Early life stress is associated with earlier emergence of permanent molars

Abstract

Exposure to adversity can accelerate biological aging. However, existing biomarkers of early aging are either costly and difficult to collect, like epigenetic signatures, or cannot be detected until late childhood, like pubertal onset. We evaluated the hypothesis that early adversity is associated with earlier molar eruption, an easily assessed measure that has been used to track the length of childhood across primates. In a preregistered analysis (n = 117, ages 4 to 7 y), we demonstrate that lower family income and exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are significantly associated with earlier eruption of the first permanent molars, as rated in T2-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRI). We replicate relationships between income and molar eruption in a population-representative dataset (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; n = 1,973). These findings suggest that the impact of stress on the pace of biological development is evident in early childhood, and detectable in the timing of molar eruption.

Exploring neural correlates of behavioral and academic resilience among children in poverty

“…There was no significant change for children below poverty—and we showed subsequently that this did not depend on cognitive performance. This pattern of results fits with findings of other recent work ( Chahal et al, 2022 ) and raises the possibility that the children living below poverty reached CON network maturity slightly earlier, potentially consistent with the accelerated development hypothesis for these particular networks ( Belsky, 2019 , Callaghan and Tottenham, 2016 , Gee et al, 2013 , McDermott et al, 2021 , Tooley et al, 2021 ). To ascertain which neural systems show accelerated maturation in the face of adversity, it will be necessary to test for differential trajectories during a dynamic window of development for a given system.…”

“…Other studies have provided evidence of accelerated physical and brain development among children growing up in adversity, which could help them to adapt more readily to harsher living conditions ( Belsky, 2019 , Callaghan and Tottenham, 2016 , Gee et al, 2013 , McDermott et al, 2021 , Tooley et al, 2021 ). Here, we do not see evidence for accelerated rate of LFPN-DMN network development for children below poverty—at least, not at this point in development.…”

Exploring neural correlates of behavioral and academic resilience among children in poverty

“…There was no significant change for children below poverty—and we showed subsequently that this did not depend on cognitive performance. This pattern of results fits with findings of other recent work (Chahal et al, 2022) and raises the possibility that the children living below poverty reached CON network maturity slightly earlier, potentially consistent with the accelerated development hypothesis for these particular networks (Belsky, 2019; Callaghan & Tottenham, 2016; Gee et al, 2013; McDermott et al, 2021; Tooley et al, 2021). To ascertain which neural systems show accelerated maturation in the face of adversity, it will be necessary to test for differential trajectories during a dynamic window of development for a given system.…”

“…Other studies have provided evidence of accelerated physical and brain development among children growing up in adversity, which could help them to adapt more readily to harsher living conditions (Belsky, 2019; Callaghan & Tottenham, 2016; Gee et al, 2013; McDermott et al, 2021; Tooley et al, 2021). Here, we do not see evidence for accelerated rate of LFPN-DMN network development for children below poverty—at least, not at this point in development.…”

Do Younger Children Benefit More From Cognitive and Academic Interventions? How Training Studies Can Provide Insights Into Developmental Changes in Plasticity

“…However, we should also be mindful of additional factors that can shape intervention fadeout, such as broader environmental contexts, like socioeconomic status, that can either support or impair the maintenance of training gains (Bailey, Duncan, Odgers, & Yu, 2017). Indeed, early experiences of stress and cognitive enrichment are hypothesized to alter the pacing and plasticity of brain development (Colich, Rosen, Williams, & McLaughlin, 2020;McDermott et al, 2021;Tooley, Bassett, & Mackey, 2021).…”