income-related disparities.

  5. The human early-life exposome (HELIX): project rationale and design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vrijheid, Martine; Slama, Rémy; Robinson, Oliver; Chatzi, Leda; Coen, Muireann; van den Hazel, Peter; Thomsen, Cathrine; Wright, John; Athersuch, Toby J; Avellana, Narcis; Basagaña, Xavier; Brochot, Celine; Bucchini, Luca; Bustamante, Mariona; Carracedo, Angel; Casas, Maribel; Estivill, Xavier; Fairley, Lesley; van Gent, Diana; Gonzalez, Juan R; Granum, Berit; Gražulevičienė, Regina; Gutzkow, Kristine B; Julvez, Jordi; Keun, Hector C; Kogevinas, Manolis; McEachan, Rosemary R C; Meltzer, Helle Margrete; Sabidó, Eduard; Schwarze, Per E; Siroux, Valérie; Sunyer, Jordi; Want, Elizabeth J; Zeman, Florence; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J

    2014-06-01

    Developmental periods in early life may be particularly vulnerable to impacts of environmental exposures. Human research on this topic has generally focused on single exposure-health effect relationships. The "exposome" concept encompasses the totality of exposures from conception onward, complementing the genome. The Human Early-Life Exposome (HELIX) project is a new collaborative research project that aims to implement novel exposure assessment and biomarker methods to characterize early-life exposure to multiple environmental factors and associate these with omics biomarkers and child health outcomes, thus characterizing the "early-life exposome." Here we describe the general design of the project. In six existing birth cohort studies in Europe, HELIX will estimate prenatal and postnatal exposure to a broad range of chemical and physical exposures. Exposure models will be developed for the full cohorts totaling 32,000 mother-child pairs, and biomarkers will be measured in a subset of 1,200 mother-child pairs. Nested repeat-sampling panel studies (n = 150) will collect data on biomarker variability, use smartphones to assess mobility and physical activity, and perform personal exposure monitoring. Omics techniques will determine molecular profiles (metabolome, proteome, transcriptome, epigenome) associated with exposures. Statistical methods for multiple exposures will provide exposure-response estimates for fetal and child growth, obesity, neurodevelopment, and respiratory outcomes. A health impact assessment exercise will evaluate risks and benefits of combined exposures. HELIX is one of the first attempts to describe the early-life exposome of European populations and unravel its relation to omics markers and health in childhood. As proof of concept, it will form an important first step toward the life-course exposome.

  6. Compelling Evidence of the Need for Corporate Work/Life Balance Initiatives: Results from a National Survey of Stressful Life-Events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hobson, Charles J.; Delunas, Linda; Kesic, Dawn

    2001-01-01

    Considers how failure to balance excessive work and life/family demands can lead to negative consequences for both individuals and organizations, including higher stress levels, increased absenteeism, and lower productivity. Discusses results of a survey on stressful life events that offers an explanation of why work/life balance programs are so…

  7. The Role of Perceived Stress and Self-Efficacy in Young People's Life Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burger, Kaspar; Samuel, Robin

    2017-01-01

    Life satisfaction is an important indicator of successful development. However, adolescents' life satisfaction tends to be relatively unsteady, and environmental influences play a critical role in shaping life satisfaction among adolescents in the transition to young adulthood. Given the paramount importance that education plays in adolescents' lives, adolescents' life satisfaction may vary as a function of school-related stress experience. At the same time, coping resources may help reduce adverse effects of stress on life satisfaction. With this in mind, we examined whether, and to what extent, perceived stress in education and general self-efficacy (a resource that facilitates coping) affect the life satisfaction of adolescents in transition to young adulthood. We distinguished between baseline levels of stress and self-efficacy and within-person change in stress and self-efficacy to determine whether life satisfaction is sensitive to fluctuations in stress and self-efficacy when person-specific levels of stress and self-efficacy are taken into account. Estimating growth curve models on data from a panel study on the life trajectories of compulsory-school leavers (n = 5126, 55.3 % female), we found that baseline levels of stress and self-efficacy, as well as within-person change in stress and self-efficacy, affected adolescents' life satisfaction. Moreover, our results showed that baseline self-efficacy mitigated the negative effect of baseline stress on life satisfaction. These findings improve our understanding of two major psychological determinants of adolescents' life satisfaction and extend our knowledge of life satisfaction trajectories during the transition to young adulthood.

  8. Interactions of early adversity with stress-related gene polymorphisms impact regional brain structure in females.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Arpana; Labus, Jennifer; Kilpatrick, Lisa A; Bonyadi, Mariam; Ashe-McNalley, Cody; Heendeniya, Nuwanthi; Bradesi, Sylvie; Chang, Lin; Mayer, Emeran A

    2016-04-01

    Early adverse life events (EALs) have been associated with regional thinning of the subgenual cingulate cortex (sgACC), a brain region implicated in the development of disorders of mood and affect, and often comorbid functional pain disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Regional neuroinflammation related to chronic stress system activation has been suggested as a possible mechanism underlying these neuroplastic changes. However, the interaction of genetic and environmental factors in these changes is poorly understood. The current study aimed to evaluate the interactions of EALs and candidate gene polymorphisms in influencing thickness of the sgACC. 210 female subjects (137 healthy controls; 73 IBS) were genotyped for stress and inflammation-related gene polymorphisms. Genetic variation with EALs, and diagnosis on sgACC thickness was examined, while controlling for race, age, and total brain volume. Compared to HCs, IBS had significantly reduced sgACC thickness (p = 0.03). Regardless of disease group (IBS vs. HC), thinning of the left sgACC was associated with a significant gene-gene environment interaction between the IL-1β genotype, the NR3C1 haplotype, and a history of EALs (p = 0.05). Reduced sgACC thickness in women with the minor IL-1β allele, was associated with EAL total scores regardless of NR3C1 haplotype status (p = 0.02). In subjects homozygous for the major IL-1β allele, reduced sgACC with increasing levels of EALs was seen only with the less common NR3C1 haplotype (p = 0.02). These findings support an interaction between polymorphisms related to stress and inflammation and early adverse life events in modulating a key region of the emotion arousal circuit.

  9. Roles of attachment and self-esteem: impact of early life stress on depressive symptoms among Japanese institutionalized children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzuki, Hanako; Tomoda, Akemi

    2015-02-05

    Although exposure to early life stress is known to affect mental health, the underlying mechanisms of its impacts on depressive symptoms among institutionalized children and adolescents have been little studied. To investigate the role of attachment and self-esteem in association with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and depressive symptoms, 342 children (149 boys, 193 girls; age range 9-18 years old, mean age = 13.5 ± 2.4) living in residential foster care facilities in Japan completed questionnaires related to internal working models, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms. Their care workers completed questionnaires on ACEs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was created and the goodness of fit was examined (CMIN = 129.223, df = 1.360, GFI = .959, AGFI = .936, CFI = .939, RMSEA = .033). Maltreatment negatively predicted scores on secure attachment, but positively predicted scores on avoidant and ambivalent attachment. The secure attachment score negatively predicted depressive symptoms. The ambivalent attachment score positively predicted depressive symptoms both directly and through self-esteem, whereas the avoidant attachment score positively predicted depressive symptoms only directly. Maltreatment neither directly predicts self-esteem nor depressive symptoms, and parental illness/death and parental sociopathic behaviors did not predict any variables. Results show that the adversity of child maltreatment affects depression through attachment styles and low self-esteem among institutionalized children. Implications of child maltreatment and recommendations for child welfare services and clinical interventions for institutionalized children are discussed.

  10. Early Life Microbiota, Neonatal Immune Maturation and Hematopoiesis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Matilde Bylov

    Emerging epidemiologic data supports the hypothesis that early life colonization is a key player in development of a balanced immune system. Events in early life, as birth mode and infant diet, are shown to influence development of immune related diseases, like asthma, diabetes and inflammatory...... bowl disease, later in life. The intestinal epithelium makes up a physical and biochemical barrier between the bacteria in the gut lumen and the immune cells in the submocusal tissue. This monolayer of intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) makes up an extremely large surface and is highly important...... for the synergistic coexistence between trillions of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract and their mammalian hosts. The IEC actively communicate with the microbiota of the gut lumen and tolerance establishment in the intestine is induced as a result of a balanced and controlled communication between IEC...

  11. Stressful life events and occupational accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cordeiro, Ricardo; Dias, Adriano

    2005-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the association between stressful life events and occupational accidents. This was a population-based case-control study, carried out in the city of Botucatu, in southeast Brazil. The cases consisted of 108 workers who had recently experienced occupational accidents. Each case was matched with three controls. The cases and controls answered a questionnaire about recent exposure to stressful life events. Reporting of "environmental problems", "being a victim of assault", "not having enough food at home" and "nonoccupational fatigue" were found to be risk factors for work-related accidents with estimated incidence rate ratios of 1.4 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.1-1.7], 1.3 (95% CI 1.1-1.7), 1.3 (95% CI 1.1-1.6), and 1.4 (95% CI 1.2-1.7) respectively. The findings of the study suggested that nonwork variables contribute to occupational accidents, thus broadening the understanding of these phenomena, which can support new approaches to the prevention of occupational accidents.

  12. Work-family life courses and markers of stress and inflammation in mid-life: evidence from the National Child Development Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacey, Rebecca E; Sacker, Amanda; Kumari, Meena; Worts, Diana; McDonough, Peggy; Booker, Cara; McMunn, Anne

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Background: This study investigated associations between work-family life courses and biomarkers of inflammation and stress in mid-life among British men and women. Gender differences in these associations were also explored. Methods: A novel statistical method—multi-channel sequence analysis—defined work-family life courses between the ages of 16 and 42 years, combining annual information on work, partnership and parenthood. Associations between work-family life courses and inflammation [C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen and von Willebrand factor] and cortisol at age 44/45 years were tested using multivariate linear regression using multiply-imputed data on almost 6500 participants from the National Child Development Study 1958 British birth cohort. Results: Compared with those who combined strong ties to paid work with later transitions to stable family lives (‘Work, later family’ group), ‘Teen parents’ had higher CRP [40.6% higher, 95% confidence interval (CI): 5.6, 87.0] and fibrinogen (7.8% higher, 95% CI: 2.3, 13.5) levels, and homemakers (‘No paid work, early family’) had raised fibrinogen levels (4.7% higher, 95% CI: 0.7, 9.0), independent of childhood health and socioeconomic position, adult socioeconomic position, health behaviours and body mass index (BMI). Those who combined later transitions to stable family ties with a career break for childrearing had higher post-waking cortisol than the ‘Work, later family’ group; however, no associations were seen for other work-family types, therefore suggesting a null finding with cortisol. No statistically significant gender interactions in associations between work-family types and inflammatory or cortisol outcomes were found. Conclusions: Work-family life courses characterised by early parenthood or weak work ties were associated with a raised risk profile in relation to chronic inflammation. PMID:26467761

  13. Work-family life courses and markers of stress and inflammation in mid-life: evidence from the National Child Development Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacey, Rebecca E; Sacker, Amanda; Kumari, Meena; Worts, Diana; McDonough, Peggy; Booker, Cara; McMunn, Anne

