3-013 - Cortisol, Stress, and the Brain: Implications for Socioemotional Behavior Across Development

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Empirical work in developmental science demonstrates harmful and long-lasting effects of early life stress (ELS) on the developing child (Gunnar & Vasquez, 2006). Much of this work focuses on extreme sources of ELS such as childhood maltreatment and social deprivation (McCrory et al., 2011; Tottenham et al., 2011). However, more normative sources of ELS, including harsh parenting (Guyer et al., 2015) and prenatal maternal stress hormones (Davis et al., 2013) also challenge healthy development. This symposium presents empirical work from three studies with measurement of ELS at multiple levels of analysis (i.e., physiological, social-contextual) across multiple developmental windows (i.e., prenatally, early childhood) to study the effects of ELS on brain function and socioemotional development in childhood and adulthood. An expert and leader in developmental stress research will moderate the symposium to discuss the implications of studying the effects of diverse indicators of ELS on lifespan development.

Paper 1 focuses on the effects of prenatal stress, measured via placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), on the emergence of child internalizing during early adolescence. Paper 2 tracks the relationships between infant cortisol signaling, EEG coherence and power, and mother-infant interaction quality, with attention to the moderating effects of socioeconomic status. Paper 3 examines prospective relationships across 18 years between multiple measures of ELS in toddlerhood (e.g., harsh parenting, neighborhood deprivation) and amygdala reactivity and antisocial behavior at age 20, with further examination of moderation by genetic variants within CRH receptor genes that establish differential susceptibility to the neural effects of ELS.

Sub Unit

• Biology and Neuroscience

Chair

• Arianna Gard, University of Michigan

Discussant

• Megan Gunnar, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Individual Presentations

• Fetal Exposure to Placental CRH is Associated with Internalizing Symptoms from Infancy through Early Adolescence - Presenting Author: Mariann A Howland, University of California, Irvine; Curt A Sandman, University of California Irvine; Elysia Poggi Davis, University of Denver; Laura M Glynn, Chapman University

• Infant EEG Activity Varies as a Function of Socioeconomic Status, Maternal Behavior, and Infant Cortisol - Presenting Author: Amanda Tarullo, Boston University; Ashley Moore St. John, Boston University; Philip G Grieve, Columbia University Medical Center; Jacqueline Liederman, Boston University

• The Long Reach of Early Adversity: Parenting, Stress, and Neural Pathways to Crime and Violence Into Adulthood - Presenting Author: Arianna Gard, University of Michigan; Rebecca Waller, University of Michigan; Daniel S. Shaw, University of Pittsburgh; Erika E Forbes, University of Pittsburgh; Ahmad Hariri, Duke University; Luke W Hyde, University of Michigan