Could A Treatment For Parkinson’s Reverse The Effects Of Early Life Trauma?
Tuesday, September 3, 2013 - 03:01
in Psychology & Sociology
A stressful pregnancy might be the last thing a future mother needs, but it is to her unborn baby that this stress spells real trouble. All because stress hormones (called glucocorticoids or GCs) can disrupt foetal brain development, leading to serious behavioural and emotional problems . In the same way traumas very early in life can leave children with serious mental problems. Despite this we remain far from understanding how GCs work. But now a study in rats by Portuguese scientists has linked the prenatal effect of GCs on behaviour to abnormalities in dopamine (a brain messenger). read more