Table 3.

Example Evidence of the Effects of Early Life Adversity on Males’ Neurobiology and Neurocognitive Functioning

Citation	Study Design	Species	N	Early Life Adversity (ELA)			Key Findings
Citation	Study Design	Species	N	Type	Timing	Measure	Key Findings
*Neurobiology*
Bagot et al., 2009	E, P	Rats	30	Low-caring mothers	Up to 21 days (weaning)	N/A	Adult male offspring of low-caring mothers have reduced hippocampal dendritic complexity and improved dentate plasticity during stress when compared to offspring of high-caring mothers
Champagne, et al., 2008	E, P	Rats	13	Low-caring mothers	Up to 21 days (weaning)	N/A	Adult male offspring of low-caring mothers have reduced synaptic plasticity when tested in non-stressed conditions, but increased plasticity in stressed conditions, when compared to offspring of high-caring mothers
Wang et al., 2012	E, P	Mandarin voles	12–18	Paternal deprivation	Up to 23 days (weaning)	N/A	Paternally deprived males had differential AVP immunoreactivity in various brain regions compared to controls (biparentally-raised males)
Yu et al., 2012	E, P	Mandarin voles	10–18	Paternal deprivation	Up to 23 days (weaning)	N/A	Paternally deprived males had enhanced expression of dopamine receptors in the nucleus accumbens
Braun et al., 2013	E, P	Octodon degus	24	Paternal deprivation	Up to 21 (weaning) or 45 days (puberty)	N/A	Paternal deprivation results in differential innervation in stress-responsive systems compared to controls
*Neural Structure*
Jensen et al., 2015	P, L	Humans	494	Cumulative index of 37 family adversities	Birth to age 6	PR	ELA associated with lower grey matter volumes in right and higher grey matter volumes in right precuneus at age 18 to 21 years, controlling for other adversities.
Roth et al., 2018	CS	Humans	138	Neglect	Up to current age (9 to 15 years)	RSR	Larger right amygdala volumes positively correlated with history of neglect in males but not in females. Right amygdala volume mediated association between neglect and anxiety symptoms in males.
Ugwu, et al., 2015	CS	Humans	92	Maltreatment	Birth to age 16	RSR	Males reporting ELA history, but not females, had altered structural connectivity of white matter tracts (e.g. cingulum and uncinate fasciculus) connecting limbic and prefrontal brain regions
*Neurocognitive Functioning*
Crozier et al., 2014	CS	Humans	74	Maltreatment	Birth to current age (8 to 16 years	CPS	Maltreated males had increased activity in the visual cortex and lingual gyrus and decreased activity in the cingulate cortex in response to fearful faces, compared to non-maltreated males. Relationship not found in females.
Elton et al. 2014	CS	Humans	40	Maltreatment	Birth to age 16	RSR	Maltreatment dose-related decrease in dorsal ACC activity, modulated by left inferior frontal cortex, predicted greater response inhibition in adult females but poorer response inhibition in adult males.
LoPilato et al., 2020	L	Humans	605	Threat (e.g. abuse) and deprivation (e.g. poverty, neglect)	Birth to age 16	RSR	Among adolescents and young adults, heightened stress perception was associated with deprivation-based ELA in males and with threat-based ELA in females.
Nooner et al., 2018	CS	Humans	193	Maltreatment	Birth to current age (12 years)	CPS	Females with ELA history performed better than males with ELA history on a short-term verbal memory task

Note: ACC, Anterior Cingulate Cortex;

Study Design: E=Experimental, P=Prospective, L=Longitudinal, CS=Cross-sectional

ELA Measure: CPS=Child Protective Services records; PR=Parent report; RSR=Retrospective self-report Early Life Adversity and Males 54