Stress Responses and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence

Adolescence represents a critical window of brain maturation and hormonal transition, during which the coordination of stress responses and ongoing neurodevelopment shapes emotional and cognitive trajectories. Activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis leads to pulsatile glucocorticoid release that influences synaptic pruning, myelination and neurogenesis across cortical and limbic regions. During this period, heightened sensitivity to environmental challenges can result in enduring alterations to neural circuits underlying reward processing, fear conditioning and executive functions. Disruption of these processes by psychosocial adversity or substance exposure may elevate the risk of mood disorders, substance misuse and cognitive impairments. Understanding how stress-response systems interact with the dynamic architecture of the adolescent brain is essential for devising preventive and therapeutic interventions that bolster resilience on a global scale.

Research from Nature Portfolio

In a rodent model of chronic variable social stress during adolescence, both male and female mice exhibited increased anxiety-like behaviour in open-field and elevated-plus-maze tests and displayed a significant rise in binge-like ethanol consumption in adulthood. These alterations occurred without changes in sweet-reward preference, suggesting a specific reorganisation of affective circuits and reward pathways. The findings highlight how social stressors in the adolescent period can prime neurobiological substrates for comorbid affective and addictive behaviours.

Stress Responses and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in stress responses and neurodevelopment in adolescence across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis: Central stress-regulating system controlling glucocorticoid secretion.

Neurogenesis: Generation and integration of new neurons, notably in the hippocampus.

Glucocorticoid: Steroid hormones from the adrenal cortex that regulate metabolism and neural development under stress.

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH): Hypothalamic peptide that triggers HPA axis activation.

References

1. Sex-dependent effects of acute stress and alcohol exposure during adolescence on mRNA expression of brain signaling systems involved in reward and stress responses in young adult rats. Biology of Sex Differences (2024).
2. Effects of physical activity in child and adolescent depression and anxiety: role of inflammatory cytokines and stress-related peptide hormones. Frontiers in Neuroscience (2023).
3. Stress and adolescent hippocampal neurogenesis: diet and exercise as cognitive modulators. Translational Psychiatry (2017).
4. Adolescent social stress increases anxiety-like behavior and ethanol consumption in adult male and female C57BL/6J mice. Scientific Reports (2018).