Eamon McCrory on “How adversity in childhood ‘gets under the skin’”

How adversity in childhood ‘gets under the skin’:  neuroscience, genetics and the concept of latent vulnerability

Abstract: Childhood adversity, in the form of maltreatment and neglect, is one of the strongest predictors of later mental health problems across childhood, adolescence and adulthood. However, the epigenetic and neurobiological mechanisms by which childhood adversity ‘gets under the skin’ remain poorly understood. I will introduce the concept of Latent Vulnerability as a way to think about how maltreatment exposure can calibrate a range of biological and neurocognitive systems in response to a threatening and unpredictable early environment. Changes to these systems are arguably adaptive in the short term. However, I will consider how these changes may embed Latent Vulnerability over the longer term, increasing the risk that mental health problems will emerge when a child negotiates new challenges and stressors later in development. Implications for intervention will be briefly considered, alongside a rationale for an increasing focus on preventative intervention.

Short Bio: Eamon McCrory is Professor of Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology at UCL and Director of the Developmental Risk and Resilience Unit. His research uses brain imaging and psychological approaches to investigate the impact of maltreatment on emotional development. He is also Director of Postgraduate Studies at the Anna Freud Centre and leads the UCL-Yale MRes in Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology

Thursday, 4 February, 2016, 6 pm, at UCL, 26 Bedford Way (north corner), in room 305 on the third floor (note the new venue)

For more details, please click here: NPSAFeb16