Neuroimmunological effects of early life experiences

Abstract

Exposure to adverse experiences during development increases the risk of psychiatric illness later in life. Growing evidence suggests a role for the neuroimmune system in this relationship. There is now substantial evidence that the immune system is critical for normal brain development and behaviour, and responds to environmental perturbations experienced early in life. Severe or chronic stress results in dysregulated neuroimmune function, concomitant with abnormal brain morphology and function. Positive experiences including environmental enrichment and exercise exert the opposite effect, promoting normal brain and immune function even in the face of early life stress. The neuroimmune system may therefore provide a viable target for prevention and treatment of psychiatric illness. This review will briefly summarise the neuroimmune system in brain development and function, and review the effects of stress and positive environmental experiences during development on neuroimmune function. There are also significant sex differences in how the neuroimmune system responds to environmental experiences early in life, which we will briefly review.

Early Life Social Stress Causes Sex- and Region-Dependent Dopaminergic Changes that Are Prevented by Minocycline

“…Moreover, male and female dopaminergic systems are differentially sculpted by microglia during adolescence [ 16 ]. Notably, early postnatal/adolescent stress and early immune activation seem to induce greater neuroimmunological responses in males than in females [ 80 ]. In the light of this evidence, it can be hypothesized that the specific male response to SS that we detected may be due to higher sensitivity of the dopaminergic and/or immune system in males compared to females during this developmental window, and/or to sex-different timing in brain responses to stress, which in males may be expressed in proximity to the stress.…”

Socio-political context as determinant of childhood maltreatment: a population-based study among women and men in East and West Germany

“…Childhood maltreatment is a widespread phenomenon that can have drastic short and long-term consequences for many aspects of child development (van Harmelen et al ., 2010; Brydges and Reddaway, 2020), long-term adverse health effects (e.g. Bentley and Widom, 2009; Hemmingsson et al ., 2014), as well as a diminished economic prospect in adult life (Currie and Spatz Widom, 2010).…”

Childhood trauma, IL-6 and weaker suppression of the default mode network (DMN) during theory of mind (ToM) performance in schizophrenia

“…in a manner relevant to social cognition. These studies build upon the growing literature demonstrating previous causal and association evidence of an immune basis for schizophrenia risk and cognitive function ( Baumeister et al, 2016 ; Brydges and Reddaway, 2020 ; Dennison et al, 2012 ; Goldsmith et al, 2016 ; Khandaker et al, 2015 ; McKernan et al, 2011 ; Upthegrove and Khandaker, 2020 ). The association between higher levels of inflammatory markers and CT exposure has been studied across many conditions, including psychosis ( Baumeister et al, 2016 ; Baumeister et al, 2014 ; Dennison et al, 2012 ; Goldsmith et al, 2016 ; McKernan et al, 2011 ).…”