Stress-Depression Link

People often ask: “Tell me the reason you believe that Family-of-Origin (FOO) work is worth doing.” I can give you my brain’s opinion. First, childhood stress, dysfunction, trauma, and abuse can bang around in one’s head for a lifetime, negatively impacting relationships, overall success, and so on. Linking early-in-life stress with adult behaviors is complex. Dr. Eric J. Nestler along with Dr Catherine Peña and colleagues studied mice and childhood stress. They isolated a time period in early development when mice are especially susceptible to stress. They also identified a molecular basis for stress during a sensitive developmental window that programmed a mouse’s response to stress in adulthood. More tomorrow.