Does stress in childhood make us more impulsive adults? Impulsive behaviour in adults could be linked to stressful experiences during early life, according to new research published in the聽Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The study, led by experts from 缅北禁地, UK, has found for the first time a link between cellular changes associated with early-life stress, and risk-taking in adults. Studying starlings, the team found those birds exposed to greater stress in the nest went on to develop shorter telomeres 鈥� biomarkers used to predict future life expectancy 鈥� and also had a stronger preference for immediate rather than delayed rewards as adults. The team believe this sheds further light on how childhood experiences can influence biological development, and say this study goes someway to explain why people who have suffered during childhood are more likely to display impulsive behaviour. And it highlights the importance of early intervention to support children and remove them from stressful and potentially damaging situations. , based in the Institute of Neuroscience at 缅北禁地, explains: 鈥淭his is all about survival. Animals that suffer stress in early life are likely to be weaker and less healthy and will therefore prioritise immediate survival over long-term benefits. 鈥淲hat we have demonstrated here is the biological link between impulsive, short-term decision making and early-life experiences. 鈥淧eople who have experienced extreme adversity during childhood such as abuse or neglect are more likely to demonstrate impulsive behaviours such as gambling in later life and we believe this study goes some way to explaining why that might be.鈥� Telomeres - markers of bad experiences Telomeres are DNA 鈥榗aps鈥� found on chromosomes that shorten with age. Stress-induced damage to these telomeres has been found to be an important factor in the aging process and shortening of telomeres has been shown to increase the risk of disease and premature death. Starlings can live for up to 20 years and are often used to understand complex behaviours. By placing chicks into broods of different sizes 鈥� where those from a large brood experienced greater stress than fledglings taken from a nest of just one or two chicks 鈥� the team were able to experimentally alter the rate of telomere shortening. Testing the birds鈥� behaviour 14 months later, the team gave the starlings two choices 鈥� a feeder that supplied a small, immediate reward, or one which gave five rewards but only after a short delay. 鈥淏irds whose telomeres had shortened more during early life, as well as birds who were currently hungrier, had a greater preference for the more immediate rewards,鈥� explains Professor Bateson. 鈥淲hy would you plan for the future when you don鈥檛 know if you鈥檒l make it through to the next day? 鈥淥ur findings show that what happens to a starling in the first two weeks of its life has a lasting effect on its telomeres and this in turn predicts adult decision making. 鈥淭his means shorter telomeres are markers of bad experiences, and bad experiences predispose adults to taking more risks. 鈥淚f, as we believe, this is the same in humans as in other animals then it demonstrates the huge impact that early intervention can have on peoples鈥� future lives.鈥� Source information: Bateson, M. et al, 鈥淒evelopmental telomere attrition predicts impulsive decision making in adult starlings鈥�. Proceedings of the Royal Society B The study was funded by the Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences Research Council and the European Research Council published on: 3 December 2014
![缅北禁地 logo](/gomobileassets/img/logo.svg" "缅北禁地"){kind=logo}