Early Adversity and the Developing Brain: Leveraging Developmental Neuroscience to Promote Youth Mental Health

Early adversity is a potent risk factor for the onset and exacerbation of psychopathology, yet there is substantial heterogeneity in the nature of adversity exposure and in trajectories of mental health following adversity. Delineating neurobiological processes related to risk and resilience during development is critical to identifying youth who could most benefit from intervention and for optimizing treatments. Leveraging a multimodal approach that includes behavioral experiments, neuroimaging, psychophysiology, and ecological momentary assessment, my program of research has centered on how early experiences shape brain and behavioral development. Corticolimbic circuitry, which supports emotional learning and regulation, is sensitive to stress and undergoes dynamic changes throughout childhood and adolescence. In this talk, I will discuss developmental changes in corticolimbic circuitry and how adversity influences this development. Next, I will highlight and provide examples of novel approaches to decomposing heterogeneity in the effects of adversity on neurodevelopment and mental health, which may help to shed light on mechanisms of risk and resilience. Finally, I will illustrate how these findings from developmental neuroscience can inform efforts to optimize clinical interventions for anxiety and stress-related disorders in youth. Together, these findings can advance knowledge of the neurobiological mechanisms that support favorable mental health outcomes and inform approaches to promote resilience among youth exposed to adversity and with psychiatric disorders.