Anxiety impact on the children brain: consequences for children emotional capacities

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is characterized by substantial structural and functional brain maturation alongside a rise in stress-related psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression. Most evidence on adolescent-specific neural stress effects derives from human neuroimaging, with comparatively less known from non-human/animal models. Objective: To review evidence on the effects of chronic stress exposure on brain regions that continue to mature structurally during adolescence, focusing on the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. Methods: Narrative literature review synthesizing human neuroimaging studies and animal (rodent) models of adolescent stress-related neurodevelopment. Results: Chronic stress exposure during adolescence was found to differentially affect structural maturation of the amygdala, hippocampus, and cortex compared with adulthood. Adolescent rodent models showed corticosteroid-related gene expression remaining elevated relative to adult hippocampus, suggesting heightened adolescent sensitivity to stress hormones that may underlie increased vulnerability to anxiety and mood disturbance emerging during this period. Conclusion: Adolescence represents a sensitive developmental window in which stress exposure can alter structural maturation of emotion-related brain regions, with implications for later psychiatric risk. Further translational research is needed to clarify the underlying mechanisms linking adolescent stress to altered brain development and emotional functioning.