Gabriella Conti - University College London
Early Life Adversity, Environmental Enrichment, and Long-Term Health
Date: 03/06/2014 (Thu)
Time: 3:30pm- 5:00pm
Location: Seminar will be held on-site: Gross Hall - 270
Organizer: Seth Sanders
Meeting Schedule: Login or email the organizer to schedule a meeting.
All meetings will be held in the same location as the seminar unless otherwise noted.
8:15am - Breakfast--Max Crowley (Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Child and Family Policy)
9:30am - Jenny Tung (Asst. Prof., Evolutionary Anthropology)
10:00am - Noah Snyder-Mackler (Postdoctoral Fellow, Tung lab)
10:30am - Karen Sugden and Ben Williams (Geneticists, Moffitt and Caspi lab)
11:00am - Asia Maselko (Asst. Prof., Global Health, Psychiatry)
11:30am - Joseph Lariscy (Postdoctoral Fellow, DuPRI)
12:00pm - Christina Gibson-Davis (Associate Professor, Public Policy, Sociology, and Psychology and Neuroscience )
1:15pm - Open for Students (Ryan Brown, Poh Lin Tan)
1:45pm - Jane Costello
2:15pm - Susan Alberts (Biology)
2:45pm - Giovanna Merli (Professor, Public Policy and Sociology)
3:15pm - Prepare for seminar
3:30pm - Seminar Presentation (3:30pm to 5:00pm)
6:00pm - Dinner - Jenny Tung, Seth Sanders
Additional Comments:
ABSTRACT: In this talk, I present recent primate and human evidence on the importance of investing in the early years to promote health across the lifecourse. First, I provide evidence based on a unique long-running experiment on rhesus monkeys which are randomly allocated at birth across three different rearing conditions: mother-rearing, peer-rearing and surrogate peer-rearing. I use data from this experiment to show that the lack of a secure attachment relationship in early life (non-maternal rearing) in rhesus monkeys has long-term negative effects on both physical and mental health; that it also affects stress-response pathways; and that it causes changes in the expression of leukocyte genes related to immune function. Second, I present new evidence based on the two oldest and most widely-cited early childhood interventions: the Perry Preschool Program and the Carolina Abecedarian Project. Both the Perry and the Abecedarian interventions have shown substantial impacts on socioeconomic outcomes for treatment group members as compared to control group members throughout their lives. Little is known about their health benefits. I present recent evidence which shows longlasting health effects of these two early childhood interventions throughout the mid-adult life of the participants. In sum, this talk shows that experiences occurring during critical periods of development can have long-term effects, and that, while children can be permanently damaged, the damage can also be remediated. It shows the potential of early life interventions to prevent disease and promote health.