TY - JOUR
T1 - Developmental responses to early-life adversity
T2 - Evolutionary and mechanistic perspectives
AU - Lu, Amy
AU - Petrullo, Lauren
AU - Carrera, Sofia
AU - Feder, Jacob
AU - Schneider-Crease, India
AU - Snyder-Mackler, Noah
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PY - 2019/9/1
Y1 - 2019/9/1
N2 - Adverse ecological and social conditions during early life are known to influence development, with rippling effects that may explain variation in adult health and fitness. The adaptive function of such developmental plasticity, however, remains relatively untested in long-lived animals, resulting in much debate over which evolutionary models are most applicable. Furthermore, despite the promise of clinical interventions that might alleviate the health consequences of early-life adversity, research on the proximate mechanisms governing phenotypic responses to adversity have been largely limited to studies on glucocorticoids. Here, we synthesize the current state of research on developmental plasticity, discussing both ultimate and proximate mechanisms. First, we evaluate the utility of adaptive models proposed to explain developmental responses to early-life adversity, particularly for long-lived mammals such as humans. In doing so, we highlight how parent-offspring conflict complicates our understanding of whether mothers or offspring benefit from these responses. Second, we discuss the role of glucocorticoids and a second physiological system—the gut microbiome—that has emerged as an additional, clinically relevant mechanism by which early-life adversity can influence development. Finally, we suggest ways in which nonhuman primates can serve as models to study the effects of early-life adversity, both from evolutionary and clinical perspectives.
AB - Adverse ecological and social conditions during early life are known to influence development, with rippling effects that may explain variation in adult health and fitness. The adaptive function of such developmental plasticity, however, remains relatively untested in long-lived animals, resulting in much debate over which evolutionary models are most applicable. Furthermore, despite the promise of clinical interventions that might alleviate the health consequences of early-life adversity, research on the proximate mechanisms governing phenotypic responses to adversity have been largely limited to studies on glucocorticoids. Here, we synthesize the current state of research on developmental plasticity, discussing both ultimate and proximate mechanisms. First, we evaluate the utility of adaptive models proposed to explain developmental responses to early-life adversity, particularly for long-lived mammals such as humans. In doing so, we highlight how parent-offspring conflict complicates our understanding of whether mothers or offspring benefit from these responses. Second, we discuss the role of glucocorticoids and a second physiological system—the gut microbiome—that has emerged as an additional, clinically relevant mechanism by which early-life adversity can influence development. Finally, we suggest ways in which nonhuman primates can serve as models to study the effects of early-life adversity, both from evolutionary and clinical perspectives.
KW - developmental constraints
KW - developmental plasticity
KW - glucocorticoids
KW - maternal capital
KW - microbiome
KW - predictive adaptive responses
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85072018978&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85072018978&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/evan.21791
DO - 10.1002/evan.21791
M3 - Review article
C2 - 31498945
SN - 1060-1538
VL - 28
SP - 249
EP - 266
JO - Evolutionary anthropology
JF - Evolutionary anthropology
IS - 5
ER -