Hippocampal shrinkage is a commonly found neuroanatomical change in stress-related mood disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD). Since the onset and severity of these disorders have been found to be closely related to stressful life events, and as stress alone has been shown to reduce hippocampal volume in animal studies, vulnerability to mood disorders may be re...

Stressful events early in life, later high alcohol consumption and vulnerability to alcohol use disorder (AUD) are tightly linked. Norepinephrine is highly involved in the stress response and the α2A-adrenoceptor, which is an important regulator of norepinephrine signalling, is a putative target in pharmacotherapy of AUD. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of early-life...

Although a number of studies have linked body dissatisfaction to depressive symptoms, few have done so within the framework of a vulnerability-stress model. We hypothesized that women's levels of body dissatisfaction would interact with recent experiences of vulnerability-congruent negative life events (i.e., weight-related teasing) to predict prospective changes in depressive symptoms. Consist...

AIM To explore the role of stress vulnerability, dispositional optimism, fears of surgery and negative affective disposition in prediction of postsurgical stress among cardiac patients who underwent heart surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS The sample included 60 cardiac patients (39 males and 21 females, aged 58.50 +/- 10.97 years). All patients completed two sets of standardized questionnaires. B...

Lay Abstract Identify causal biological mechanisms of PTSD using a novel gene x environment mouse model of stress vulnerability, and characterize the interaction between PTSD-like symptoms and nicotine/alcohol consumption Identify SNPs associated with PTSD, or PTSD and comorbid substance use disorders, informed by our mouse model. Examine the genetics and epidemiology of substance abuse among m...

Virtually no longitudinal research has examined psychological characteristics or events that may lead to adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). This study tested a cognitive vulnerability-stress model as a predictor of NSSI trajectories. Clinically-referred adolescents (n = 143; 72% girls) completed measures of NSSI, depression, attributional style, and interpersonal stressors during baseli...

Prenatal infection and exposure to traumatizing experiences during peripuberty have each been associated with increased risk for neuropsychiatric disorders. Evidence is lacking for the cumulative impact of such prenatal and postnatal environmental challenges on brain functions and vulnerability to psychiatric disease. Here, we show in a translational mouse model that combined exposure to prenat...

This study tested the diathesis-stress component of Beck's (1967) cognitive theory of depression. Initially, participants completed measures assessing cognitive organization of the self-schema and depressive symptoms. One year later, participants completed measures assessing cognitive organization of the self-schema, depressive symptoms, and negative life events. Hierarchical multiple regressio...

Exposure to adversity early in life is associated with the development of a range of psychiatric disorders in adulthood. Accumulating evidence suggests that pre-puberty is a time of enhanced vulnerability to environmental insults, and that prepubertal stress may alter normal brain maturation. In this review, I consider the long-term consequences of pre-pubertal stress on brain and behaviour in ...