DELAYED EFFECTS OF EARLYSTRESS IN
HIPPOCAMPAL DEVELOPMENT
Early maternal separation produces enduring morphological changes in developing brain particularly affecting the hippocampus and other related structures. Such alteration may not become evident until adulthood.
Susan Andersen and Martin Teicher (Delayed effects of early stress on hippocampal development. Neuropsychopharmacology 29, 1988-1993, November 2004) studied the effects of stress caused by early maternal separation in rat pups brain. They found a regionally specific delayed effect on the structure of the hippocampus consisting in attenuating rates of synaptic development.