Infantile Experience and the Maturation of the Pituitary Adrenal Axis

Levine, Seymour; Alpert, Morton; Lewis, George W.

doi:10.1126/science.126.3287.1347

Cited by 106 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Considering that early postnatal nonhandling may implicate a general chronic state of under-stimulation (Pryce and Feldon, 2003) and can induce some neurochemical changes in the brain comparable to those induced by prenatal stress (Vaid et al, 1997), our results may also be interpreted as a detrimental effect of non-handling. Indeed, it has already been suggested that under-stimulation during infancy is rather detrimental, resulting in increased stress responsiveness and emotionality at adulthood (Levine et al, 1957). Thus, we suggest that insufficient stimulation during early postnatal life (nonhandling) may impair the development of CBP-containing neuronal populations in different brain regions, possibly leading to consequences on behavioral plasticity.…”

Section: Eh and Dep Are Less Anxious In Thesocial Interaction Testmentioning

confidence: 67%

Maternal deprivation and early handling affect density of calcium binding protein-containing neurons in selected brain regions and emotional behavior in periadolescent rats

et al. 2007

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Section: Eh and Dep Are Less Anxious In Thesocial Interaction Testmentioning

confidence: 67%

Maternal deprivation and early handling affect density of calcium binding protein-containing neurons in selected brain regions and emotional behavior in periadolescent rats

et al. 2007

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“…A large body of literature has focused on two developmental stages during which sensitivity to context is maximal: early infancy and adolescence. Two treatments, previously reported to reduce behavioural emotionality and HPA responses to stressors (Weininger 1954;Weininger et al 1954;Levine et al 1957), have been extensively used in several studies: neonatal handling during the early stages of neonatal life and environmental enrichment during adolescence (Fernandez-Teruel et al 1997;Laviola et al 2004b;Nithianantharajah and Hannan 2006).…”

Section: Critical Periods Of Development: An Opportunity For Intervenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…He observed that gentling reduced later physiological damage and behavioural fearfulness in adulthood. This study pioneered a series of studies in which Levine and his collaborators (Levine 1957;Levine et al 1957) showed that even daily maternal separations for as little as 3 min per day during the first three weeks of life had similar effects on later development. Specifically, adult rats separated from the dams for 3-min per day during lactation showed reduced adrenal gland weight 24 h after a saline injection (Levine 1957).…”

Section: Early Handlingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Age Windows for Neurodevelopmental Psychiatric Disorders: Evidence from Animal Models

2010

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A disruption in normal brain development has been hypothesized to contribute to the aetiology of major psychiatric disorders. According to the 'double-hit' hypothesis, mutant genes-based deviations, associated with specific environmental insults during brain development, may result in neurobehavioural disturbances. The existence of age windows of vulnerability to environmental conditions during brain maturation will be discussed, using as examples a series of studies we have performed during the last years. Major deviations from normative neurobehavioural trajectories have been reported in animal models following exposure to severe stress (either episodes of maternal separation, deprivation or corticosterone supplementation) early in infancy. Rodent models of difficult and/or stressful pregnancies, including obstetric complications (e.g. prenatal restrain stress or neonatal hypoxia) and gestational exposure to infection (e.g prenatal immune challenge), have been associated with profound long-lasting deficits in the offspring's emotional and social behaviour, and with immune and endocrine changes. More recently, adolescence, characterized by elevated rates of brain plasticity, has emerged as an additional period during which sensitivity to environmental influence (either adverse or stimulatory) is maximal. We have reported that both pharmacological (methylphenidate) and environmental (physical or social enrichment) interventions can be used to counteract the detrimental effects of earlier-origin developmental insults. Present findings indicate that these age periods (i.e. prenatal stage, early infancy and adolescence) do represent critical windows open to plastic changes and might be susceptible to both adverse and supportive shaping environmental forces. Taken together, age-related neuroplasticity might be considered not only as a risk factor for psychopathology but also as a potent mechanism for compensation. A better understanding of these critical periods of brain development is a concern for public health and may provide new insights into prevention strategies and into novel therapeutic approaches in neuropsychiatry.

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“…A vast literature clearly illustrates the profound impact of early life experience on emotional temperament and neuroendocrine reactivity (Levine et al, 1957,Levine, 1962,Levine et al, 1967,Zarrow et al, 1972,Hofer, 1973,Russell, 1973,Ladd et al, 2000,Sanchez et al, 2001,Arnold and Siviy, 2002. While we recently showed that the HR-LR trait appears to be heritable (Stead et al, 2006a), we also wanted to ascertain whether early maternal influences could also modulate the phenotype.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual differences in novelty-seeking and emotional reactivity correlate with variation in maternal behavior

Clinton

Vázquez

Kabbaj

et al. 2007

Hormones and Behavior

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Numerous studies have demonstrated that Sprague-Dawley rats exhibit a wide range of locomotor reactivity when placed in a novel environment. High Responder (HR) rats show exaggerated locomotor response to novelty, enhanced neuroendocrine stress reactivity, decreased anxiety-like behavior, and propensity to self-administer psychostimulants, compared to the less active Low Responder (LR) animals. Few studies have explored the early environmental factors which may underlie the HR-LR differences in emotional reactivity. Considering the enormous impact of maternal care on rodent neurodevelopment, we sought to examine maternal behavior in HR-LR dams to determine whether they exhibit differences which could contribute to their offspring's differential temperaments. Females, like males, can be classified as HR vs. LR, showing marked differences in novelty-induced locomotor activity and anxiety-like behavior. HR-LR mothers behaved differently with their pups during the first two postpartum weeks. LR dams spent greater time licking and nursing their pups compared to HR dams, with the most prominent differences occurring during the second postpartum week. By contrast, when non-lactating HR-LR females were presented with orphaned pups, the pattern of maternal response was reversed. HR females were more responsive and showed greater maternal care of the novel pups compared to LR females, which were probably inhibited due to fear of the unfamiliar pups. This underscores the critical interplay between the female's emotional phenotype, her hormonal status and her familiarity with the pup as key factors in determining maternal behavior. Future work should explore neural and hormonal mechanisms which drive these HR-LR differences in maternal behavior and their impact on the development of the offspring.

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Infantile Experience and the Maturation of the Pituitary Adrenal Axis

Cited by 106 publications

References 8 publications

Maternal deprivation and early handling affect density of calcium binding protein-containing neurons in selected brain regions and emotional behavior in periadolescent rats

Maternal deprivation and early handling affect density of calcium binding protein-containing neurons in selected brain regions and emotional behavior in periadolescent rats

Critical Age Windows for Neurodevelopmental Psychiatric Disorders: Evidence from Animal Models

Individual differences in novelty-seeking and emotional reactivity correlate with variation in maternal behavior

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