Resilience priming: Translational models for understanding resiliency and adaptation to early life adversity

Abstract

Despite the increasing attention to early life adversity and its long-term consequences on health, behavior, and the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders, our understanding of the adaptations and interventions that promote resiliency and rescue against such insults are underexplored. Specifically, investigations of the perinatal period often focus on negative events/outcomes. In contrast, positive experiences (i.e. enrichment/parental care//healthy nutrition) favorably influence development of the nervous and endocrine systems. Moreover, some stressors result in adaptations and demonstrations of later-life resiliency. This review explores the underlying mechanisms of neuroplasticity that follow some of these early life experiences and translates them into ideas for interventions in pediatric settings. The emerging role of the gut microbiome in mediating stress susceptibility is also discussed. Since many negative outcomes of early experiences are known, it is time to identify mechanisms and mediators that promote resiliency against them. These range from enrichment, quality parental care, dietary interventions and those that target the gut microbiota.

Keywords: early life adversity; enrichment; microbiome; parental care; resiliency; translational research.

Figure 1.. Adverse Early Life Experiences.

Early life adverse experiences such as deprivation (e.g. nutritional, caregiver neglect), threat (e.g. social, physical stressors), and injury or illness have long term influences on development and functioning.

Figure 2.. Factors Promoting Resilience.

Positive early life experiences such as enrichment, quality parental care, and a healthy diet can promote healthy development and adaptive responses to stressors, leading to resilience.