Infants under stress tied to autism, depression, and retardation

• High stress levels during infancy and early childhood can lead to the poor development of communication zones in brain cells -- a condition found in mental disorders such as autism, depression and mental retardation.
• Blood Markers Associated With Autism And Mental Retardation (April 26, 2001) -- A new study shows that elevated concentrations of proteins present at birth in the blood may be associated with the development of autism and mental retardation later in childhood.
• OHSU Researchers Discover Brain Cell Mechanism Possibly Linked To Mental Retardation (February 20, 2003) -- Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) have discovered a key cellular mechanism in the brain possibly involved in mental retardation.
• The research may be used to develop new ...
• Study Points To Chromosome Site Of Autism Gene (December 3, 1999) -- Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and collaborating institutions are reporting evidence for a possible gene on chromosome 13 that causes autism.
• These are the findings of Dr. Tallie Z. Baram and her collaborators at the UC Irvine College of Medicine, Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., and the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry.
• For the first time, the researchers have identified how increased amounts of a key messenger for stress, the neuropeptide CRH, can inhibit the normal growth of dendrites, which are branch-like protrusions of neurons that send and receive messages from other brain cells.
• The researchers believe CRH ultimately may be responsible for these poorly developed zones in brain cells.
• "These findings may prove to be highly relevant for understanding the origins of several human brain disorders, and they also point to some potential preventive treatments," said Baram, the Danette Shepard Chair in Neurological Studies.
• In several human brain disorders where learning and similar thought processes are abnormal, dendrites in the hippocampus -- where learning and memory occurs -- have been found to be small or poorly developed.