Stress, Development, and Psychopathology

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application requests support for a Symposium entitled "Stress, Development, and Psychopathology", to be part of the program at the Annual Meeting of the Neurobehavioral Teratology Society. The meeting will take place at the Fairmont Princess Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, from June 23rd to June 26th, 2002. Many psychiatric patients, especially those suffering from anxiety and mood disorders, show a dysregulation of neuroendocrine function. Of particular interest are abnormalities of the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenocortical system under basal and/or stressful conditions. Moreover, many studies point to a critical role for both genetics and early experience in "setting the stage" for the later emergence of psychopathological symptoms as well as neuroendocrine dysfunction. In light of the recent exciting findings in this area, the proposed Symposium will bring together five leading researchers who are using a variety of different approaches to investigate the interactions between environmental, genetic, and hormonal factors in the development of abnormal behaviors in humans and in relevant animal models. Two of the speakers, Dr. Paul Plotsky, Emory University School of Medicine, and Dr. Mary Schneider, University of Wisconsin, will report on the behavioral, neurochemical, and neuroendocrine consequences of early stress exposure in rats and monkeys respectively. Dr. Rachel Yehuda, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and Dr. Jerrold Meyer, University of Massachusetts, will discuss the neuroendocrine and neurochemical correlates of behavior pathology (post-traumatic stress disorder in humans for Yehuda, and self-injurious behavior in monkeys for Meyer) and the role of early trauma in the development of such pathology. Finally, Dr. Stephen Suomi, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, will present research on the complex genetic, physiological, and behavioral determinants of differing "temperaments" (including impulsivity and aggressiveness) in monkeys. It is expected that the unique combination of primate, rodent, and human studies presented at this Symposium, all investigating the same physiological systems but from different perspectives, will shed new light on the role of stress (particularly early in life) as both a causative and resultant factor in psychopathology. The proceedings of the Symposium will be published as a single article, jointly authored by all speakers, in Neurotoxicology and Teratology, a journal sponsored by the Neurobehavioral Teratology Society.