    2016-08-01

    This study investigated associations between work-family life courses and biomarkers of inflammation and stress in mid-life among British men and women. Gender differences in these associations were also explored. A novel statistical method-multi-channel sequence analysis-defined work-family life courses between the ages of 16 and 42 years, combining annual information on work, partnership and parenthood. Associations between work-family life courses and inflammation [C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen and von Willebrand factor] and cortisol at age 44/45 years were tested using multivariate linear regression using multiply-imputed data on almost 6500 participants from the National Child Development Study 1958 British birth cohort. Compared with those who combined strong ties to paid work with later transitions to stable family lives ('Work, later family' group), 'Teen parents' had higher CRP [40.6% higher, 95% confidence interval (CI): 5.6, 87.0] and fibrinogen (7.8% higher, 95% CI: 2.3, 13.5) levels, and homemakers ('No paid work, early family') had raised fibrinogen levels (4.7% higher, 95% CI: 0.7, 9.0), independent of childhood health and socioeconomic position, adult socioeconomic position, health behaviours and body mass index (BMI). Those who combined later transitions to stable family ties with a career break for childrearing had higher post-waking cortisol than the 'Work, later family' group; however, no associations were seen for other work-family types, therefore suggesting a null finding with cortisol. No statistically significant gender interactions in associations between work-family types and inflammatory or cortisol outcomes were found. Work-family life courses characterised by early parenthood or weak work ties were associated with a raised risk profile in relation to chronic inflammation. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

  14. Amygdala functional connectivity, HPA axis genetic variation, and life stress in children and relations to anxiety and emotion regulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagliaccio, David; Luby, Joan L.; Bogdan, Ryan; Agrawal, Arpana; Gaffrey, Michael S.; Belden, Andrew C.; Botteron, Kelly N.; Harms, Michael P.; Barch, Deanna M.

    2015-01-01

    Internalizing pathology is related to alterations in amygdala resting state functional connectivity, potentially implicating altered emotional reactivity and/or emotion regulation in the etiological pathway. Importantly, there is accumulating evidence that stress exposure and genetic vulnerability impact amygdala structure/function and risk for internalizing pathology. The present study examined whether early life stress and genetic profile scores (10 single nucleotide polymorphisms within four hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis genes: CRHR1, NR3C2, NR3C1, and FKBP5) predicted individual differences in amygdala functional connectivity in school-age children (9–14 year olds; N=120). Whole-brain regression analyses indicated that increasing genetic ‘risk’ predicted alterations in amygdala connectivity to the caudate and postcentral gyrus. Experience of more stressful and traumatic life events predicted weakened amygdala-anterior cingulate cortex connectivity. Genetic ‘risk’ and stress exposure interacted to predict weakened connectivity between the amygdala and the inferior and middle frontal gyri, caudate, and parahippocampal gyrus in those children with the greatest genetic and environmental risk load. Furthermore, amygdala connectivity longitudinally predicted anxiety symptoms and emotion regulation skills at a later follow-up. Amygdala connectivity mediated effects of life stress on anxiety and of genetic variants on emotion regulation. The current results suggest that considering the unique and interacting effects of biological vulnerability and environmental risk factors may be key to understanding the development of altered amygdala functional connectivity, a potential factor in the risk trajectory for internalizing pathology. PMID:26595470

  15. Amygdala functional connectivity, HPA axis genetic variation, and life stress in children and relations to anxiety and emotion regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagliaccio, David; Luby, Joan L; Bogdan, Ryan; Agrawal, Arpana; Gaffrey, Michael S; Belden, Andrew C; Botteron, Kelly N; Harms, Michael P; Barch, Deanna M

    2015-11-01

    Internalizing pathology is related to alterations in amygdala resting state functional connectivity, potentially implicating altered emotional reactivity and/or emotion regulation in the etiological pathway. Importantly, there is accumulating evidence that stress exposure and genetic vulnerability impact amygdala structure/function and risk for internalizing pathology. The present study examined whether early life stress and genetic profile scores (10 single nucleotide polymorphisms within 4 hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis genes: CRHR1, NR3C2, NR3C1, and FKBP5) predicted individual differences in amygdala functional connectivity in school-age children (9- to 14-year-olds; N = 120). Whole-brain regression analyses indicated that increasing genetic "risk" predicted alterations in amygdala connectivity to the caudate and postcentral gyrus. Experience of more stressful and traumatic life events predicted weakened amygdala-anterior cingulate cortex connectivity. Genetic "risk" and stress exposure interacted to predict weakened connectivity between the amygdala and the inferior and middle frontal gyri, caudate, and parahippocampal gyrus in those children with the greatest genetic and environmental risk load. Furthermore, amygdala connectivity longitudinally predicted anxiety symptoms and emotion regulation skills at a later follow-up. Amygdala connectivity mediated effects of life stress on anxiety and of genetic variants on emotion regulation. The current results suggest that considering the unique and interacting effects of biological vulnerability and environmental risk factors may be key to understanding the development of altered amygdala functional connectivity, a potential factor in the risk trajectory for internalizing pathology. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. A Comparative Study of Stressful Life Events and Stress Coping Strategies in Coronary Heart Disease Patients and Non-Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Heidari Pahlavian

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction & Objective: Etiological researches suggest that biopsychosocial dimensions are responsible for coronary heart disease (CHD. The main goal of the present research was to compare stressful life events and stress coping strategies in coronary heart patients (Acute Myocardial Infarction and non-patients. Materials & Methods: In this cross sectional research 102 patients (all males suffering from acute myocardial infarction and 162 non-patient individuals after matching were studied and compared with regard to psychosocial life events and stress coping strategies through coping response inventory (Moos, 1993 , scaling of life Events (paykel , 1971 and researcher made questionnaire. Results: The result established that myocardial infarction patients experienced more stress than the control group during one year before heart- attack and they used more inadequate stress coping strategies comparing with the control individuals. Conclusion: This study showed that stress and inadequate coping strategies are important variables for the development of coronary heart diseases. (Sci J Hamadan Univ Med Sci 2010;17(3:33-38

  17. Life stress and symptoms of anxiety and depression in women after cancer: The mediating effect of stress appraisal and coping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seib, Charrlotte; Porter-Steele, Janine; Ng, Shu-Kay; Turner, Jane; McGuire, Amanda; McDonald, Nicole; Balaam, Sarah; Yates, Patsy; McCarthy, Alexandra; Anderson, Debra

    2018-04-06

    This paper examines the direct and intermediary relationships between life stress, stress appraisal, and resilience, and increased anxiety and depressive symptoms in Australian women after cancer treatment. Data examined from 278 women aged 18 years and older previously treated for breast, gynaecological, or blood cancer, participating in the Australian Women's Wellness after Cancer Program. Serial mediation models interrogated the effect of stressful life events (List of Threatening Experiences-Modified) mediated by appraisal and coping (Perceived Stress Scale and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale), on symptoms of anxiety and depression (Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale). Over one-quarter (30.2%) of participants reported 1 or more stressful life events, other than their cancer, in the previous 6 months. Results indicate that perceived stress fully mediated the relationships between life stress, anxiety (indirect effect = 0.09, Bias-corrected bootstrap 95% CI 0.02-0.18, Percent mediation = 0.51), and depressive symptoms (indirect effect = 0.11, Bias-corrected bootstrap 95% CI 0.02-0.23, Percent mediation = 0.71) and accounted for more than half of the relationship between predictor and outcome. Findings indicate that stress appraisal mediated the relationship between past life stressors and anxiety and depressive symptoms. This analysis also highlights the need to consider wellness within a broader care context to identify potentially vulnerable patients to possibly avert future health concerns. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  18. Early life nutritional programming of health and disease in The Gambia

    OpenAIRE

    Moore, S. E.

    2015-01-01

    Exposures during the early life (periconceptional, prenatal and early postnatal) period are increasingly recognized as playing an important role in the aetiology of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD), including coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis. The ?Developmental Origins of Health and Disease? (DOHaD) hypothesis states that these disorders originate through unbalanced nutrition early in life and risk is highest when there is a ?mismatch? betw...

  19. The developing hypopharyngeal microbiota in early life

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mortensen, Martin Steen; Brejnrod, Asker Daniel; Roggenbuck, Michael

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The airways of healthy humans harbor a distinct microbial community. Perturbations in the microbial community have been associated with disease, yet little is known about the formation and development of a healthy airway microbiota in early life. Our goal was to understand the establi......BACKGROUND: The airways of healthy humans harbor a distinct microbial community. Perturbations in the microbial community have been associated with disease, yet little is known about the formation and development of a healthy airway microbiota in early life. Our goal was to understand...... the establishment of the airway microbiota within the first 3 months of life. We investigated the hypopharyngeal microbiota in the unselected COPSAC2010 cohort of 700 infants, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing of hypopharyngeal aspirates from 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months of age. RESULTS: Our analysis shows...... that majority of the hypopharyngeal microbiota of healthy infants belong to each individual's core microbiota and we demonstrate five distinct community pneumotypes. Four of these pneumotypes are dominated by the genera Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Moraxella, and Corynebacterium, respectively. Furthermore, we...

  20. Sex-dependent impact of early-life stress and adult immobilization in the attribution of incentive salience in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuentes, Silvia; Carrasco, Javier; Hatto, Abigail; Navarro, Juan; Armario, Antonio; Monsonet, Manel; Ortiz, Jordi; Nadal, Roser

    2018-01-01

    Early life stress (ELS) induces long-term effects in later functioning and interacts with further exposure to other stressors in adulthood to shape our responsiveness to reward-related cues. The attribution of incentive salience to food-related cues may be modulated by previous and current exposures to stressors in a sex-dependent manner. We hypothesized from human data that exposure to a traumatic (severe) adult stressor will decrease the attribution of incentive salience to reward-associated cues, especially in females, because these effects are modulated by previous ELS. To study these factors in Long-Evans rats, we used as an ELS model of restriction of nesting material and concurrently evaluated maternal care. In adulthood, the offspring of both sexes were exposed to acute immobilization (IMO), and several days after, a Pavlovian conditioning procedure was used to assess the incentive salience of food-related cues. Some rats developed more attraction to the cue predictive of reward (sign-tracking) and others were attracted to the location of the reward itself, the food-magazine (goal-tracking). Several dopaminergic markers were evaluated by in situ hybridization. The results showed that ELS increased maternal care and decreased body weight gain (only in females). Regarding incentive salience, in absolute control animals, females presented slightly greater sign-tracking behavior than males. Non-ELS male rats exposed to IMO showed a bias towards goal-tracking, whereas in females, IMO produced a bias towards sign-tracking. Animals of both sexes not exposed to IMO displayed an intermediate phenotype. ELS in IMO-treated females was able to reduce sign-tracking and decrease tyrosine hydroxylase expression in the ventral tegmental area and dopamine D1 receptor expression in the accumbens shell. Although the predicted greater decrease in females in sign-tracking after IMO exposure was not corroborated by the data, the results highlight the idea that sex is an

  1. Sex-dependent impact of early-life stress and adult immobilization in the attribution of incentive salience in rats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Fuentes

