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Abstract #4518

In Vivo MRS Study of Adolescent Rhesus Monkeys with Early Life Stress Experience

Yumei Yan1, Xiaodong Zhang1, Brittany Howell2,3, Mar Sanchez2,3

1Yerkes Imaging Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States; 2Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States; 3Psychobiology Division, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States


In vivo Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) was used to investigate the metabolic changes in basal ganglia (BG) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of adolescent rhesus monkeys with Early Life Stress (ELS). The MRS findings suggest that ELS has an enduring impact on the brains of adolescent male monkeys, potentially reflecting neuropathological alterations or even neuronal loss in their BG (striatum). Males seem more vulnerable to these long-term alterations than females, supporting previous sex differences in vulnerability to ELS. The sex differences in Cho striatal concentrations could be due to differences in glial cell proliferation.