Abstract
Naturally occurring variations in maternal care in early postnatal life are associated
with the development of individual differences in behavioral and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal
responses to stress in the rat. These effects appear to be mediated by the influence
of maternal licking and grooming on the development of central corticotropin-releasing
factor (CRF) systems, which regulate the expression of behavioral, endocrine, and
autonomic responses to stress through activation of forebrain noradrenergic systems.
These findings provide a neurobiologic basis for the observed relationship between
early life events and health in adulthood. In more recent studies, we explored the
behavioral transmission of individual differences in stress reactivity, and thus,
vulnerability to stress-induced illness, across generations.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
August 16,
1999
Received in revised form:
August 6,
1999
Received:
March 9,
1999
Identification
Copyright
© 1999 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
