title: The positive and negative consequences of stressors during early life.
abstract: We discuss the long-term effects of stress exposure in pre- and early postnal life. We present an evolutionary framework within which such effects can be viewed, and describe how the outcomes might vary with species life histories. We focus on stressors that induce increases in glucocorticoid hormones and discuss the advantages of an experimental approach. We describe a number of studies demonstrating how exposure to these hormones in early life can influence stress responsiveness and have substantial long-term, negative consequences for adult longevity. We also describe how early life exposure to mild levels of stressors can have beneficial effects on resilience to stress in later life, and discuss how the balance of costs and benefits is likely dependent on the nature of the adult environment.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Graham Kerr Building, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK. Electronic address: Pat.Monaghan@glasgow.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Pat
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Monaghan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837 USA. Electronic address: mark.haussmann@bucknell.edu.
authors.forename: Mark F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Haussmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Ageing; Corticosterone; Glucocorticoids; Hormesis; Longevity; Telomeres