    Full Text Available Early life stress (ELS induces long-term effects in later functioning and interacts with further exposure to other stressors in adulthood to shape our responsiveness to reward-related cues. The attribution of incentive salience to food-related cues may be modulated by previous and current exposures to stressors in a sex-dependent manner. We hypothesized from human data that exposure to a traumatic (severe adult stressor will decrease the attribution of incentive salience to reward-associated cues, especially in females, because these effects are modulated by previous ELS. To study these factors in Long-Evans rats, we used as an ELS model of restriction of nesting material and concurrently evaluated maternal care. In adulthood, the offspring of both sexes were exposed to acute immobilization (IMO, and several days after, a Pavlovian conditioning procedure was used to assess the incentive salience of food-related cues. Some rats developed more attraction to the cue predictive of reward (sign-tracking and others were attracted to the location of the reward itself, the food-magazine (goal-tracking. Several dopaminergic markers were evaluated by in situ hybridization. The results showed that ELS increased maternal care and decreased body weight gain (only in females. Regarding incentive salience, in absolute control animals, females presented slightly greater sign-tracking behavior than males. Non-ELS male rats exposed to IMO showed a bias towards goal-tracking, whereas in females, IMO produced a bias towards sign-tracking. Animals of both sexes not exposed to IMO displayed an intermediate phenotype. ELS in IMO-treated females was able to reduce sign-tracking and decrease tyrosine hydroxylase expression in the ventral tegmental area and dopamine D1 receptor expression in the accumbens shell. Although the predicted greater decrease in females in sign-tracking after IMO exposure was not corroborated by the data, the results highlight the idea that sex

  2. Embedded spirituality: gardening in daily life and stressful life experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unruh, Anita; Hutchinson, Susan

    2011-09-01

    There is a limited body of research examining the relationship between spirituality and leisure, or the impact of leisure in the context of daily life, and life with stressful events. To examine the meaning of gardens and gardening across different life experiences using hermeneutic phenomenology to focus on the lived experience of leisure gardening. Most participants were interviewed once in each season over a 1 year period usually in their home. There were 42 participants (27 women and 15 men) in this study. Fifteen individuals had been diagnosed with cancer and were in varying stages of diagnosis and treatment. Three people had a chronic and progressive disease. Four women were grieving the death of their spouse. Participants ranged in age from 32 to 80 years. In this paper, we focus on the spirituality-related themes in this study: spirituality as connectedness; spirituality as an expression of inner being; the garden as a spiritual place and gardening as spiritual activity; gardening as a spiritual journey; and, stewardship. Participants with religious views saw their garden as an extension of their spirituality and a confirmation of their beliefs. Participants with secular or sacred views of spirituality that was not related to any religious beliefs were more likely to embed their spirituality in their relationship with nature as manifested in their garden. This study extends current theory regarding leisure and its contribution to meaning focused coping, and spirituality as a significant component of leisure in living with stressful health and life events. © 2011 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences © 2011 Nordic College of Caring Science.

  3. Podocyte number and density changes during early human life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kikuchi, Masao; Wickman, Larysa; Rabah, Raja; Wiggins, Roger C

    2017-05-01

    Podocyte depletion, which drives progressive glomerulosclerosis in glomerular diseases, is caused by a reduction in podocyte number, size or function in the context of increasing glomerular volume. Kidneys obtained at autopsy from premature and mature infants who died in the first year of life (n = 24) were used to measure podometric parameters for comparison with previously reported data from older kidneys. Glomerular volume increased 4.6-fold from 0.13 ± 0.07 μm 3 x10 6 in the pre-capillary loop stage, through 0.35 μm 3 x10 6 at the capillary loop, to 0.60 μm 3 x10 6 at the mature glomerular stage. Podocyte number per glomerulus increased from 326 ± 154 per glomerulus at the pre-capillary loop stage to 584 ± 131 per glomerulus at the capillary loop stage of glomerular development to reach a value of 589 ± 166 per glomerulus in mature glomeruli. Thus, the major podocyte number increase occurs in the early stages of glomerular development, in contradistinction to glomerular volume increase, which continues after birth in association with body growth. As glomeruli continue to enlarge, podocyte density (number per volume) rapidly decreases, requiring a parallel rapid increase in podocyte size that allows podocyte foot processes to maintain complete coverage of the filtration surface area. Hypertrophic stresses on the glomerulus and podocyte during development and early rapid growth periods of life are therefore likely to play significant roles in determining how and when defects in podocyte structure and function due to genetic variants become clinically manifest. Therapeutic strategies aimed at minimizing mismatch between these factors may prove clinically useful.

  4. Influence of life stress on immunological reactivity to mild psychological stress

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brosschot, J. F.; Benschop, R. J.; Godaert, G. L.; Olff, M.; de Smet, M.; Heijnen, C. J.; Ballieux, R. E.

    1994-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of self-reported life stress and locus of control on reactivity of several immune parameters to a mild and short-lasting interpersonal stressor. Subjects were 86 male teachers aged 24 to 55 years. Immune reactivity was defined as changes in numbers of monocytes.

  5. Transgenerational Effects of Early Environmental Insults on Aging and Disease Incidence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ambeskovic, Mirela; Roseboom, Tessa J.; Metz, Gerlinde A. S.

    2017-01-01

    Adverse early life experiences are major influences on developmental trajectories with potentially life-long consequences. Prenatal or early postnatal exposure to stress, undernutrition or environmental toxicants may reprogram brain development and increase risk of behavioural and neurological

  6. Predictors of posttraumatic stress and quality of life in family members of chronically critically ill patients after intensive care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wintermann, Gloria-Beatrice; Weidner, Kerstin; Strauß, Bernhard; Rosendahl, Jenny; Petrowski, Katja

    2016-12-01

    Prolonged mechanical ventilation for acute medical conditions increases the risk of chronic critical illness (CCI). Close family members are confronted with the life-threatening condition of the CCI patients and are prone to develop posttraumatic stress disorder affecting their health-related quality of life (HRQL). Main aim of the present study was to investigate patient- and family-related risk factors for posttraumatic stress and decreased HRQL in family members of CCI patients. In a cross-sectional design nested within a prospective longitudinal cohort study, posttraumatic stress symptoms and quality of life were assessed in family members of CCI patients (n = 83, aged between 18 and 72 years) up to 6 months after transfer from ICU at acute care hospital to post-acute rehabilitation. Patients admitted a large rehabilitation hospital for ventilator weaning. The Posttraumatic Stress Scale-10 and the Euro-Quality of life-5D-3L were applied in both patients and their family members via telephone interview. A significant proportion of CCI patients and their family members (14.5 and 15.7 %, respectively) showed clinically relevant scores of posttraumatic stress. Both CCI patients and family members reported poorer HRQL than a normative sample. Factors independently associated with posttraumatic stress in family members were the time following ICU discharge (β = .256, 95 % confidence interval .053-.470) and the patients' diagnosis of PTSD (β = .264, 95 % confidence interval .045-.453). Perceived satisfaction with the relationship turned out to be a protective factor for posttraumatic stress in family members of CCI patients (β = -.231, 95 % confidence interval -.423 to -.015). Regarding HRQL in family members, patients' acute posttraumatic stress at ICU (β = -.290, 95 % confidence interval -.360 to -.088) and their own posttraumatic stress 3 to 6 months post-transfer (β = -.622, 95 % confidence interval -.640 to -.358) turned out to be

  7. Early life nutrition, epigenetics and programming of later life disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vickers, Mark H

    2014-06-02

    The global pandemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes is often causally linked to marked changes in diet and lifestyle; namely marked increases in dietary intakes of high energy diets and concomitant reductions in physical activity levels. However, less attention has been paid to the role of developmental plasticity and alterations in phenotypic outcomes resulting from altered environmental conditions during the early life period. Human and experimental animal studies have highlighted the link between alterations in the early life environment and increased risk of obesity and metabolic disorders in later life. This link is conceptualised as the developmental programming hypothesis whereby environmental influences during critical periods of developmental plasticity can elicit lifelong effects on the health and well-being of the offspring. In particular, the nutritional environment in which the fetus or infant develops influences the risk of metabolic disorders in offspring. The late onset of such diseases in response to earlier transient experiences has led to the suggestion that developmental programming may have an epigenetic component, as epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation or histone tail modifications could provide a persistent memory of earlier nutritional states. Moreover, evidence exists, at least from animal models, that such epigenetic programming should be viewed as a transgenerational phenomenon. However, the mechanisms by which early environmental insults can have long-term effects on offspring are relatively unclear. Thus far, these mechanisms include permanent structural changes to the organ caused by suboptimal levels of an important factor during a critical developmental period, changes in gene expression caused by epigenetic modifications (including DNA methylation, histone modification, and microRNA) and permanent changes in cellular ageing. A better understanding of the epigenetic basis of developmental programming and how these effects may be

  8. Early Life Nutrition, Epigenetics and Programming of Later Life Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark H. Vickers

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The global pandemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes is often causally linked to marked changes in diet and lifestyle; namely marked increases in dietary intakes of high energy diets and concomitant reductions in physical activity levels. However, less attention has been paid to the role of developmental plasticity and alterations in phenotypic outcomes resulting from altered environmental conditions during the early life period. Human and experimental animal studies have highlighted the link between alterations in the early life environment and increased risk of obesity and metabolic disorders in later life. This link is conceptualised as the developmental programming hypothesis whereby environmental influences during critical periods of developmental plasticity can elicit lifelong effects on the health and well-being of the offspring. In particular, the nutritional environment in which the fetus or infant develops influences the risk of metabolic disorders in offspring. The late onset of such diseases in response to earlier transient experiences has led to the suggestion that developmental programming may have an epigenetic component, as epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation or histone tail modifications could provide a persistent memory of earlier nutritional states. Moreover, evidence exists, at least from animal models, that such epigenetic programming should be viewed as a transgenerational phenomenon. However, the mechanisms by which early environmental insults can have long-term effects on offspring are relatively unclear. Thus far, these mechanisms include permanent structural changes to the organ caused by suboptimal levels of an important factor during a critical developmental period, changes in gene expression caused by epigenetic modifications (including DNA methylation, histone modification, and microRNA and permanent changes in cellular ageing. A better understanding of the epigenetic basis of developmental programming and how

  9. Economic stress and low leisure-time physical activity: Two life course hypotheses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Lindström

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The aim was to investigate associations between economic stress in childhood and adulthood, and low leisure-time physical activity (LTPA in adulthood from two life course perspectives. The public health survey in Scania in the southernmost part of Sweden in 2012 is a cross-sectional study based on a stratified random sample with 28,029 respondents aged 18–80 (51.7% response rate. Associations between childhood and adult economic stress, and low LTPA were analyzed with logistic regressions. A 14.8% prevalence of men and 13.5% of women had low LTPA (sedentary lifestyle. Low LTPA was associated with higher age, being born abroad, low socioeconomic status, low trust, smoking, poor self-rated health, and economic stress in childhood and adulthood. The odds ratios of low LTPA increased with more accumulated economic stress across the life course in a dose-response relationship. There was no specific critical period (childhood or adulthood, because economic stress in childhood and adulthood were both associated with low LTPA but the associations were attenuated after the introduction of smoking and self-rated health. The accumulation hypothesis was supported because the odds ratios of low LTPA indicated a graded response to life course economic stress. The critical period hypothesis was thus not supported. Economic stress across the life course seems to be associated with low LTPA in adulthood. Keywords: Economic stress, Leisure-time physical activity, Accumulation, Critical period, Social capital, Sweden

