Neuroinflammation, Early-Life Adversity, and Brain Development

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68 citations0/0 files storedHarvard Review of Psychiatry

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Child Abuse and Trauma Stress Responses and Cortisol Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The overarching objective is to review how early exposure to adversity interacts with inflammation to alter brain maturation. Both adversity and inflammation are significant risk factors for psychopathology. Literature relevant to the effects of adversity in children and adolescents on brain development is reviewed. These studies are supported by research in animals exposed to species-relevant stressors during development. While it is known that exposure to adversity at any age increases inflammation, the effects of inflammation are exacerbated at developmental stages when the immature brain is uniquely sensitive to experiences. Microglia play a vital role in this process, as they scavenge cellular debris and prune synapses to optimize performance. In essence, microglia modify the synapse to match environmental demands, which is necessary for someone with a history of adversity. Overall, by piecing together clinical and preclinical research areas, what emerges is a picture of how adversity uniquely sculpts the brain. Microglia interactions with the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (specifically, the subtype expressing parvalbumin) are discussed within contexts of development and adversity. A review of inflammation markers in individuals with a history of abuse is combined with preclinical studies to describe their effects on maturation. Inconsistencies within the literature are discussed, with a call for standardizing methodologies relating to the age of assessing adversity effects, measures to quantify stress and inflammation, and more brain-based measures of biochemistry. Preclinical studies pave the way for interventions using anti-inflammation-based agents (COX-2 inhibitors, CB2 agonists, meditation/yoga) by identifying where, when, and how the developmental trajectory goes awry.

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References

1998Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults 2016The effects of childhood maltreatment on brain structure, function and connectivity 1997Validity of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire in an Adolescent Psychiatric Population 2016Annual Research Review: Enduring neurobiological effects of childhood abuse and neglect 2002A developmental psychopathology perspective on adolescence.2013Childhood Maltreatment and Psychopathology: A Case for Ecophenotypic Variants as Clinically and Neurobiologically Distinct Subtypes 1999Developmental traumatology part II: brain development∗∗See accompanying Editorial, in this issue.2007Cognitive Recovery in Socially Deprived Young Children: The Bucharest Early Intervention Project

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