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Early experience and depressive disorders: human and non-human primate studies
William S Gilmer1, William T McKinney
1The Asher Depression Center, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, 446 E. Ontario, Suite 7-100, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. w-gilmer@northwestern.edu
Journal of Affective Disorders
|June 12, 2003
Summary
Early adverse experiences, including social deprivation and separation in primates, significantly impact adult depression. These early life stressors can lead to lasting behavioral, cognitive, physiological, and neurochemical changes, increasing vulnerability to affective disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Accumulating evidence links stressful life events to human depressive episodes.
- Mechanisms by which early experiences influence risk for affective illnesses are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review evidence on early adverse experiences and adult depressive disorders.
- To explore the role of early life stress in primate models of depression.
Main Methods:
- Review of human and non-human primate studies.
- Analysis of experimental paradigms involving social deprivation and separation in primates.
Main Results:
- Early social deprivation in primates causes behavioral, cognitive, physiological, and neurochemical changes.
- Maternal and peer separations in primates have short- and long-term consequences mirroring human depression.
- Primate studies reveal neuroanatomical and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis alterations.
Conclusions:
- Early adverse experiences are critical in predisposing individuals to adult depression.
- Non-human primate models offer valuable insights into the developmental origins of affective illnesses.
- A model for developmentally based vulnerability to adult depression is presented.