The benefits gained by young animals engaging in play fighting have been a subject of
conjecture for over a hundred years. Progress in understanding the behavioral development …

Negative social experiences during adolescence are central features for several stress-
related mental illnesses. Social play fighting behavior in rats peaks during early …

Rationale Research on adolescence and drug abuse increased substantially in the past
decade. However, drug-addiction-related behaviors following stressful experiences during …

Rationale Adolescence is a developmental period of complex neurobiological change and
heightened vulnerability to psychiatric illness. As a result, understanding factors such as sex …

Abstract Development passes through sensitive periods, during which plasticity allows for
genetic and environmental factors to exert indelible influence on the maturation of the …

Intact function of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) function relies on proper development
of excitatory and inhibitory neuronal populations and on integral myelination processes …

Maternal infection during pregnancy and childhood social trauma have been associated
with neurodevelopmental and affective disorders, such as schizophrenia, autism spectrum …

Traumatic events during childhood/early adolescence can cause long-lasting physiological
and behavioral changes with increasing risk for psychiatric conditions including psychosis …

Childhood and adolescent adversity are associated with a wide range of psychiatric
disorders, including an increased risk for substance abuse. Despite this, the mechanisms …

Stressful life events increase vulnerability to problematic alcohol use, and they may do this
by disrupting reward-related neural circuitry. This is particularly relevant for adolescents …