  10. SHARPSports mental Health Awareness Research Project: Prevalence and risk factors of depressive symptoms and life stress in elite athletes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beable, Sarah; Fulcher, Mark; Lee, Arier C; Hamilton, Bruce

    2017-12-01

    Our study aims to estimate the prevalence of symptoms of depression and daily life hassles in elite athletes. A cross-sectional prospective epidemiological study design. An online anonymous survey was administered during a 2-month period from May to July 2015. Athletes 18 years of age (or older) who were members of the High Performance Sport New Zealand programme were invited to participate. Of 370 potential participants, 187 completed responses were received (51%). Symptoms of depression were measured by the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale-Revised (CESD-R). Life stress was measured by the Daily Hassles Questionnaire. Overall 21% (n=39) of participants reported symptoms consistent with depression. Only 2 of the 39 athletes were currently taking an anti-depressant medication. Those contemplating retirement, partaking in individual sport, and who were less than 25 years old had significantly increased odds of experiencing depression. Reported life stressors were higher in females, in those who play an individual sport and those in a centralised programme. There was a significant correlation between higher levels of life stress and experiencing depressive symptoms. This study highlights that depressive symptoms are prevalent in elite athletes with multiple potential risk factors identified including high life stress. These variables warrant further exploration to enable the early identification of athletes with depressive symptoms, screening and support for elite athletes. Copyright © 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Signalling fiscal stress in the euro area - a country-specific early warning system

    OpenAIRE

    Hernández de Cos, Pablo; Koester, Gerrit B.; Moral-Benito, Enrique; Nickel, Christiane

    2014-01-01

    The sovereign debt crisis in the euro area has increased the interest in early warning indicators, with the aim to indicate the build?up of fiscal stress early on and to facilitate crisis prevention by a timely counteraction of fiscal and macroeconomic policies. This paper presents possible improvements to enhance existing early warning indicators for fiscal stress, especially for the euro area. We show that a country?specific approach could strongly increase the signalling power of early war...

  12. Early life exposures and risk of atopy among Danish children

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, SF; Ulrik, Charlotte Suppli; Porsbjerg, C

    2006-01-01

    A large proportion of atopy develops in childhood and early life exposures are suspected to play a considerable role in the inception. The aim of this study was to examine the association between early life exposures and development of atopic disease in children. We performed a case-cohort study...... to be independent of familial predisposition to atopic disease and significantly increases the likelihood for development of atopy in genetically susceptible individuals. Parental knowledge of atopic heredity significantly influences smoking and breast-feeding habits....... of a random population-based sample of children (n = 480) 7-17 years of age, living in urban Copenhagen, Denmark. Information on breast-feeding, supplementation, wheezy bronchitis, use of antibiotics, and parental smoking during pregnancy and in early life was obtained retrospectively by questionnaire. Skin...

  13. Effects of Aerobic Exercise Training on Stress Reactivity in Every-Day Life

    OpenAIRE

    Haaren, Birte von

    2015-01-01

    The current thesis investigated the effects of a 20-week aerobic exercise training on physiological and emotional responses to real-life stress using a randomized, controlled trial and an inactive sample. To assess participants' physiological and psychological responses during everyday life, ambulatory assessment was used. In summary, the present thesis provides empirical support that regular exercise can lead to improved emotional and physiological responses during real-life stress.

  14. Early life stress elicits visceral hyperalgesia and functional reorganization of pain circuits in adult rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D.P. Holschneider

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Early life stress (ELS is a risk factor for developing functional gastrointestinal disorders, and has been proposed to be related to a central amplification of sensory input and resultant visceral hyperalgesia. We sought to characterize ELS-related changes in functional brain responses during acute noxious visceral stimulation. Neonatal rats (males/females were exposed to limited bedding (ELS or standard bedding (controls on postnatal days 2–9. Age 10–11 weeks, animals were implanted with venous cannulas and transmitters for abdominal electromyography (EMG. Cerebral blood flow (rCBF was mapped during colorectal distension (CRD using [14C]-iodoantipyrine autoradiography, and analyzed in three-dimensionally reconstructed brains by statistical parametric mapping and functional connectivity. EMG responses to CRD were increased after ELS, with no evidence of a sex difference. ELS rats compared to controls showed a greater significant positive correlation of EMG with amygdalar rCBF. Factorial analysis revealed a significant main effect of ‘ELS’ on functional activation of nodes within the pain pathway (somatosensory, insular, cingulate and prefrontal cortices, locus coeruleus/lateral parabrachial n. [LC/LPB], periaqueductal gray, sensory thalamus, as well as in the amygdala, hippocampus and hypothalamus. In addition, ELS resulted in an increase in the number of significant functional connections (i.e. degree centrality between regions within the pain circuit, including the amygdala, LC/LPB, insula, anterior ventral cingulate, posterior cingulate (retrosplenium, and stria terminalis, with decreases noted in the sensory thalamus and the hippocampus. Sex differences in rCBF were less broadly expressed, with significant differences noted at the level of the cortex, amygdala, dorsal hippocampus, raphe, sensory thalamus, and caudate-putamen. ELS showed a sexually dimorphic effect (‘Sex x ELS’ interaction at the LC/LPB complex, globus pallidus

  15. Emotional learning, stress, and development: An ever-changing landscape shaped by early-life experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pattwell, Siobhan S; Bath, Kevin G

    2017-09-01

    The capacity to learn to associate cues with negative outcomes is a highly adaptive process that appears to be conserved across species. However, when the cue is no longer a valid predictor of danger, but the emotional response persists, this can result in maladaptive behaviors, and in humans contribute to debilitating emotional disorders. Over the past several decades, work in neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, and biology have uncovered key processes underlying, and structures governing, emotional responding and learning, as well as identified disruptions in the structural and functional integrity of these brain regions in models of pathology. In this review, we highlight some of this elegant body of work as well as incorporate emerging findings from the field of developmental neurobiology to emphasize how development contributes to changes in the ability to learn and express emotional responses, and how early experiences, such as stress, shape the development and functioning of these circuits. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Voice, stress, work and quality of life of soccer coaches and physical trainers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penteado, Regina Zanella; Silva, Noelle Bernardi da; Montebello, Maria Imaculada de Lima

    2015-01-01

    To assess aspects related to work, stress and quality of life related to voice in soccer coaches (C) and physical trainers (T), comparing the categories. Qualitative and quantitative studies with 13 C and 13 T of teams competing in Phase One of the highest level (Série A ) of the 2012 Campeonato Paulista (São Paulo State Soccer Championship). The questions were open ended and related to complaints, difficulties, and/or problems regarding voice use during work and to the relations between voice, work, stress, and quality of life. Stress at work was analyzed by the Job Stress Scale (JSS) questionnaire. The perception of the impact of the voice on quality of life was evaluated by the Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) protocol. The answers to the questions were transcribed and submitted to content analysis, and regarding the questionnaire, descriptive data and analytical statistics were used. Content analysis showed lack of preparation for voice care; voice complaints; and intense vocal use demand under stressful work, in addition to the absence of healthy habits and social/family support. The JSS dimensions showed that the Active Work situation and the high V-RQOL scores are compatible with vocal health without complaints. There were no statistical differences between the categories. Both categories reported complaints/problems linked to professional voice use and stressful workload. However, the perception of vocal impact on the quality of life was positive, and the analysis of stress at work resulted in "good" and favorable conditions. The relationship between voice, work, stress, and quality of life in both the categories require further investigations.

  17. Chronic daily headache: stress and impact on the quality of life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galego, José Carlos Busto; Moraes, Avelina Maria; Cordeiro, José Antonio; Tognola, Waldir Antonio

    2007-12-01

    To evaluate the stress presence and its influence in the quality of life of patients with chronic daily headache (CDH). A hundred patients with at least 18 years old, with primary headache with duration greater than 4 hours a day, and frequency of 15 or more days monthly for at least three months were studied. Lipp's Inventory of Stress Symptoms and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36) were used. Stress was observed in 90% of the patients; nearly half of them was in the phase almost exhaustion. Patients with stress when compared with the ones with no stress presented significantly lower scores in all the domains of SF-36; except in physical functioning. The resistance phase presented scores significantly higher than almost exhaustion; except for bodily pain. The majority of the patients presented stress with significant reduction in their quality of life. Consequently, the stress could be related with both the development and the maintenance of CDH.

  18. Herbal supplement extends life span under some environmental conditions and boosts stress resistance.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bryant Villeponteau

    Full Text Available Genetic studies indicate that aging is modulated by a great number of genetic pathways. We have used Drosophila longevity and stress assays to test a multipath intervention strategy. To carry out this strategy, we supplemented the flies with herbal extracts (SC100 that are predicted to modulate the expression of many genes involved in aging and stress resistance, such as mTOR, NOS, NF-KappaB, and VEGF. When flies were housed in large cages with SC100 added, daily mortality rates of both male and female flies were greatly diminished in mid to late life. Surprisingly, SC100 also stabilized midlife mortality rate increases so as to extend the maximum life span substantially beyond the limits previously reported for D. melanogaster. Under these conditions, SC100 also promoted robust resistance to partial starvation stress and to heat stress. Fertility was the same initially in both treated and control flies, but it became significantly higher in treated flies at older ages as the fertility of control flies declined. Mean and maximum life spans of flies in vials at the same test site were also extended by SC100, but the life spans were short in absolute terms. In contrast, at an independent test site where stress was minimized, the flies exhibited much longer mean life spans, but the survival curves became highly rectangular and the effects of SC100 on both mean and maximum life spans declined greatly or were abolished. The data indicate that SC100 is a novel herbal mix with striking effects on enhancing Drosophila stress resistance and life span in some environments, while minimizing mid to late life mortality rates. They also show that the environment and other factors can have transformative effects on both the length and distribution of survivorship, and on the ability of SC100 to extend the life span.

