Animal review links early stress with lasting brain and behavioral changes
Across animal studies, changes in brain immune markers and some behaviors were more consistent than changes in anxiety, risk-taking or hormone-related measures outside the brain.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
This animal review found relatively consistent changes in brain immune markers and in behaviors related to cognition and depression after early-life stress. Anxiety and risk-taking findings were less consistent. More severe stress models were more likely to show lasting biological changes, but these findings do not establish the same mechanisms or outcomes in people.
This abstract-based summary lacks species, study counts and follow-up details. The authors call for more standardized animal stress models, and the reported biological links do not fully establish mechanisms.
What researchers found
Brain immune-function markers
Following early-life stress in animal models; specific assessment times and control conditions were not reported in the abstract. Changes included cell density or shape.
Measurement location mattered
The review examined stress-response, immune and oxytocin systems. Results from measures outside the brain varied, while changes in gene activity within particular brain regions were more consistent, highlighting that measurement location affected the pattern of findings.
Severity and support
The authors ranked stress models by severity and found that higher severity predicted lasting biological alterations. They also described social support during stress and increased later maternal care as promising research directions, without establishing human interventions.
The original publication
Critical biological systems linking early-life stress to later-life outcomes: A systematic review of animal models.
Jorgensen CC, Thöne-Reineke C, Moscovice LR et al.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41106648
- Record checked
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