Early life stress disrupts dopaminergic reward circuitry in animals and humans, with altered reward learning and links to depressive and anxiety symptoms¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In animals, early life stress alters dopaminergic circuits in the ventral striatum, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala, linked to increased anhedonia-like behaviors and altered reward sensitivity, with glucocorticoid exposure playing a mediating role. → Karen E. Smith and Seth D. Pollak 2020 q2 i? In humans, disruptions during reward processing have been observed in the nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area, ventral striatum, and PFC after early life stress, associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms and altered reward learning. → Karen E. Smith and Seth D. Pollak 2020 (2)

Evidence¶

Karen E. Smith and Seth D. Pollak 2020¶

Karen E. Smith and Seth D. Pollak. (2020). Early life stress and development: potential mechanisms for adverse outcomes. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1186/s11689-020-09337-y

q2 · i? · review · r3

Narrative review synthesis of animal models of early life stress effects on reward circuits. The review reports chronic repeated maternal separation "alters the number of dopaminergic glial cells, affects rate of cell proliferation and death, and promotes aberrant dopaminergic signaling" in adulthood, linked to anhedonia-like behaviors and altered reward sensitivity. No effect sizes are printed.

"Chronic repeated separation of rodent pups from their mothers alters the number of dopaminergic glial cells, affects rate of cell proliferation and death, and promotes aberrant dopaminergic signal- ing in the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra in adulthood [ 142– 144]."

Karen E. Smith and Seth D. Pollak 2020 (2)¶

Karen E. Smith and Seth D. Pollak. (2020). Early life stress and development: potential mechanisms for adverse outcomes. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1186/s11689-020-09337-y

q2 · i? · review · r3

Narrative review synthesis of human reward-processing studies. The review reports "disruptions during reward processing have been observed in the nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area, ventral striatum, and PFC after experiences of early life stress," associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms and altered reward learning. No effect sizes are printed.

"In humans, disruptions during reward processing have been observed in the nucleus accumbens, ventral teg- mental area, ventral striatum, and PFC after experiences of early life stress [ 154– 157], and these disruptions are associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms in ado- lescents and adults"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Cumulative stress predicts adult outcomes beyond specific stressor types in longitudinal studies — related
• Chronic HPA axis activation via CRH and glucocorticoids is proposed to partially mediate the neural effects of early life stress — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Chronicity, developmental timing, and intensity of adversity exposure shape children's neurobiological stress responses — related
• Early life stress produces structural and functional alterations in prefrontal-hippocampal-amygdala circuits in animals and humans, with reduced hippocampal volume among the most reliable human findings — related
• Exposure to adverse early circumstances affects the developing brain in ways that increase risk for later problems — a broader claim this one bears on