LINKING EARLY ADVERSITY, BRAIN, AND DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

Abstract Mounting evidence indicates that early life adversity is associated with increased vulnerability for psychiatric impairment across the lifespan. Until recently, most human studies in this field have been epidemiological in nature and focused on linking early life stress to complex clinical outcomes. This chapter advances a developmental psychophysiological model, where the chapter emphasizes the importance of considering the widespread brain systems that exert a strong influence on emotional reactivity and its regulation. This chapter reviews some of the recent work from our research group that has attempted to trace the effects of prenatal insults (using extremely low birth weight as a proxy marker) and those occurring in the postnatal time period (child maltreatment) on the functional integrity of key components within this affective neurocircuitry. The chapter emphasizes the value of non-invasive psychophysiological measures in helping to bridge the developmental pathways between early experience and psychological outcomes.