Our work on Puberty and the Stress System: From Early Trauma to Mental & Physical Health
Science News highlighted a groundbreaking discovery: puberty can act as a natural reset for the brain’s stress systems in children who experienced early adversity. The study revealed that while young children with trauma histories often show blunted stress hormone (cortisol) responses, these patterns can normalize during and after puberty—suggesting that adolescence may be a critical window for biological recovery. This was work that Dr. Reid collaborated on with Dr. Megan Gunnar at the University of Minnesota.
Read the original feature in Science News →
What We’re Doing Now
At the REID Lab, we are building on this important finding. With funding from NHLBI and collaboration with Dr. Megan Gunnar and others at the University of Minnesota, we are now following these same children across adolescence and into early adulthood to ask new questions:
Are the changes in cortisol patterns reflected in other areas of physical and mental health?
How do stress biology, nutrition, and early adversity together shape long-term immune, cardiometabolic, and mental health?
Can this developmental window be harnessed to design better interventions?
By tracking both physiological health (e.g., inflammation, iron status, cardiovascular markers) and mental health outcomes (e.g., mood, self-regulation, academic functioning), our goal is to understand how biology and experience interact across the life course.
Why It Matters
This work helps answer one of the most pressing questions in developmental science:
When and how can early adversity be overcome?
Our longitudinal follow-up is uniquely positioned to identify not only risks but also windows of resilience—critical insights for clinicians, educators, and policymakers aiming to support children and families.
