The inductive agency of stress: From perinatal to adolescent induction

Abstract

The influence of stress agents, whether social, restraint, malnutrition or mild unpredictable, during the fetal-prenatal, infant-postnatal, adolescent or young adult phases of the lifespan generally, but not always, implies disruption of the normal process of development. Several notions of stress including the adaptive calibration model, adaptive emotional processes and arousability, GABAergic integrity and nutrient deficiency, and resilience influence the physiological and behavioural expressions of maternal stress, affecting nursing behaviour and offspring outcome. The adaptive/maladaptive effects of stress in humans are affected by developmental programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and other neuroendocrine systems related to stress that may facilitate expressions of resilience. The adaptive/maladaptive effects of stress in animal models outline dysfunctional HPA axis and brain regional alterations of phenotypic expressions that interact with epigenetic mechanisms and developmental plasticity. Maladaptive stress regulation in adolescence is influenced by several factors, not the least being serotonergic, glucocorticoid and regional integrity pertaining to trauma in adolescence. The occurrence of oxidative stress may imply damage but the propensity for hormesis, a notion not unrelated to resilience, provides opportunities for long-lasting health benefits.