Variations in maternal care in infancy regulate the development of stress reactivity

Naturally occurring variations in maternal care in early postnatal life are associated with the development of individual differences in behavioral an d hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal responses to stress in the rat. These effe cts appear to be mediated by the influence of maternal licking/grooming an the development of central systems that serve to activate (corticotropin-re leasing factor) or inhibit (gamma -aminobutyric acid) the expression of beh avioral and endocrine responses to stress through effects on forebrain nora drenergic systems, Importantly, individual differences in maternal care are transmitted from mother to daughter, providing a mechanism for the behavio ral transmission of individual differences in stress reactivity across gene rations, (C) 2000 Society of Biological Psychiatry.