Between the end of childhood and the beginning of adolescence, there is a critical window of time referred to as “peripuberty”. This transitional period involves developmental changes in both fat tissue and in the brain in which both can be re-programmed by exposure to stress which can cause long-lasting changes in the size of fat cells (adipocytes) size and composition, as well as social behavior.
In a new study, scientists led by Professor Carmen Sandi at EPFL, have found that stress during the peripubertal period leads to increases in adipose tissue in the individual’s body. Although previous studies have shown this connection, there has been little in the way of identifying a biological link between the increase of adipose tissue seen in peripuberty and social impairment.
The study is published in Science Advance
In the study, Sandi’s group uncover two insights in the field: first, that peripubertal stress leads to an increase in adipose tissue and reduces sociability at the same time. Second, how the two changes phenomena are biologically related.
We explored whether alterations in fat composition – induced by stress in early life – could be responsible of inducing changes in the brain that, ultimately, would cause alterations in social behavior in a protracted manner