  19. Cortisol Stress Response Variability in Early Adolescence Attachment, Affect and Sex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cameron, Catherine Ann; McKay, Stacey; Susman, Elizabeth J.; Wynne-Edwards, Katherine; Wright, Joan M.; Weinberg, Joanne

    2017-01-01

    Attachment, affect, and sex shape responsivity to psychosocial stress. Concurrent social contexts influence cortisol secretion, a stress hormone and biological marker of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity. Patterns of attachment, emotion status, and sex were hypothesized to relate to bifurcated, that is, accentuated and attenuated, cortisol reactivity. The theoretical framework for this study posits that multiple individual differences mediate a cortisol stress response. The effects of two psychosocial stress interventions, a modified Trier Social Stress Test for Teens and the Frustration Social Stressor for Adolescents were developed and investigated with early adolescents. Both of these protocols induced a significant stress reaction and evoked predicted bifurcation in cortisol responses; an increase or decrease from baseline to reactivity. In Study I, 120 predominantly middle-class, Euro-Canadian early adolescents with a mean age of 13.43 years were studied. The girls' attenuated cortisol reactivity to the public performance stressor related significantly to their self-reported lower maternal-attachment and higher trait-anger. In Study II, a community sample of 146 predominantly Euro-Canadian middle-class youth, with an average age of 14.5 years participated. Their self-reports of higher trait-anger and trait-anxiety, and lower parental attachment by both sexes related differentially to accentuated and attenuated cortisol reactivity to the frustration stressor. Thus, attachment, affect, sex, and the stressor contextual factors were associated with the adrenal-cortical responses of these adolescents through complex interactions. Further studies of individual differences in physiological responses to stress are called for in order to clarify the identities of concurrent protective and risk factors in the psychosocial stress and physiological stress responses of early adolescents. PMID:27468997

  20. Cortisol Stress Response Variability in Early Adolescence: Attachment, Affect and Sex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cameron, Catherine Ann; McKay, Stacey; Susman, Elizabeth J; Wynne-Edwards, Katherine; Wright, Joan M; Weinberg, Joanne

    2017-01-01

    Attachment, affect, and sex shape responsivity to psychosocial stress. Concurrent social contexts influence cortisol secretion, a stress hormone and biological marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. Patterns of attachment, emotion status, and sex were hypothesized to relate to bifurcated, that is, accentuated and attenuated, cortisol reactivity. The theoretical framework for this study posits that multiple individual differences mediate a cortisol stress response. The effects of two psychosocial stress interventions, a modified Trier Social Stress Test for Teens and the Frustration Social Stressor for Adolescents were developed and investigated with early adolescents. Both of these protocols induced a significant stress reaction and evoked predicted bifurcation in cortisol responses; an increase or decrease from baseline to reactivity. In Study I, 120 predominantly middle-class, Euro-Canadian early adolescents with a mean age of 13.43 years were studied. The girls' attenuated cortisol reactivity to the public performance stressor related significantly to their self-reported lower maternal-attachment and higher trait-anger. In Study II, a community sample of 146 predominantly Euro-Canadian middle-class youth, with an average age of 14.5 years participated. Their self-reports of higher trait-anger and trait-anxiety, and lower parental attachment by both sexes related differentially to accentuated and attenuated cortisol reactivity to the frustration stressor. Thus, attachment, affect, sex, and the stressor contextual factors were associated with the adrenal-cortical responses of these adolescents through complex interactions. Further studies of individual differences in physiological responses to stress are called for in order to clarify the identities of concurrent protective and risk factors in the psychosocial stress and physiological stress responses of early adolescents.

  1. Neuroepigenetics of stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, B B; Hunter, R G

    2014-09-05

    Stress, a common if unpredictable life event, can have pronounced effects on physiology and behavior. Individuals show wide variation in stress susceptibility and resilience, which are only partially explained by variations in coding genes. Developmental programing of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal stress axis provides part of the explanation for this variance. Epigenetic approaches have successfully helped fill the explanatory gaps between the influences of gene and environment on stress responsiveness, and differences in the sequelae of stress across individuals and generations. Stress and the stress axis interacts bi-directionally with epigenetic marks within the brain. It is now clear that exposure to stress, particularly in early life, has both acute and lasting effects on these marks. They in turn influence cognitive function and behavior, as well as the risk for suicide and psychiatric disorders across the lifespan and, in some cases, unto future generations. Copyright © 2014 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and life satisfaction in Greenlandic adults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zaragoza Scherman, Alejandra

    2017-01-01

    problems or a sense of wellbeing. In this study, a group of 137 Greenlandic adults completed measures of depression, PTSD, and life satisfaction. In addition, they also provided memories of traumatic or stressful and positive life events they had xperienced during their lives. No sex differences were found......Suicide is a major public health problem in Greenland. Despite the fact that suicide is highly associated with depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and life satisfaction there are virtually no data about the extent to which Greenlandic individuals experience these mental health...

  3. Molecular insights into the mechanisms of liver-associated diseases in early-lactating dairy cows: hypothetical role of endoplasmic reticulum stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ringseis, R; Gessner, D K; Eder, K

    2015-08-01

    The transition period represents the most critical period in the productive life of high-yielding dairy cows due to both metabolic and inflammatory stimuli, which challenge the liver and predispose dairy cows to develop liver-associated diseases such as fatty liver and ketosis. Despite the fact that all high-yielding dairy cows are affected by marked metabolic stress due to a severe negative energy balance (NEB) during early lactation, not all cows develop liver-associated diseases. Although the reason for this is largely unknown, this indicates that the capacity of the liver to cope with metabolic and inflammatory challenges varies between individual high-yielding dairy cows. Convincing evidence exists that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress plays a key role in the development of fatty liver, and it has been recently shown that ER stress occurs in the liver of high-yielding dairy cows. This indicates that ER stress may be involved in the development of liver-associated diseases in dairy cows. The present review shows that the liver of dairy cows during early lactation is exposed to several metabolic and inflammatory challenges, such as non-esterified fatty acids, tumour necrosis factor α, interleukin-1β, reactive oxygen species and lipopolysaccharides, which are known inducers of ER stress. Thus, ER stress may represent a molecular basis for fatty liver development and account for the frequent occurrence of fatty liver and ketosis in high-yielding dairy cows. Interindividual differences between dairy cows in the activation of hepatic stress response pathways, such as nuclear factor E2-related factor 2, which is activated during ER stress and reduces the sensitivity of tissues to oxidative and inflammatory damage, might provide an explanation at the molecular level for differences in the capacity to cope with pathological inflammatory challenges during early lactation and the susceptibility to develop liver-associated diseases between early-lactating dairy cows

  4. Reevaluation of the stress-life relation in rolling-element bearings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, R. J.; Zaretsky, E. V.

    1972-01-01

    Four groups of 12.7 millimeter diameter vacuum-degassed AISI 52100 balls were tested, each at a maximum Hertz stress in the range of 4.5 times 10 to 9th power to 6.0 times 10 to 9th power N/m2. Tests were run in the five-ball fatigue tester at a contact angle of 30 deg and a shaft speed of 10,000 rpm. The 10 percent fatigue lives at the four stress levels indicated that fatigue life is inversely proportional to maximum Hertz stress raised to the power of 12. This result agrees with a survey of the literature which suggests that a stress-life exponent of approximately 12 is typical of vacuum-processed bearing steels rather than the exponent of 9 which has been generally accepted by the bearing industry.

  5. Early evolution without a tree of life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, William F

    2011-06-30

    Life is a chemical reaction. Three major transitions in early evolution are considered without recourse to a tree of life. The origin of prokaryotes required a steady supply of energy and electrons, probably in the form of molecular hydrogen stemming from serpentinization. Microbial genome evolution is not a treelike process because of lateral gene transfer and the endosymbiotic origins of organelles. The lack of true intermediates in the prokaryote-to-eukaryote transition has a bioenergetic cause.

  6. Having the Time of Their Life: College Student Stress, Dating and Satisfaction with Life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coccia, Catherine; Darling, Carol A

    2016-02-01

    A cross-sectional design based on the family ecosystem framework was used to examine how students' time spent engaging in social interactions and personal behaviours was related to dating, stress and satisfaction with life. The data were extracted from the Parental Indulgence of Emerging Adults study and consisted of 534 students at a southeastern university. The findings indicated that the amount of time involved in non-verbal social interactions, such as texting and social networking, along with solitary activities, such as watching TV and studying, was negatively related to students' life satisfaction. In comparison, being in a relationship and talking to people on the phone were positively related to students' life satisfaction. These results have implications for family and health professionals along with university wellness centres that facilitate student health by incorporating preventative measures to help students deal with their stress. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. A reliability based stress-life evaluation of aluminium-graphite particulate composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Achutha, M.V.; Sridhara, B.K.; Abdul Budan, D.

    2008-01-01

    Fatigue tests were conducted on sand cast aluminium-graphite composite specimens on Rotating Beam Fatigue Testing Machine with three different stress levels. Aluminium-graphite (LM 25-5% graphite) composite was processed by closed mould sand casting method. Three-stress level fatigue test program was planned for carrying out fatigue experiments. Three different stress levels selected for fatigue experiments were a fraction of ultimate tensile strength. Statistical design of fatigue experiments was carried out to determine the sample size at each stress level. Experimental results are presented in the form of stress-life (S-N) curves and reliability-stress-life (R-S-N) curves, which are helpful for designers. The S-N curve of the aluminium-graphite composite was compared with its matrix alloy LM 25. Comparison revealed that the fatigue behaviour of the aluminium-graphite composite is superior to that of the matrix alloy

  8. High early life stress and aberrant amygdala activity: risk factors for elevated neuropsychiatric symptoms in HIV+ adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Uraina S; Sweet, Lawrence H; Morgello, Susan; Philip, Noah S; Cohen, Ronald A

    2017-06-01

    Relative to HIV-negative adults, HIV+ adults report elevated levels of early life stress (ELS). In non-HIV samples, high ELS has been linked to abnormalities in brain structure and function, as well as increased risk of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Yet, little is known about the neural effects of high ELS, and their relation to elevated neuropsychiatric symptoms, in HIV+ adults. Recent studies have revealed combined effects of HIV and high ELS on amygdala morphometry. Aberrant amygdala activity is prominently implicated in studies of neuropsychiatric symptomology in non-HIV samples. Hence, this preliminary study examined: 1) the combined effects of HIV and high ELS on amygdala activity, and 2) the relation between amygdala activity and neuropsychiatric symptoms in HIV+ adults. We included 28 HIV+ adults and 25 demographically-matched HIV-negative control (HC) adults. ELS exposure was quantified using a retrospective ELS questionnaire, which defined four groups: HIV+ Low-ELS (N = 15); HIV+ High-ELS (N = 13); HC Low-ELS (N = 16); and HC High-ELS (N = 9). Participants completed a battery of neuropsychiatric measures. BOLD fMRI assessed amygdala reactivity during explicit observation of fearful/angry faces. High-ELS participants demonstrated reduced levels of amygdala reactivity relative to Low-ELS participants. HIV+ High-ELS participants reported higher levels of neuropsychiatric symptoms than all other groups. In the HIV+ group, lower amygdala responses were associated with higher neuropsychiatric symptoms, particularly depression, anxiety, and alexithymia. Collectively, these results suggest that high ELS exposure is a significant risk factor for neuropsychiatric symptoms in HIV+ adults. Furthermore, our results implicate ELS-related abnormalities in amygdala activity in the etiology of neuropsychiatric symptoms in HIV+ adults.

