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Using a Comparative Species Approach to Investigate the Neurobiology of Paternal Responses
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Early Caregiving and Human Biobehavioral Development: A Comparative Physiology Approach
Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences
|January 12, 2016
Summary
Early caregiving quality influences lifelong stress-related illness risk. Postnatal programming and phenotypic plasticity explain how early environments shape stress systems and biobehavioral outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Comparative physiology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Growing evidence links early caregiving quality to later health.
- Stress-related illnesses have origins in early life experiences.
Purpose of the Study:
- Review research on early caregiving and development.
- Examine early programming and stress system malleability.
- Propose a model for persisting effects of early care.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent research.
- Analysis of developmental and physiological data.
- Theoretical modeling of biobehavioral outcomes.
Main Results:
- Early caregiving significantly impacts stress responsivity systems.
- Postnatal programming and phenotypic plasticity are key mechanisms.
- These mechanisms explain long-term biobehavioral effects.
Conclusions:
- Early care environments have lasting effects on stress-related health.
- A developmental comparative physiology model integrates these findings.
- Understanding these mechanisms can inform interventions for stress-related illness.
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