Winter School Keynote Lecture: Claudia Buß (Berlin)
“Early life origins of mental health – studying pre- and postnatal environmental influences on the human developing brain and its ethical challenges”
Claudia Buß is a professor at the Department of Medical Psychology at the Charité.
Abstract: The origins of alterations in brain anatomy and connectivity, that may underlie cognitive impairment and mental illness, can be traced back to the intrauterine and early postnatal period of life when the developing embryo/fetus/infant responds to suboptimal conditions during critical periods of brain development (“Developmental Programming”). Stress experience during these critical developmental periods can alter the normal trajectory of brain development with implications for mental and physical health across the life span. Gaining a better understanding of the developmental time windows (when) and the mechanisms (how) these early life experiences have the potential to alter the developing brain are necessary to inform targeted interventions to mitigate negative health consequences associated with early life stress and promote lifelong health. Advances in theory and methodology now afford an unprecedented opportunity to gain new and valuable insights into the developmental origins of human brain disorders. An overview of empirical evidence in support of the role pre- and postnatal stress plays for shaping the developing human brain and mental health will be presented. This research requires inclusion of vulnerable individuals (pregnant women, their fetuses, infants and children) and thus poses ethical challenges that will be elucidated in this presentation.