  9. Specific synbiotics in early life protect against diet-induced obesity in adult mice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mischke, Mona; Arora, Tulika; Tims, Sebastian; Engels, Eefje; Sommer, Nina; Limpt, van Kees; Baars, Annemarie; Oozeer, Raish; Oosting, Annemarie; Bäckhed, Fredrik; Knol, Jan

    2018-01-01

    Aims: The metabolic state of human adults is associated with their gut microbiome. The symbiosis between host and microbiome is initiated at birth, and early life microbiome perturbation can disturb health throughout life. Here, we determined how beneficial microbiome interventions in early life

  10. Early Stress History Alters Serum Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 and Impairs Muscle Mitochondrial Function in Adult Male Rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, S; Banerjee, K K; Vaidya, V A; Kolthur-Seetharam, U

    2016-09-01

    Early-life adversity is associated with an enhanced risk for adult psychopathology. Psychiatric disorders such as depression exhibit comorbidity for metabolic dysfunction, including obesity and diabetes. However, it is poorly understood whether, besides altering anxiety and depression-like behaviour, early stress also evokes dysregulation of metabolic pathways and enhances vulnerability for metabolic disorders. We used the rodent model of the early stress of maternal separation (ES) to examine the effects of early stress on serum metabolites, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 signalling, and muscle mitochondrial content. Adult ES animals exhibited dyslipidaemia, decreased serum IGF1 levels, increased expression of liver IGF binding proteins, and a decline in the expression of specific metabolic genes in the liver and muscle, including Pck1, Lpl, Pdk4 and Hmox1. These changes occurred in the absence of alterations in body weight, food intake, glucose tolerance, insulin tolerance or insulin levels. ES animals also exhibited a decline in markers of muscle mitochondrial content, such as mitochondrial DNA levels and expression of TFAM (transcription factor A, mitochondrial). Furthermore, the expression of several genes involved in mitochondrial function, such as Ppargc1a, Nrf1, Tfam, Cat, Sesn3 and Ucp3, was reduced in skeletal muscle. Adult-onset chronic unpredictable stress resulted in overlapping and distinct consequences from ES, including increased circulating triglyceride levels, and a decline in the expression of specific metabolic genes in the liver and muscle, with no change in the expression of genes involved in muscle mitochondrial function. Taken together, our results indicate that a history of early adversity can evoke persistent changes in circulating IGF-1 and muscle mitochondrial function and content, which could serve to enhance predisposition for metabolic dysfunction in adulthood. © 2016 British Society for Neuroendocrinology.

  11. PER1 rs3027172 Genotype Interacts with Early Life Stress to Predict Problematic Alcohol Use, but Not Reward-Related Ventral Striatum Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baranger, David A. A.; Ifrah, Chloé; Prather, Aric A.; Carey, Caitlin E.; Corral-Frías, Nadia S.; Drabant Conley, Emily; Hariri, Ahmad R.; Bogdan, Ryan

    2016-01-01

    Increasing evidence suggests that the circadian and stress regulatory systems contribute to alcohol use disorder (AUD) risk, which may partially arise through effects on reward-related neural function. The C allele of the PER1 rs3027172 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) reduces PER1 expression in cells incubated with cortisol and has been associated with increased risk for adult AUD and problematic drinking among adolescents exposed to high levels of familial psychosocial adversity. Using data from undergraduate students who completed the ongoing Duke Neurogenetics Study (DNS) (n = 665), we tested whether exposure to early life stress (ELS; Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) moderates the association between rs3027172 genotype and later problematic alcohol use (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) as well as ventral striatum (VS) reactivity to reward (card-guessing task while functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired). Initial analyses found that PER1 rs3027172 genotype interacted with ELS to predict both problematic drinking and VS reactivity; minor C allele carriers, who were also exposed to elevated ELS reported greater problematic drinking and exhibited greater ventral striatum reactivity to reward-related stimuli. When gene × covariate and environment × covariate interactions were controlled for, the interaction predicting problematic alcohol use remained significant (p < 0.05, corrected) while the interaction predicting VS reactivity was no longer significant. These results extend our understanding of relationships between PER1 genotype, ELS, and problematic alcohol use, and serve as a cautionary tale on the importance of controlling for potential confounders in studies of moderation including gene × environment interactions. PMID:27065929

  12. Early-Life Food Nutrition, Microbiota Maturation and Immune Development Shape Life-Long Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xiaoli; Du, Lina; Shi, Ronghua; Chen, Zhidong; Zhou, Yiming; Li, Zongjie

    2018-06-06

    The current knowledge about early-life nutrition and environmental factors that affect the interaction between the symbiotic microbiota and the host immune system has demonstrated novel regulatory target for treating allergic diseases, autoimmune disorders and metabolic syndrome. Various kinds of food nutrients (such as dietary fiber, starch, polyphenols and proteins) can provide energy resources for both intestinal microbiota and the host. The indigestible food components are fermented by the indigenous gut microbiota to produce diverse metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids, bile acids and trimethylamine-N-oxide, which can regulate the host metabolized physiology, immunity homeostasis and health state. Therefore it is commonly believed early-life perturbation of the microbial community structure and the dietary nutrition interference on the child mucosal immunity contribute to the whole life susceptibility to chronic diseases. In all, the combined interrelationship between food ingredients nutrition, intestinal microbiota configurations and host system immunity provides new therapeutic targets to treat various kinds of pathogenic inflammations and chronic diseases.

  13. Stress-life interrelationships associated with alkaline fuel cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thaller, Lawrence H.; Martin, Ronald E.; Stedman, James K.

    1987-01-01

    A review is presented concerning the interrelationships between applied stress and the expected service life of alkaline fuel cells. Only the physical, chemical, and electrochemical phenomena that take place within the fuel cell stack portion of an overall fuel cell system will be discussed. A brief review will be given covering the significant improvements in performance and life over the past two decades as well as summarizing the more recent advances in understanding which can be used to predict the performance and life characteristics of fuel cell systems that have yet to be built.

  14. Early feeding and early life housing conditions influence the response towards a noninfectious lung challenge in broilers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, K; de Vries Reilingh, G; Bolhuis, J E; Kemp, B; Lammers, A

    2015-09-01

    Early life conditions such as feed and water availability immediately post hatch (PH) and housing conditions may influence immune development and therefore immune reactivity later in life. The current study addressed the consequences of a combination of these 2 early life conditions for immune reactivity, i.e., the specific antibody response towards a non-infectious lung challenge. Broiler chicks received feed and water either immediately p.h. or with a 72 h delay and were either reared in a floor or a cage system. At 4 weeks of age, chicks received either an intra-tracheally administered Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/Human Serum Albumin (HUSA) challenge or a placebo, and antibody titers were measured up to day 14 after administration of the challenge. Chicks housed on the floor and which had a delayed access to feed p.h. showed the highest antibody titers against HuSA. These chicks also showed the strongest sickness response and poorest performance in response to the challenge, indicating that chicks with delayed access to feed might be more sensitive to an environment with higher antigenic pressure. In conclusion, results from the present study show that early life feeding strategy and housing conditions influence a chick's response to an immune challenge later in life. These 2 early life factors should therefore be taken into account when striving for a balance between disease resistance and performance in poultry. © 2015 Poultry Science Association Inc.

  15. association between early life malnutrition and the size of lumbar ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective: To determine the relationship between early life malnutrition and the development of lumbar ... incriminate such predictors as poverty, aridity and human development which can be reduced ..... relationship with early childhood caries.

  16. FERTILITY INTENTIONS AND EARLY LIFE HEALTH STRESS AMONG WOMEN IN EIGHT INDIAN CITIES: TESTING THE REPRODUCTIVE ACCELERATION HYPOTHESIS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulathinal, Sangita; Säävälä, Minna

    2015-09-01

    In life history theory, early life adversity is associated with an accelerated reproductive tempo. In harsh and unpredictable conditions in developing societies fertility is generally higher and the reproductive tempo faster than in more secure environments. This paper examines whether differences in female anthropometry, particularly adult height, are associated with fertility intentions of women in urban environments in India. The study population consists of women aged 15-29 (N=4485) in slums and non-slums of eight Indian cities in the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) of 2005-2006. Adult height is taken as a proxy for early childhood health and nutritional condition. Fertility intentions are examined by using two variables: the desire to have a child or another child, and to have it relatively soon, as indicative of accelerated reproductive scheduling. Evidence supporting the acceleration hypothesis is found in two urban frames out of 26 examined in a two-staged multinomial logistic model. In three cases, the relationship between fertility intentions and height is the opposite than expected by the acceleration hypothesis: taller women have a higher predictive probability of desiring a(nother) child and/or narrower birth spacing. Potential explanations for the partly contradictory relationship between the childhood health indicator and fertility intentions are discussed.

  17. Major stressful life events in adulthood and risk of multiple sclerosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Nete Munk; Bager, Peter; Simonsen, Jacob

    2014-01-01

    It is unclear whether psychological stress is associated with increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS). We studied the association between major stressful life events and MS in a nationwide cohort study using death of a child or a spouse or marital dissolution as indicators of severe stress....

  18. Negative cognitive style and cortisol recovery accentuate the relationship between life stress and depressive symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinn, Meghan E; Grant, Kathryn E; Adam, Emma K

    2018-03-01

    When exposed to stressful life events, a significant number of adolescents will experience depressive symptoms. One model of depression suggests that individuals with a negative cognitive style are most vulnerable to depression following life stress. Alternatively, altered activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis may explain vulnerability to depression following life stress. Each of these models plausibly explains the emergence of depressive symptoms during adolescence and have been investigated largely independently. The current study recruited a sample of urban adolescents (N = 179) to evaluate whether cortisol response to a laboratory stress induction and negative cognitive style are related and whether they independently interact with exposure to stressful life events to predict symptoms of depression. Negative cognitive style was not associated with cortisol response to the laboratory stressor. Rather, negative cognitive style and cortisol recovery independently interacted with stressful life events to predict current symptoms of depression. Results support a heterogeneous etiology of depression.

  19. Effects of Meditation versus Music Listening on Perceived Stress, Mood, Sleep, and Quality of Life in Adults with Early Memory Loss: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Innes, Kim E; Selfe, Terry Kit; Khalsa, Dharma Singh; Kandati, Sahiti

    2016-04-08

    Older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) are at increased risk not only for Alzheimer's disease, but for poor mental health, impaired sleep, and diminished quality of life (QOL), which in turn, contribute to further cognitive decline, highlighting the need for early intervention. In this randomized controlled trial, we assessed the effects of two 12-week relaxation programs, Kirtan Kriya Meditation (KK) and music listening (ML), on perceived stress, sleep, mood, and health-related QOL in older adults with SCD. Sixty community-dwelling older adults with SCD were randomized to a KK or ML program and asked to practice 12 minutes daily for 12 weeks, then at their discretion for the following 3 months. At baseline, 12 weeks, and 26 weeks, perceived stress, mood, psychological well-being, sleep quality, and health-related QOL were measured using well-validated instruments. Fifty-three participants (88%) completed the 6-month study. Participants in both groups showed significant improvement at 12 weeks in psychological well-being and in multiple domains of mood and sleep quality (p's≤0.05). Relative to ML, those assigned to KK showed greater gains in perceived stress, mood, psychological well-being, and QOL-Mental Health (p's≤0.09). Observed gains were sustained or improved at 6 months, with both groups showing marked and significant improvement in all outcomes. Changes were unrelated to treatment expectancies. Findings suggest that practice of a simple meditation or ML program may improve stress, mood, well-being, sleep, and QOL in adults with SCD, with benefits sustained at 6 months and gains that were particularly pronounced in the KK group.

