A recent study by the University of São Paulo has found that too much stress during the teenage years can change the way genes work in the brain.
These changes are mostly related to how our bodies create energy and can lead to problems with how cells breathe.
This might cause behavioral issues and mental health problems when these teenagers become adults. The study is published in the journal Translational Psychiatry.
Adolescence is a time of big changes in our body and behavior. The brain, in particular, goes through a lot of structural and functional changes during this time. These changes are influenced by both biology and our social environment.
Thamyris Santos-Silva, the study’s lead author, explains that the brain of a teenage rat, like that of a human, is very adaptable. This adaptability is seen in how genes work and in behavior.
Changes in gene activity in different parts of the brain can affect how brain cells connect. These changes can spread throughout the body and cause long-lasting effects into adulthood, including mental health issues.
Felipe Villela Gomes, the last author of the study, adds that the teenage years are key for brain development.
Social experiences, especially negative ones like trauma or abuse, can have a big impact during this time. They can affect how well someone can handle stress later in life.
One part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, is really sensitive to stress during the teenage years. It’s responsible for controlling emotions, a skill that usually gets better as we grow into adults.
In rats that were stressed during their teenage years, this part of the brain showed less activity in certain genes. These genes are important for how mitochondria work.
Mitochondria are tiny parts of cells that create energy. This energy is crucial for neurons, the cells in our brain that help control our behavior and response to stress.
The study started by looking at how the rats acted when they were stressed. This included things like anxiety, how they interacted with others, and thinking skills.
The rats went through a stress test for ten days during a period when their brains were changing a lot. The tests showed that they had more anxiety, less interest in socializing, and had trouble with thinking tasks.
The team then looked at whether these behavior changes matched changes in gene activity.
They sent RNA samples to a lab in Switzerland, where they found that indeed, the stressed rats had different gene activity in their brains.
This research is important because it helps us understand how stress in our teenage years can affect our mental health as adults.
If you care about mental health, please read studies that vegetarian diet may increase your depression risk, and Vitamin D could help reduce depression symptoms.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that ultra-processed foods may make you feel depressed, and these antioxidants could help reduce the risk of dementia.
The research findings can be found in Translational Psychiatry.
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