Oxytocin administration and emotion recognition abilities in adults with a history of childhood adversity

It is well established that adverse early life experiences can predispose individuals to mental and physical disease in adulthood (Gilbert et al., 2009; Repetti et al., 2002) raising the question of how the long-lasting health consequences of unfavorable early environments are sustained. A large body of research has shown that early adversity can lead to altered regulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (Heim et al., 2008) and to deficits in social behavior and social cognitive skills such as emotion processing (Young and Widom, 2014).
Source: Psychoneuroendocrinology - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research