  20. Early-life experiences and the development of adult diseases with a focus on mental illness: The Human Birth Theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maccari, Stefania; Polese, Daniela; Reynaert, Marie-Line; Amici, Tiziana; Morley-Fletcher, Sara; Fagioli, Francesca

    2017-02-07

    In mammals, early adverse experiences, including mother-pup interactions, shape the response of an individual to chronic stress or to stress-related diseases during adult life. This has led to the elaboration of the theory of the developmental origins of health and disease, in particular adult diseases such as cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. In addition, in humans, as stated by Massimo Fagioli's Human Birth Theory, birth is healthy and equal for all individuals, so that mental illness develop exclusively in the postnatal period because of the quality of the relationship in the first year of life. Thus, this review focuses on the importance of programming during the early developmental period on the manifestation of adult diseases in both animal models and humans. Considering the obvious differences between animals and humans we cannot systematically move from animal models to humans. Consequently, in the first part of this review, we will discuss how animal models can be used to dissect the influence of adverse events occurring during the prenatal and postnatal periods on the developmental trajectories of the offspring, and in the second part, we will discuss the role of postnatal critical periods on the development of mental diseases in humans. Epigenetic mechanisms that cause reversible modifications in gene expression, driving the development of a pathological phenotype in response to a negative early postnatal environment, may lie at the core of this programming, thereby providing potential new therapeutic targets. The concept of the Human Birth Theory leads to a comprehension of the mental illness as a pathology of the human relationship immediately after birth and during the first year of life. Copyright © 2016 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Impacts of triclosan exposure on zebrafish early-life stage: Toxicity and acclimation mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falisse, Elodie; Voisin, Anne-Sophie; Silvestre, Frédéric

    2017-08-01

    Triclosan (TCS) is a broad spectrum antibacterial agent widely used in personal care products and present in most aquatic ecosystems. This study investigated the occurrence of triclosan acclimation and the biological mechanisms underlying the stress response triggered in early-life stage of zebrafish. Zebrafish eggs were first exposed to four different sublethal concentrations of TCS (2, 20, 50 and 100μg/L) for 7days following fertilization and subsequently exposed to a lethal concentration of TCS (1000μg/L). During the time-to-death exposure (TTD), mortality was continuously recorded to evaluate if increased resistance occurred. Overall, larvae exposed to 50μg/L of TCS demonstrated higher sensitivity, with delayed hatching and increased mortality during the sub-lethal exposure and significant lower mean time-to-death (TTD) value compared to the other groups. Interestingly, fish exposed to the highest concentration of TCS (100μg/L) presented a similar mean TTD value as controls and a significantly better survival in comparison with embryos exposed to 50μg/L, suggesting that acclimation process has been triggered at this concentration. Proteomic and enzymatic analyses were conducted on 7days post fertilization (dpf) larvae exposed to 50μg/L and 100μg/L of TCS giving insights into the functional changes triggered at those specific concentrations. TCS seemed to affect proteins involved in cytoskeleton, stress response, eyes and neuronal development. This was endorsed by the enzymatic results, which suggest impairment in glutathione metabolism and acute neurotoxicity. A significant 2.5-fold and 3-fold increase of AChE activity was observed following TCS exposure. Moreover, GPx activity was significantly increased whereas a significant inhibition of GR activity was observed, suggesting that de novo synthesis of reduced GSH might occur in order to maintain the ratio between reduced and oxidized GSH. Proteomic results revealed possible candidate protein involved in

  2. Early life stress- and sex-dependent effects on hippocampal neurogenesis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lucassen, P.J.; Korosi, A.; Krugers, H.J.; Oomen, C.A.; Fink, G.

    2017-01-01

    Neurogenesis refers to the birth of new neurons in an adult brain, a form of structural plasticity that has been implicated in cognition, mood, and anxiety, and is well regulated by environmental and hormonal factors. Exposure to stress (hormones) generally inhibits neurogenesis. Here, we discuss

  3. Endocrine disruptors and the breast: early life effects and later life disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macon, Madisa B; Fenton, Suzanne E

    2013-03-01

    Breast cancer risk has both heritable and environment/lifestyle components. The heritable component is a small contribution (5-27 %), leaving the majority of risk to environment (e.g., applied chemicals, food residues, occupational hazards, pharmaceuticals, stress) and lifestyle (e.g., physical activity, cosmetics, water source, alcohol, smoking). However, these factors are not well-defined, primarily due to the enormous number of factors to be considered. In both humans and rodent models, environmental factors that act as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) have been shown to disrupt normal mammary development and lead to adverse lifelong consequences, especially when exposures occur during early life. EDCs can act directly or indirectly on mammary tissue to increase sensitivity to chemical carcinogens or enhance development of hyperplasia, beaded ducts, or tumors. Protective effects have also been reported. The mechanisms for these changes are not well understood. Environmental agents may also act as carcinogens in adult rodent models, directly causing or promoting tumor development, typically in more than one organ. Many of the environmental agents that act as EDCs and are known to affect the breast are discussed. Understanding the mechanism(s) of action for these compounds will be critical to prevent their effects on the breast in the future.

  4. Prevention of overweight and obesity in early life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lanigan, Julie

    2018-05-29

    Childhood obesity is a serious challenge for public health. The problem begins early with most excess childhood weight gained before starting school. In 2016, the WHO estimated that 41 million children under 5 were overweight or obese. Once established, obesity is difficult to reverse, likely to persist into adult life and is associated with increased risk of CVD, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Preventing obesity is therefore of high importance. However, its development is multi-factorial and prevention is a complex challenge. Modifiable lifestyle behaviours such as diet and physical activity are the most well-known determinants of obesity. More recently, early-life factors have emerged as key influencers of obesity in childhood. Understanding risk factors and how they interact is important to inform interventions that aim to prevent obesity in early childhood. Available evidence supports multi-component interventions as effective in obesity prevention. However, relatively few interventions are available in the UK and only one, TrimTots, has been evaluated in randomised controlled trials and shown to be effective at reducing obesity risk in preschool children (age 1-5 years). BMI was lower in children immediately after completing TrimTots compared with waiting list controls and this effect was sustained at long-term follow-up, 2 years after completion. Developing and evaluating complex interventions for obesity prevention is a challenge for clinicians and researchers. In addition, parents encounter barriers engaging with interventions. This review considers early-life risk factors for obesity, highlights evidence for preventative interventions and discusses barriers and facilitators to their success.

  5. DNA methyltransferase 3A gene polymorphism contributes to daily life stress susceptibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barliana MI

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Melisa I Barliana,1,2 Shintya N Amalya,1 Ivan S Pradipta,3 Sofa D Alfian,3 Arif SW Kusuma,1,2 Tiana Milanda,1,4 Rizky Abdulah3,4 1Department of Biological Pharmacy, Biotechnology Pharmacy Laboratory, 2Pharmacy Services Development Research Center, 3Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Clinical Pharmacy Laboratory, 4Center for Drug Discovery and Product Development, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Padjadjaran, Jatinangor, West Java, Indonesia Abstract: Daily life stress markedly affects the response toward stressful stimuli. DNA methy­lation is one of the factors that regulate this response, and is a normal mechanism of somatic cell growth, but its regulatory gene variations may cause alterations in the stress response. The aim of the present study was to investigate genotypic variants of the DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A gene in 129 healthy subjects and evaluate its association with daily life stress. Blood samples were collected, and genomic DNA was isolated. DNA was amplified using specific tetra primers for DNMT3A (C/T rs11683424 and visualized following 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. The association of DNMT3A genetic variants with daily life stress was analyzed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10. We observed that the distribution of subjects with genotype CC (wild type, CT (heteromutant, and TT (homomutant was 13.95%, 81.4%, and 4.65%, respectively. Genetic variations significantly affected the daily life stress condition (p=0.04 in Indonesian healthy subjects, but most of the subjects with the CT phenotype were classified in a stress condition. Keywords: daily life stressor, DNA methylation, epigenetic, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10, rs11683424, DNMT3A

  6. No interactions between genetic polymorphisms and stressful life events on outcome of antidepressant treatment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bukh, Jens Drachmann; Bock, Camilla; Vinberg, Maj

    2009-01-01

    Genetic polymorphisms seem to influence the response on antidepressant treatment and moderate the impact of stress on depression. The present study aimed to assess, whether allelic variants and stressful life events interact on the clinical outcome of depression. In a sample of 290 systematically...... recruited patients diagnosed with a single depressive episode according to ICD-10, we assessed the outcome of antidepressant treatment and the presence of stressful life events in a 6-month period preceding onset of depression by means of structured interviews. Further, we genotyped nine polymorphisms...... dependent on stressful life events experienced by the individual prior to onset of depression....

  7. Social anxiety and negative early life events in university students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binelli, Cynthia; Ortiz, Ana; Muñiz, Armando; Gelabert, Estel; Ferraz, Liliana; S Filho, Alaor; Crippa, José Alexandre S; Nardi, Antonio E; Subirà, Susana; Martín-Santos, Rocío

    2012-06-01

    There is substantial evidence regarding the impact of negative life events during childhood on the aetiology of psychiatric disorders. We examined the association between negative early life events and social anxiety in a sample of 571 Spanish University students. In a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2007, we collected data through a semistructured questionnaire of sociodemographic variables, personal and family psychiatric history, and substance abuse. We assessed the five early negative life events: (i) the loss of someone close, (ii) emotional abuse, (iii) physical abuse, (iv) family violence, and (v) sexual abuse. All participants completed the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale. Mean (SD) age was 21 (4.5), 75% female, LSAS score was 40 (DP = 22), 14.2% had a psychiatric family history and 50.6% had negative life events during childhood. Linear regression analyses, after controlling for age, gender, and family psychiatric history, showed a positive association between family violence and social score (p = 0.03). None of the remaining stressors produced a significant increase in LSAS score (p > 0.05). University students with high levels of social anxiety presented higher prevalence of negative early life events. Thus, childhood family violence could be a risk factor for social anxiety in such a population.

  8. The Effects of Discrimination Experience on Life Satisfaction of North Korean Refugees: Mediating Effect of Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noh, Jin-Won; Park, Hyunchun; Kim, Minji; Kwon, Young Dae; Kim, Jin-Seok; Yu, Shieun

    2018-01-01

    This study investigated the mediation effect of stress between the experience of discrimination and life satisfaction among North Korean refugees who resettled in South Korea. The findings of the current study provide empirical evidence for the need of social interventions to mitigate adverse effects of stress on North Korean refugees who are subject to social discrimination on a daily basis. In this study, we included 500 subjects among 2,138 North Korean refugees who took refuge in South Korea in 2007. The interview started from April 6th 2009 and finished on May 25th 2009. We conducted moderator effect analysis with Path analysis was conducted because we confirm the experience of discrimination was affected by life satisfaction and stress can affected life satisfaction as a moderator. The experience of discrimination significantly affects stress and stress significantly affects life satisfaction. However, the experience of discrimination was not directly related to life satisfaction. The more stress the study respondents experienced, the lower the life satisfaction they reported. The present finding suggests that the effects of discriminating experiences on the life satisfaction of North Korean refugees in South Korea were mediated by their own perceived stress.

