Early life stress alters pituitary growth during adolescence-A longitudinal study

DE Ganella; NB Allen; JG Simmons; O Schwartz; JH Kim; L Sheeber; S Whittle

Journal article

Early life stress alters pituitary growth during adolescence-A longitudinal study

DE Ganella, NB Allen, JG Simmons, O Schwartz, JH Kim, L Sheeber, S Whittle

Psychoneuroendocrinology | Published : 2015

DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.01.005

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Abstract

The pituitary gland is integral in mediating the stress-response via its role in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function. Pituitary gland volume (PGV) is altered in stress-related psychopathology, and one study to date has shown stress to be associated with age-related PGV change during adolescence. The current study investigated the effects of a number of different types of early life (i.e., childhood and adolescent) stress (including childhood maltreatment, stressful life events, and maternal affective behavior) on PGV development from mid- to late adolescence using a longitudinal design. The influence of PGV development on depressive and anxiety symptoms was also investigated. ..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Nick Allen Author

Julian Simmons Author

Orli Schwartz Author

Sarah Whittle Author

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Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grants from the Colonial Foundation in National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; Program Grant 350241) and the Australian Research Council (ARC; Discovery Grant DP0878136). Dr. Whittle is supported by a NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (ID: 1007716). Dr. Ganella is supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Researcher Award DE120100110 awarded to Dr. Kim.