UC Irvine

Early-life experience can modulate risk versus resilience to emotional and cognitive disorders in adulthood. This suggests that there is a particularly sensitive period early in life, during which beneficial or adverse events can cause a later propensity toward stress resilience or vulnerability, respectively. Most early-life experiences are generated from signals received from the primary caregiver, and perturbations in these signals can program stress-related behaviors throughout life. These maternal signals cause lasting changes in brain circuitry and function, including networks associated with learning and memory, and with emotional and stress responses. Underlying these changes in brain circuits are transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms. These molecular changes are instigated by early-life experiences and set in motion a signaling cascade that can determine resilience or vulnerabilities in adulthood.