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

Abstract

Background: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. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Limitations: 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. Conclusion: 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.

Temperament moderates the influence of periadolescent social experience on behavior and adrenocortical activity in adult male rats

“…This alteration in adult glucocorticoid production was documented more than 2-months following the adolescent social experience suggesting that there was a long-term recalibration of adrenocortical activity. Similar findings of adult hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) hyporeactivity have been documented in humans and rodents that experienced more severe physical and social stressors during adolescence or adulthood (e.g., four to six weeks of exposure to immobilization, change of cage mate, cage tilt, exposure to white noise, exposure to predator odor; Bazak et al, 2009; Goliszek et al, 1996; Toth et al, 2008; Schmidt et al, 2007; Engert et al, 2010; Rós-Simo & Valverde, 2012; Ostrander et al, 2006). Fries, Hesse, Hellhammer, and Hellhammer (2005) proposed that chronic stress exposure may lead to an initial period of glucocorticoid hypersecretion followed by subsequent HPA hypoactivity.…”

Early-Life Experience, Epigenetics, and the Developing Brain

“…Among infants whose mothers are characterized as exhibiting a low vs high frequency of sensitive/non-intrusive caregiving, there are increased fear responses and reduced frontal electroencephalographic asymmetry (a predictor of increased HPA reactivity; see Figure 1a) at 9 months of age (Hane and Fox, 2006) than persist at 2-3 years of age (see Figure 1b; Hane et al, 2010). Parental bonding, which includes indices of the degree of care and overprotectiveness, is a significant predictor of later-life depression (associated with low care and high overprotectiveness; Parker, 1990) and may induce changes in gray matter volume in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, as well as altered dopaminergic and cortisol response to stress (Engert et al, 2010;Narita et al, 2010Narita et al, , 2012Pruessner et al, 2004). Thus, even variation within the normal range of parental behavior can have a significant impact on neurobehavioral outcomes.…”

Low maternal care exacerbates adult stress susceptibility in the chronic mild stress rat model of depression

“…Epidemiological evidence suggests that exposure to negative early life events, such as trauma, abuse and physical or emotional neglect, increases the risk for psychiatric illness in adulthood (Holmes and Robins, 1987;Bifulco et al, 1991;Engert et al, 2010). A theory on the potentially malicious effect of the lack of maternal care or exposure to maternal deprivation originated in the 1940s and 1950s (reviewed by van der Horst and van der Veer, 2008).…”