TY - JOUR
T1 - Environmental and neurodevelopmental contributors to youth mental illness
AU - Whittle, Sarah
AU - Zhang, Lu
AU - Rakesh, Divyangana
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/11
Y1 - 2024/11
N2 - While a myriad of factors likely contribute to the development of mental illness in young people, the social environment (including early adverse experiences) in concert with neurodevelopmental alterations is undeniably important. A number of influential theories make predictions about how and why neurodevelopmental alterations may mediate or moderate the effects of the social environment on the emergence of mental illness. Here, we discuss current evidence supporting each of these theories. Although this area of research is rapidly growing, the body of evidence is still relatively limited. However, there exist some consistent findings, including increased striatal reactivity during positive affective processing and larger hippocampal volumes being associated with increased vulnerability or susceptibility to the effects of social environments on internalizing symptoms. Limited longitudinal work has investigated neurodevelopmental mechanisms linking the social environment with mental health. Drawing from human research and insights from animal studies, we propose an integrated mediation-moderation model and outline future research directions to advance the field.
AB - While a myriad of factors likely contribute to the development of mental illness in young people, the social environment (including early adverse experiences) in concert with neurodevelopmental alterations is undeniably important. A number of influential theories make predictions about how and why neurodevelopmental alterations may mediate or moderate the effects of the social environment on the emergence of mental illness. Here, we discuss current evidence supporting each of these theories. Although this area of research is rapidly growing, the body of evidence is still relatively limited. However, there exist some consistent findings, including increased striatal reactivity during positive affective processing and larger hippocampal volumes being associated with increased vulnerability or susceptibility to the effects of social environments on internalizing symptoms. Limited longitudinal work has investigated neurodevelopmental mechanisms linking the social environment with mental health. Drawing from human research and insights from animal studies, we propose an integrated mediation-moderation model and outline future research directions to advance the field.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85198993620&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41386-024-01926-y
DO - 10.1038/s41386-024-01926-y
M3 - Review article
C2 - 39030435
SN - 0893-133X
VL - 50
SP - 201
EP - 210
JO - Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
JF - Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
IS - 1
ER -