Multidimensional Interplay of Early-Life Events, Neuroactive Steroids and Sex in the Development of Psychopathology and Psychiatric Disorders, Volume I

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Background

This Research Topic is part of the Multidimensional Interplay of Early-Life Events, Neuroactive Steroids and Sex in the Development of Psychopathology and Psychiatric Disorders series:
Multidimensional Interplay of Early-Life Events, Neuroactive Steroids and Sex in the Development of Psychopathology and Psychiatric Disorders, Volume II

Neuropsychiatric disorders affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide, imposing an enormous burden on society and health care. In spite of substantial advances in understanding the neurobiological substrates underlying psychiatric disorders, the current pharmacological armamentarium for their treatment is still far from being satisfactory. The main reason for this failure likely lies on the fact that the majority of mental disorders are a result of a complex intersection among genetic, biological and environmental factors. If considered individually, these factors may shed light only on a portion of the pathogenetic process and/or of psychopathological phenotype of the mental disease. As a consequence, any intervention fails to target the whole etiological process in which different causal factors converge. 

Over the last decade, huge effort has been made on the implementation of neurodevelopmental models able to decipher how and when multiple risk factors may contribute to hardwire brain development and elicit neurobehavioral complications, such as substance use disorders, high-risk behaviors, conduct problems and emotional/motivational disturbances. In this framework, a growing body of evidence suggests that neuroactive steroids, including stress- and sex-related steroid hormones, may act as a key biological determinant in the etiopathogenesis of psychiatric disorders deeply connected to adverse early-life exposure during sensitive periods of neural development. For instance, whilst the relationship between stress and psychopathology is unquestionable, recent clinical and preclinical studies indicate that the greater vulnerability of women than men to suffer from stress-related psychiatric disorders is justified by sex bias in neuroendocrine response to stress. Likewise, acute and chronic stress elicit greater HPA axis responses in adolescents than adults, affecting brain development and eliciting adolescent-onset of psychiatric disorders in a sex-dependent manner.

The purpose of this Research Topic is to collect preclinical and clinical studies focused on elucidating how the interaction between biological and environmental factors may influence neurodevelopment and behavior, especially during adolescence, when sex and stress steroid hormones mutually interact and are overactive in the brain. Emphasis will be placed on defining how and when early-life experiences may influence the course of the developing brain and lead to distinct psychopathological phenotypes, in order to allow the development of pharmacological and/or behavioral interventions tailored to the nature of the environments factor.

Keywords: Neuroactive Steroids, Neurosteroids, Steroid Hormones, Sex Hormones, Sex Differences, Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Neurodevelopment, Motivation and Reward, Stress, Environmental Factors

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