Flannery Jessica E, Gabard-Durnam Laurel J, Shapiro Mor, Goff Bonnie, Caldera Christina, Louie Jennifer, Gee Dylan G, Telzer Eva H, Humphreys Kathryn L, Lumian Daniel S, Tottenham Nim
University of Oregon, Los Angeles, United States.
University of California, Los Angeles, United States; Columbia University, United States.
Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2017 Jun;25:160-166. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.03.006. Epub 2017 Mar 21.
Several studies have shown that young children who have experienced early caregiving adversity (e.g. previously institutionalization (PI)) exhibit flattened diurnal cortisol slopes; however, less is known about how these patterns might differ between children and adolescents, since the transition between childhood and adolescence is a time of purported plasticity in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. PI youth experience a massive improvement in caregiving environment once adopted into families; therefore we anticipated that a developmental increase in HPA axis plasticity during adolescence might additionally allow for an enhanced enrichment effect by the adoptive family. In a cross-sectional sample of 197 youths (PI and Comparison; 4-15 years old) we observed age-related group differences in diurnal slope. First replicating previous findings, PI children exhibited flattened diurnal slope. This group difference, however, was not observed in adolescents. Moderation analyses showed that pubertal development, increased time with family, and early adoption contributed to the steeper diurnal cortisol slope in PI adolescents. These findings add support to existing theories positing that the transition between middle childhood and adolescence may mark an additional sensitive period for diurnal cortisol patterning, allowing PI youth to benefit from the enriched environment provided by adoptive parents during this period of development.
多项研究表明，经历过早先照料逆境（如曾在机构中生活（PI））的幼儿表现出昼夜皮质醇斜率变平；然而，对于儿童和青少年之间这些模式可能存在的差异了解较少，因为童年与青春期之间的过渡被认为是下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺（HPA）轴可塑性的时期。PI青少年一旦被收养到家庭中，其照料环境会有大幅改善；因此我们预计，青春期HPA轴可塑性的发展性增加可能会使收养家庭产生更强的丰富化效应。在一个包含197名青少年（PI组和对照组；4至15岁）的横断面样本中，我们观察到了昼夜斜率与年龄相关的组间差异。首先，重复先前的研究结果，PI儿童表现出昼夜斜率变平。然而，在青少年中未观察到这种组间差异。调节分析表明，青春期发育、与家人相处时间增加以及较早被收养有助于PI青少年的昼夜皮质醇斜率更陡。这些发现为现有理论提供了支持，即童年中期与青春期之间的过渡可能标志着昼夜皮质醇模式的另一个敏感期，使PI青少年能够在这一发育阶段受益于养父母提供的丰富环境。
