Biology of Early Life Stress

This book covers innovative research cross-cutting the fields of stress biology and child maltreatment. Novel research in the science of stress biology has opened exciting new avenues for understanding how stress "gets under the skin" providing real opportunities for translation. The fields of endocrinology/immunology, neuroscience and genomics are, independently and together, advancing knowledge to change the way we think about how early-life stressors such as how child maltreatment and other forms of traumatic experiences become biologically embedded and can impact subsequent health, development, and well-being. This collective interdisciplinary science is grappling with the notion that there might be biological explanations that characterize why some effected individuals are more susceptible than others to the deleterious impact of stress. More importantly, the fact that environmental buffers can explain some of these individual differences, sheds light on the real possibility that early adversity can be interrupted, intervened upon and even reversed. Understanding how nurture intersects with nature will spark critical innovation in how to curtail the acute impact of stress, maltreatment and trauma and ways to prevent further deterioration. Based on the 2015 conference of the same name held at Penn State University, The Biology of Stress Maltreatment and Trauma showcases recent biological advancements related to child maltreatment and other forms of trauma and chronic stress.