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Environmental adversities constitute potent risk factors for psychiatric disorders. Evidence suggests the brain adapts to adversity, possibly in an adversity-type and region-specific manner.
However, the long-term effects of adversity on brain structure and the association of individual neurobiological heterogeneity with behavior have yet to be elucidated.
This revealed widespread morphometric changes in the brain, with partially adversity-specific features. At the individual level, greater volume contractions relative to the model were predictive of future anxiety. We show a stable neurobiological signature of adversity that persists into adulthood and emphasize the importance of considering individual-level rather than group-level predictions to explain emerging psychopathology. Encountering environmental adversities may increase the risk of developing psychiatric disorders in adulthood 1 , 2.
Through adaptations in the regulation of emotional, cognitive and behavioral processes, individuals strive to cope with challenging environmental conditions. However, this can be maladaptive and thereby increase the risk for psychopathology for example, ref. Despite the clear adversity-induced vulnerability to developing psychiatric disorders, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this association have remained elusive for several reasons.
