The Impact of Adolescent Stress on Maternal Behavior and Social Understanding.

Stress during adolescence alters brain functions, influencing postpartum social behavior in mammals. The research utilizes optogenetics and calcium imaging techniques to understand neuronal communication in mice that experienced psychosocial stress during adolescence. It found that this stress, combined with pregnancy and childbirth, impacts the function of the glutamatergic pathway, leading to changes in social behavior. The involvement of a stress-hormone receptor (glucocorticoid receptor) within this pathway suggests the stress hormone’s critical role in postpartum behavioral changes.