Early-Life Stress and Psychiatric Disorders: Epidemiology, Neurobiology and Innovative Pharmacological Targets
The modern concept of stress is based on responses to events or factors (“stressors”) experienced as aversive, threatening or excessive for maintaining physiological equilibrium of an organism. Prolonged exposure to stressors, particularly during early life, is strongly
associated with later psychiatric disorders. Underlying mechanistic connections between stress responses and development of psychiatric illnesses remain uncertain and typically appear to be nonspecific. Relevant candidate mechanisms are likely to include the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal
(HPA) axis, marked by sustained excessive release of cortisol from the adrenal cortex. In turn, this process is influenced by and alters various central neurotransmitter and other molecular signaling systems that include glutamate, dopamine, serotonin, and neurotrophic peptides. A dditional
manifestations of stress include altered neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, as well as oxidative neuron-damaging effects. The complex molecular systems involved in these processes present many opportunities for innovative pharmacological interventions that may have preventive or therapeutic
benefits regarding mental illnesses arising from stress.
Keywords: Early life stress; HPA axis; glucocorticoids; neurogenesis; neuroplasticity
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 April 2015
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Each thematic issue of Current Pharmaceutical Design covers all subject areas of major importance to modern drug design, including: medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, drug targets and disease mechanism. - Editorial Board
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