  9. The associations between early life circum-stances and later life health and employment in Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Flores, M.; Kalwij, Adriaan

    2014-01-01

    We use data from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe to estimate for thirteen European countries the associations of early life circumstances—measured by childhood health and socioeconomic status (SES)—with educational attainment, and later life health and employment (at ages

  10. Psychological distress and stressful life events in pediatric complex regional pain syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wager, Julia; Brehmer, Hannah; Hirschfeld, Gerrit; Zernikow, Boris

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: There is little knowledge regarding the association between psychological factors and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) in children. Specifically, it is not known which factors precipitate CRPS and which result from the ongoing painful disease. OBJECTIVES: To examine symptoms of depression and anxiety as well as the experience of stressful life events in children with CRPS compared with children with chronic primary headaches and functional abdominal pain. METHODS: A retrospective chart study examined children with CRPS (n=37) who received intensive inpatient pain treatment between 2004 and 2010. They were compared with two control groups (chronic primary headaches and functional abdominal pain; each n=37), who also received intensive inpatient pain treatment. Control groups were matched with the CRPS group with regard to admission date, age and sex. Groups were compared on symptoms of depression and anxiety as well as stressful life events. RESULTS: Children with CRPS reported lower anxiety and depression scores compared with children with abdominal pain. A higher number of stressful life events before and after the onset of the pain condition was observed for children with CRPS. CONCLUSIONS: Children with CRPS are not particularly prone to symptoms of anxiety or depression. Importantly, children with CRPS experienced more stressful life events than children with chronic headaches or abdominal pain. Prospective long-term studies are needed to further explore the potential role of stressful life events in the etiology of CRPS. PMID:26035287

  11. Recent life stress exposure is associated with poorer long-term memory, working memory, and self-reported memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shields, Grant S; Doty, Dominique; Shields, Rebecca H; Gower, Garrett; Slavich, George M; Yonelinas, Andrew P

    2017-11-01

    Although substantial research has examined the effects of stress on cognition, much of this research has focused on acute stress (e.g. manipulated in the laboratory) or chronic stress (e.g. persistent interpersonal or financial difficulties). In contrast, the effects of recent life stress on cognition have been relatively understudied. To address this issue, we examined how recent life stress is associated with long-term, working memory, and self-reported memory in a sample of 142 healthy young adults who were assessed at two time points over a two-week period. Recent life stress was measured using the newly-developed Stress and Adversity Inventory for Daily Stress (Daily STRAIN), which assesses the frequency of relatively common stressful life events and difficulties over the preceding two weeks. To assess memory performance, participants completed both long-term and working memory tasks. Participants also provided self-reports of memory problems. As hypothesized, greater recent life stress exposure was associated with worse performance on measures of long-term and working memory, as well as more self-reported memory problems. These associations were largely robust while controlling for possible confounds, including participants' age, sex, and negative affect. The findings indicate that recent life stress exposure is broadly associated with worse memory. Future studies should thus consider assessing recent life stress as a potential predictor, moderator, or covariate of memory performance.

  12. [The influence of meaning making following stressful life experiences on change of self-concept].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horita, Ryo; Sugie, Masashi

    2013-10-01

    As interest in meaning making following stressful life experiences continues to grow, it is important to clarify the features and functions of the meaning- making process. We examined the influence of meaning making following stressful life experiences on change of self-concept. In two studies, university students selected their most stressful life experience and completed the Assimilation and Accommodation of Meaning Making Scale. In Study 1, 235 university students also completed questionnaires regarding post-traumatic growth and positive change of the sense of identity following their stressful life experience. The results of covariance structure analysis indicated that accommodation promoted a positive change of self-concept. In Study 2, 199 university students completed questionnaires regarding change of self-concept and emotion as a positive or negative change following stressful life experiences. The results of covariance structure analysis indicated that accommodation promoted a positive change, similar to the results of Study 1. In addition, accommodation also promoted negative change. However, assimilation did not promote positive change but did restrain negative change.

  13. Stressful life events and psychological dysfunction in complex regional pain syndrome type I

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geertzen, JHB; de Bruijn-Kofman, AT; de Bruijn, HP; van de Wiel, HBM; Dijkstra, PU

    Objective: To determine to what extent stressful life events and psychological dysfunction play a role in the pathogenesis of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome type I (CRPS). Design: A comparative study between a CRPS group and a control group. Stressful life events and psychological dysfunction

  14. Impact of medical intervention on stress and quality of life in patients with cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vijay Prasad Barre

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Context: Many studies have explored stress and quality of life in (QOL patients with cancer, under several phases of disease and treatment. However, the impact of medical intervention on psychological parameters, such as stress and quality of life focusing on psychological intervention has been sparsely studied. Aims: The main aim of the study was to examine the impact of medical intervention on the level of stress and quality of life of patients with lung, breast, and head and neck cancers. Settings and Design: The study was carried out in hospital settings by following a one-group pre-test-post-test pre-experimental design. Statistical analysis used: The quantitative data were analysed by means of descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, Cohen′s d, and bar graphs accordingly. Results: The effect of medical intervention was medium in case of reduction of overall stress in participants. So far as the components are concerned, the effect was high in case of psychosomatic complaints, medium in case of fear and information deficit, and low in case of everyday life restrictions. The effect of medical intervention in respect of the quality of life was found to be high in case of symptom scale (pain and additional symptoms (constipation; medium in case of functional scale (emotional functioning, cognitive functioning and symptoms scale (nausea, vomiting. In additional symptoms scale the effect of medical intervention was found to be medium in dyspnoea and appetite loss. Conclusions: The findings revealed that though the medical intervention reduced stress and improved the quality of life, it was not instrumental in bringing down the stress to minimal level and enhancing the quality of life to optimum level. Therefore, the findings point to the need of inclusion of psychological intervention along with the medical intervention for minimizing stress and optimizing the quality of life of patients with cancer.

  15. Stressful life events in countries of differing economic development: Nicaragua, Chile, and Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vazquez, José Juan; Panadero, Sonia; Rincón, Paulina Paz

    2007-08-01

    the aim was to describe a study involving 481 psychology students in the last courses of their degrees (M age = 21.9 yr., SD=4.2; 94 men and 386 women) from Nicaragua, Chile, and Spain. The study examined the potential risk of experiencing certain stressful life events, the number of stressors, and their characteristics. Also were analyzed the strength of their relation to social class and stressful life events experienced. Greater presence of stressful life events were reported among people from less developed countries, Chile and Nicaragua, and among people belonging to lower social class.

  16. Developmental post-natal stress can alter the effects of pre-natal stress on the adult redox balance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marasco, Valeria; Spencer, Karen A; Robinson, Jane; Herzyk, Pawel; Costantini, David

    2013-09-15

    Across diverse vertebrate taxa, stressful environmental conditions during development can shape phenotypic trajectories of developing individuals, which, while adaptive in the short-term, may impair health and survival in adulthood. Regardless, the long-lasting benefits or costs of early life stress are likely to depend on the conditions experienced across differing stages of development. Here, we used the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) to experimentally manipulate exposure to stress hormones in developing individuals. We tested the hypothesis that interactions occurring between pre- and post-natal developmental periods can induce long-term shifts on the adult oxidant phenotype in non-breeding sexually mature individuals. We showed that early life stress can induce long-term alterations in the basal antioxidant defences. The magnitude of these effects depended upon the timing of glucocorticoid exposure and upon interactions between the pre- and post-natal stressful stimuli. We also found differences among tissues with stronger effects in the erythrocytes than in the brain in which the long-term effects of glucocorticoids on antioxidant biomarkers appeared to be region-specific. Recent experimental work has demonstrated that early life exposure to stress hormones can markedly reduce adult survival (Monaghan et al., 2012). Our results suggest that long-term shifts in basal antioxidant defences might be one of the potential mechanisms driving such accelerated ageing processes and that post-natal interventions during development may be a potential tool to shape the effects induced by pre-natally glucococorticoid-exposed phenotypes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Damage assessment of low-cycle fatigue by crack growth prediction. Fatigue life under cyclic thermal stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamaya, Masayuki

    2013-01-01

    The number of cycles to failure of specimens in fatigue tests can be estimated by predicting crack growth. Under a cyclic thermal stress caused by fluctuation of fluid temperature, due to the stress gradient in the thickness direction, the estimated fatigue life differs from that estimated for mechanical fatigue tests. In this paper, the influence of crack growth under cyclic thermal loading on the fatigue life was investigated. First, the thermal stress was derived by superposing analytical solutions, and then, the stress intensity factor was obtained by the weight function method. It was shown that the thermal stress depended not on the rate of the fluid temperature change but on the rise time, and the magnitude of the stress was increased as the rise time was decreased. The stress intensity factor under the cyclic thermal stress was smaller than that under the uniform stress distribution. The change in the stress intensity factor with the crack depth was almost the same regardless of the rise time. The estimated fatigue life under the cyclic thermal loading could be 1.6 times longer than that under the uniform stress distribution. The critical size for the fatigue life determination was assumed to be 3 mm for fatigue test specimens of 10 mm diameter. By evaluating the critical size by structural integrity analyses, the fatigue life was increased and the effect of the critical size on the fatigue life was more pronounced for the cyclic thermal stress. (author)

  18. Regulation of Adult Neurogenesis and Plasticity by (Early) Stress, Glucocorticoids, and Inflammation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lucassen, P.J.; Oomen, C.A.; Naninck, E.F.G.; Fitzsimons, C.P.; van Dam, A.M.; Czeh, B.; Korosi, A.

    2015-01-01

    Exposure to stress is one of the best-known negative regulators of adult neurogenesis (AN). We discuss changes in neurogenesis in relation to exposure to stress, glucocorticoid hormones, and inflammation, with a particular focus on early development and on lasting effects of stress. Although the

  19. Promoting Career Development and Life Design in the Early Years of a Person's Life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maree, Jacobus G.

    2018-01-01

    The article discusses the changing world of work and the attendant uncertainty and loss of work-life identity. Little research has been done on career development and life design in the early years of a person's life, especially in developing countries characterized by disadvantage. The underlying theoretical models of career development are…

  20. Stress in the City: Influence of Urban Social Stress and Violence on Pregnancy and Postpartum Quality of Life among Adolescent and Young Mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willie, Tiara C; Powell, Adeya; Kershaw, Trace

    2016-02-01

    Adolescent and young mothers transitioning from pregnancy to postpartum need to maintain an optimal quality of life. Stress and exposure to violence (e.g., intimate partner violence (IPV), nonpartner violence) are predictors of poor quality of life for adult women; however, these associations remain understudied among adolescent and young mothers in urban areas. Guided by the social ecological model, the current study created a latent variable, urban social stress, to examine the impact of the urban social environment (i.e., stressful life events, discrimination, family stress, and neighborhood problems) on the quality of life of adolescent and young mothers during both pregnancy and postpartum. The current study is a secondary data analysis of a prospective cohort study of 296 expectant young mothers recruited at obstetrics and gynecology clinics. Results from structural equation and multigroup models found that higher urban social stress predicted lower mental and physical quality of life during pregnancy, but these associations were significantly stronger for IPV-exposed and nonpartner violence-exposed mothers. In the postpartum period, higher urban social stress predicted lower mental and physical quality of life, but these associations were significantly stronger for IPV-unexposed and nonpartner violence-exposed mothers. Stress reduction programs need to help adolescent and young mothers in urban areas develop stress management skills specific to urban social stress. Pregnancy and parenting programs need to be tailored to the specific needs of young mothers in urban areas by becoming sensitive to the role of IPV and nonpartner violence in these young women's lives.