Early life stress (ELS) is the most notable environmental risk factor for developing neuropsychiatric disorders, which contribute to a significant proportion of the disease burden in the Western societies. This project will create comprehensive new information on how early adverse experiences affect brain development and predispose to neuropsychiatric problems later on in life. Specifically, the aim is to identify the neural networks and neuronal populations that are affected by ELS to mediate aberrant behaviors, as well as the optimal therapeutic windows for their modulation. In parallel, opportunities for selective manipulation of the relevant network for therapeutic purposes is explored, focusing on kainate receptors, a unique family of glutamate receptors implicated in development and plasticity of limbic neural circuits. We expect the results to provide novel clinically relevant information on neurodevelopmental disorders and prospects for their targeted therapeutic applications.

2024

2028