Influence of maternal care on the developing brain: Mechanisms, temporal dynamics and sensitive periods

- Variation in maternal care induces both short- and long-term neurobiological effects.
- Maternal care predicts brain area-specific gene-specific and global epigenetic effects.
- There are sensitive periods for experiences related to mother-infant interactions.
- Behavioral and neuroendocrine events define sensitive periods for maternal influences.
- It is critical to understand timing in the context of maternal influences on development.

Variation in maternal care can lead to divergent developmental trajectories in offspring with implications for neuroendocrine function and behavioral phenotypes. Study of the long-term outcomes associated with mother-infant interactions suggests complex mechanisms linking the experience of variation in maternal care and these neurobiological consequences. Through integration of genetic, molecular, cellular, neuroanatomical, and neuroendocrine approaches, significant advances in our understanding of these complex pathways have been achieved. In this review, we will consider the impact of maternal care on male and female offspring development with a particular focus on the issues of timing and mechanism. Identifying the period of sensitivity to maternal care and the temporal dynamics of the molecular and neuroendocrine changes that are a consequence of maternal care represents a critical step in the study of mechanism.