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Updated: Jan 9, 2026
Author Spotlight: Understanding Adolescent Social Adversity Effects on Neurodevelopment in Mice
Published on: March 15, 2024
Social circuits under developmental threat: Bridging rodent and human neuroscience
Nicolas Murgueitio1,2, Cathi B Propper3, Margaret A Sheridan2
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine.
Insights
Childhood threat, like violence, impacts brain development and increases psychopathology risk. This review explores neurodevelopmental mechanisms from rodent studies to understand long-term effects in humans.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Psychopathology Research
Background:
- Childhood adversity, particularly threat (e.g., interpersonal violence), is linked to increased psychopathology risk.
- Rodent models show that adverse experiences disrupt neural circuits for fear learning and emotional reactivity.
- Translational research is needed to explore rodent-derived neurodevelopmental mechanisms in human neuroscience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review rodent literature on childhood threat and neurodevelopment.
- To propose novel mechanisms linking childhood threat to brain development.
- To inform understanding of long-term psychopathology risk in humans.
Main Methods:
- Literature review focusing on rodent models of maternal care and threat.
- Synthesis of findings related to neural circuitry, fear learning, and emotional reactivity.
- Identification of potential neurodevelopmental pathways relevant to human studies.
Main Results:
- Childhood threat disrupts neural pathways governing fear learning and emotional regulation.
- Specific dimensions of adversity, like interpersonal violence, have distinct neurodevelopmental impacts.
- Rodent models offer insights into mechanisms not yet fully explored in human neuroscience.
Conclusions:
- Neurodevelopmental mechanisms identified in rodent research can elucidate human psychopathology risk.
- Understanding how childhood threat shapes brain development is crucial for early intervention.
- Further research integrating rodent findings into human neuroscience is warranted.
Abstract:
Over the past decade, research has increasingly focused on the neurodevelopmental pathways through which specific dimensions of childhood adversity, such as threat (i.e., interpersonal violence), contribute to psychopathology risk in children and adolescents. Rodent models of rough maternal care have provided novel insights, suggesting that threat disrupts the neural circuitry underlying fear learning and emotional reactivity. While some of these findings have been translated, neurodevelopmental mechanisms identified in rodent research remain unexplored in the human neuroscience literature. In this review, we draw on the rodent literature to propose novel mechanisms through which childhood threat shapes brain development and influence long-term risk for psychopathology.
