Authors:

CAROZZA, S., HOLMES, J., Vertes, P.E., Bullmore, E., Arefin, T.M., Pugliese, A., ZHANG, J.,Kaffman, A., AKARCA, D., ASTLE, D.

Reference:

Year of publication:

In Press

CBU number:

8905

Abstract:

Early adversity can change educational, cognitive, and mental health outcomes. However, the neural processes through which early adversity exerts these effects remain largely unknown. We used generative network modelling of the mouse connectome to test whether unpredictable postnatal stress shifts the constraints that govern the organisation of the structural connectome. A model that trades off the wiring cost of long-distance connections with topological homophily (i.e. links between regions with shared neighbours) generated simulations that successfully replicate the rodent connectome. The imposition of early life adversity shifted the best-performing parameter combinations toward zero, heightening the stochastic nature of the generative process. Put simply, unpredictable postnatal stress changes the economic constraints that reproduce rodent connectome organisation, introducing greater randomness into the development of the simulations. While this change may constrain the development of cognitive abilities, it could also reflect an adaptive mechanism that facilitates effective responses to future challenges. Open Science Framework at osf.io/evgw5

Data available, click to request