Associations between early life stress and anterior pituitary gland volume development during late childhood

P Farrow; JG Simmons; E Pozzi; C Díaz-Arteche; S Richmond; K Bray; O Schwartz; S Whittle

Journal article

Associations between early life stress and anterior pituitary gland volume development during late childhood

P Farrow, JG Simmons, E Pozzi, C Díaz-Arteche, S Richmond, K Bray, O Schwartz, S Whittle

Psychoneuroendocrinology | PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD | Published : 2020

DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104868

Abstract

Early Life Stress (ELS) is thought to influence Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal-Axis (HPAA) functioning, contributing to an increased risk for psychopathology through dysregulation of biological stress responses. Research exploring relationships between ELS and HPAA functioning has largely focused on its key hormonal output, cortisol. However, findings have been inconsistent, potentially due to cortisol's distinctive diurnal patterns and dynamic nature complicating its accurate measurement. Thus, this study explored the link between ELS and a more stable, structural component of the HPAA, specifically, anterior pituitary gland volume (PGV) in a community sample of children (N = 129, 68 female..

View full abstract

University of Melbourne Researchers

Julian Simmons Author

Elena Pozzi Author

Orli Schwartz Author

Sarah Whittle Author

Related Projects (2)

NEURODEVELOPMENTAL RISK FACTORS FOR DEPRESSION FROM CHILDHOOD TO EARLY ADULTHOOD

To understand who is at risk for depression, we need to understand how both the environment and biological factors promote risk at specific ..

Do family environments influence children's brain development during the transition to adolescence?

This project will investigate whether brain development during this period is affected by parenting behaviours, which will ultimately inform..

Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Australian Research Council (Discovery Grant ID DP130103551). Dr. Whittle is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council(NHMRC) Career Development Fellowship (ID: 1125504).