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Early experiences: Building up the tools to face the challenges of adult life
Author(s) -
Branchi Igor,
Cirulli Francesca
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.21235
Subject(s) - psychology , psychopathology , developmental psychology , perspective (graphical) , face (sociological concept) , offspring , developmental psychopathology , function (biology) , brain development , relevance (law) , maturity (psychological) , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , clinical psychology , evolutionary biology , biology , sociology , pregnancy , social science , artificial intelligence , computer science , political science , law , genetics
A supportive early environment can strengthen the developing individual and build the foundation for a lifelong health. By contrast, severe stress can alter brain architecture and lead to increased susceptibility for psychopathology. There is a growing emphasis on setting up models that recapitulate the complexity of the perinatal environment, particularly the social experiences, on developmental trajectories. Special attention is paid, on the one hand, to the role of the mother in programming the behavioral, neuroendocrine and metabolic development of the offspring and, on the other, to the relevance of the social interactions with mother and peers in building up the adult individual. Overall, these studies confirm the strong and complex influence of the early ecological niche on adult brain function and behavior and illustrate how a comparative approach provides an important contribution to unravel the mechanisms underlying increased risk for mental illness in a translational perspective. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc . Dev Psychobiol 56: 1661–1674, 2014.