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4 INTRODUCTIONoverview of the brain’s stress response system and how early stressors can influencethis system as the child develops. She also reviews research suggesting thatadverse effects on the stress response system produced by neglectful parentingcan be reversed by subsequent more responsive care. Her work with human infantsand children merges nicely with that of Michael Meaney, who has been studyingthe powerful role of maternal behavior in the development of mammals. Hiswork suggests that stress experienced by the mother during both the prenatal andpostnatal period can influence her behavior toward the newborn. This early maternaltreatment can then influence the expression of genes that regulate the infant’sstress response with life-long implications for subsequent mental disorder. A particularlyintriguing aspect of this work is the transmission of these effects to thenext generation. Karen Bales and C. Sue Carter then discuss the newly emergingstudy of two hormones, oxytocin and arginine vasopressin, that appear to influencemating and social behavior. Although our understanding of these hormonesis just beginning, it appears that they may be affected by early parental behaviorand play a role in the ability to form pair bonds. They may also influence the stressresponse and emergence of depression in adolescents. Finally, Charles A. Nelson,Charles H. Zeanah and Nathan A. Fox describe the work that they have been doingto understand the effects of early social deprivation in the institutional rearing ofinfants in Romania and how subsequent adoption into normal families can reversesome of the adverse effects of this early traumatic experience on brain developmentand behavior.In part IV, we turn to the effects of stress and other environmental hazardsexperienced during adolescence. Erin McClure and Daniel Pine outline a modelof brain development that can explain many of the social sources of anxiety inadolescents and ways to study these forces as they affect both normal and anxiousyouth. Anthony Grace presents a model for the development of schizophreniathat focuses on the combined effects of both genetic predispositions and stressexperienced during adolescence that can lead to abnormal brain development andpsychotic symptoms. His work suggests that intervention with antianxiety medicationsmay short-circuit this process and prevent the emergence of psychosis.Elaine F. Walker, Amanda McMillan, and Vijay Mittal discuss the influence ofstress hormones on brain development and the potential influence of these hormoneson the development of psychotic symptoms during adolescence. They alsodiscuss the potential role of drug treatments for mental disorders that might affectthe expression of these symptoms. Lauren Alloy and Lyn Abramson describe amodel for the emergence of depression in adolescence that combines the effectsof both social stressors and normative brain development processes to explain theearly rise of depression in female youth. They also suggest some strategies to reversethese processes.In part V, we move to a discussion of potentially reversible abnormalities inbrain development and strategies that have been proposed to reverse these pro-