ADOLESCENCE: A SENSITIVE PERIOD FOR SHAPING THE ADULT SOCIAL BRAIN

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The importance of environmental experiences in the early years of life in shaping brain development and function is well known. In comparison, there has been little focus on the adolescent period, a period in which there is ongoing brain development, and a time of life that is different from adulthood in terms of social behaviour and many aspects of physiology. My research has shown in rats that social relationships in adolescence shape social behaviour in adulthood, using a manipulation of social experiences (social instability) that seems to have no lasting effect on behaviour when experienced in adulthood. In this grant, we propose to investigate the neural underpinnings of the social instability-induced changes in social behaviour of adolescents. Objective 1 addresses the lack of normative data on social development in females and how sensitivity to reward develops across adolescence in both sexes. Objective 2 investigates the mechanisms for the effects of adolescent social instability on social behaviour in both sexes, focussing on the role of neuropeptides, glucocorticoid, hormones, and endocannabinoid signalling. Objective 3 investigates normative changes in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis by the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis during adolescence, and the role of such changes for social development. The experiments of my research program are important steps in addressing gaps in our knowledge of the adolescent period of life, which will contribute to the understanding the developmental mechanisms and social experiences that build the social brain. Further, the research program will provide excellent research training and transferrable skills for undergrad and graduate students.