TY  - JOUR
AB  - Functional development of affective and reward circuits, cognition and response inhibition later in life exhibits vulnerability periods during gestation and early childhood. Extensive evidence supports the model that exposure to stressors in the gestational period and early postnatal life increases an individual's susceptibility to future impairments of functional development. Recent versions of this model integrate epigenetic mechanisms of the developmental response. Their understanding will guide the future treatment of the associated neuropsychiatric disorders. A combination of non-invasively obtainable physiological signals and epigenetic biomarkers related to the principal systems of the stress response, the Hypothalamic-Pituitary axis (HPA) and the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), are emerging as the key predictors of neurodevelopmental outcomes. Such electrophysiological and epigenetic biomarkers can prove to timely identify children benefiting most from early intervention programs. Such programs should ameliorate future disorders in otherwise healthy children. The recently developed Early Family-Centered Intervention Programs aim to influence the care and stimuli provided daily by the family and improving parent/child attachment, a key element for healthy socio-emotional adult life. Although frequently underestimated, such biomarker-guided early intervention strategy represents a crucial first step in the prevention of future neuropsychiatric problems and in reducing their personal and societal impact.
AU  - Antonelli, M.C.*
AU  - Frasch, M.G.*
AU  - Rumi, M.*
AU  - Sharma, R.
AU  - Zimmermann, P.*
AU  - Molinet, M.S.*
AU  - Lobmaier, S.M.*
C1  - 64600
C2  - 52063
CY  - Executive Ste Y-2, Po Box 7917, Saif Zone, 1200 Br Sharjah, U Arab Emirates
SP  - 94-106
TI  - Early biomarkers and intervention programs for the infant exposed to prenatal stress.
JO  - Curr. Neuropharmacol.
VL  - 20
IS  - 1
PB  - Bentham Science Publ Ltd
PY  - 2022
SN  - 1570-159X
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Background: The hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin regulates reproductive behavior and mother-infant interaction, and conclusive studies in humans indicate that oxytocin is also a potent modulator of psychosocial function. Pilot experiments have yielded first evidence that this neuropeptide moreover influences eating behavior.Methods: We briefly summarize currently available studies on the involvement of the oxytocin system in the pathophysiology of eating disorders, as well as on the effects of oxytocin administration in patients with these disorders.Results: Brain administration of oxytocin in animals with normal weight, but also with diet-induced or genetically induced obesity, attenuates food intake and reduces body weight. In normal-weight and obese individuals, acute intranasal oxytocin delivery curbs calorie intake from main dishes and snacks. Such effects might converge with the poignant social and cognitive impact of oxytocin to also improve dysfunctional eating behavior in the therapeutic context. This assumption has received support in first studies showing that oxytocin might play a role in the disease process of anorexia nervosa. In contrast, respective experiments in patients with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder are still scarce.Conclusions: We propose a framework of oxytocin's role and its therapeutic potential in eating disorders that aims at integrating social and metabolic aspects of its pharmacological profile, and ponder perspectives and limitations of oxytocin use in the clinical setting.
AU  - Giel, K.E.*
AU  - Zipfel, S.*
AU  - Hallschmid, M.
C1  - 54238
C2  - 45329
CY  - Executive Ste Y-2, Po Box 7917, Saif Zone, 1200 Br Sharjah, U Arab Emirates
SP  - 1111-1121
TI  - Oxytocin and eating disorders: A narrative review on emerging findings and perspectives.
JO  - Curr. Neuropharmacol.
VL  - 16
IS  - 8
PB  - Bentham Science Publ Ltd
PY  - 2018
SN  - 1570-159X
ER  -