Brain development, sex differences and stress: implications for psychopathology (original) (raw)

2003, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

Brain development, sex differences and stress: implications for psychopathology This special issue of Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews comprises contributions from scientists who enthusiastically discussed and confronted their ideas during the international Satellite Conference of the 11th Annual Meeting of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society (IBNS), titled "Brain Development, Sex Differences and Stress: Implications for Psychopathology" held in the Island of Capri (Italy), 23 June, 2002. The intent was to gather scientists from multiple disciplines (neurobiology, psychoneuroendocrinology, physiology, psychology, psychiatry, psychobiology, behavioral pharmacology) who share a common interest in the interaction between the environment and brain development. The present volume is comprised of both review and original data manuscripts from a number of prominent authors actively researching the impact of environment on brain development at the level of behavior and physiology. Needless to say, the effects of early stress are a major concern in society as it is linked to a number of neuropsychiatric disorders. From the outset of this editorial exercise, it was our aim to produce a final volume that was broad and comparative in terms of species, the nature of environmental factors, and the behavioural, neurobiological and physiological endpoints. Approximately half of this special edition journal covers work on the effects of early exposure to stress or insult as it relates to psychopathology. The preclinical findings span from prenatal to postnatal exposure to stress in mouse, rat, and primate, with implications for anxiety, depression, drug abuse, and schizophrenia. The second half provides studies that describe clinical effects of early childhood stress on enduring structural and functional changes in the brain and their contribution to various psychiatric conditions. We have tried to create a comprehensive, yet cohesive, compendium of papers that provides 'something for everyone' in the field of stress and development. Increasing evidence supports the view that the interaction of perinatal exposure to adversity with individual genetic liabilities may increase an individual's