Concepts to explain
These 18 concepts recur across the publications. Their explanations are planned; the linked papers show where each question arises. The first full explanation is the thrifty behavior hypothesis.
A map of the ideas
Select a concept to jump to its details below. Hover or focus on one to trace its direct links. On smaller screens, scroll sideways to explore.
Placement is illustrative. Lines mark selected topical links supported by publications tagged with both concepts; their motion is decorative. Map data
Concept details
Early experiences and later health
How can experiences early in life relate to health years later?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Differentiating genetic and gene-environment interaction profiles of physical and mental health disorders.
- Early life adversity and the comorbidity of psychopathology and cardiometabolic disorders: insights from the UK Biobank.
- Early adversity and insulin: neuroendocrine programming beyond glucocorticoids.
- Litter size reduction alters insulin signaling in the ventral tegmental area and influences dopamine-related behaviors in adult rats.
Growth before birth
What does restricted growth before birth measure, and what can it predict?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Insulin modulates mPFC gene expression and emotional behavior in a sex-specific manner following fetal growth restriction.
- Striatal dopamine gene network moderates the effect of early adversity on the risk for adult psychiatric and cardiometabolic comorbidity.
- Early Influences on Development of Sensory Perception and Eating Habits.
- Multi-behavioral obesogenic phenotypes among school-aged boys and girls along the birth weight continuum.
How food preferences develop
When and how do preferences for sweet, fatty, or other foods take shape?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Early Influences on Development of Sensory Perception and Eating Habits.
- Dopamine D4 receptor gene polymorphism (DRD4 VNTR) moderates real-world behavioural response to the food retail environment in children.
- Predicted DRD4 prefrontal gene expression moderates snack intake and stress perception in response to the environment in adolescents.
- Multi-behavioral obesogenic phenotypes among school-aged boys and girls along the birth weight continuum.
Food and the brain's reward system
Why can the same food feel more motivating in one setting or person than another?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Genetically-predicted prefrontal DRD4 gene expression modulates differentiated brain responses to food cues in adolescent girls and boys.
- Facial Expressions in Small for Gestational Age Newborns.
- The fetal programming of food preferences: current clinical and experimental evidence.
- Litter size reduction alters insulin signaling in the ventral tegmental area and influences dopamine-related behaviors in adult rats.
Insulin in the body and brain
What does insulin do beyond controlling blood sugar?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Insulin modulates mPFC gene expression and emotional behavior in a sex-specific manner following fetal growth restriction.
- Early adversity and insulin: neuroendocrine programming beyond glucocorticoids.
- Litter size reduction alters insulin signaling in the ventral tegmental area and influences dopamine-related behaviors in adult rats.
- Early life stress interacts with the diet deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids during the life course increasing the metabolic vulnerability in adult rats.
Genes and Environment
How can surroundings change the effect associated with a genetic difference?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Differentiating genetic and gene-environment interaction profiles of physical and mental health disorders.
- Striatal dopamine gene network moderates the effect of early adversity on the risk for adult psychiatric and cardiometabolic comorbidity.
- Genetically-predicted prefrontal DRD4 gene expression modulates differentiated brain responses to food cues in adolescent girls and boys.
- Dopamine D4 receptor gene polymorphism (DRD4 VNTR) moderates real-world behavioural response to the food retail environment in children.
The body's response to stress
How does the stress response develop and affect later behavior?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Early life adversity and the comorbidity of psychopathology and cardiometabolic disorders: insights from the UK Biobank.
- Predicted DRD4 prefrontal gene expression moderates snack intake and stress perception in response to the environment in adolescents.
- Brief daily postpartum separations from the litter alter dam response to psychostimulants and to stress.
- Early life stress is associated with anxiety, increased stress responsivity and preference for "comfort foods" in adult female rats.
Mental and metabolic health together
Why do mental health conditions and diseases such as diabetes sometimes occur together?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Differentiating genetic and gene-environment interaction profiles of physical and mental health disorders.
- Early life adversity and the comorbidity of psychopathology and cardiometabolic disorders: insights from the UK Biobank.
- Striatal dopamine gene network moderates the effect of early adversity on the risk for adult psychiatric and cardiometabolic comorbidity.
- Early adversity and insulin: neuroendocrine programming beyond glucocorticoids.
Caregiving across generations
How might experiences of care affect parents and children across generations?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Transgenerational effects of maternal care interact with fetal growth and influence attention skills at 18 months of age.
- Brief daily postpartum separations from the litter alter dam response to psychostimulants and to stress.
- Associations between parenting behavior and anxiety in a rodent model and a clinical sample: relationship to peripheral BDNF levels.
- Produção de óxido nítrico no hipocampo: investigação do envolvimento da óxido nítrico sintase neuronal no desenvolvimento de comportamentos ansiosos em animais submetidos a estresse neonatal
The food environment
How can shops, prices, displays, and food access shape eating?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Dopamine D4 receptor gene polymorphism (DRD4 VNTR) moderates real-world behavioural response to the food retail environment in children.
- Interaction of DRD2/ANKK1 Taq1A Genotype with in-Store Retail Food Environment Exposures on Diet Quality in a Cohort of Quebec Adults.
- Obesity in Latin America: similarity in the inequalities.
Nutrition across the life course
How can nutrition during pregnancy, infancy, and adulthood affect health differently?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Early Influences on Development of Sensory Perception and Eating Habits.
- Interaction of DRD2/ANKK1 Taq1A Genotype with in-Store Retail Food Environment Exposures on Diet Quality in a Cohort of Quebec Adults.
- Low birth weight is associated with increased fat intake in school-aged boys.
- The fetal programming of food preferences: current clinical and experimental evidence.
Physical activity and health
How do early development and later circumstances relate to physical activity?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Multi-behavioral obesogenic phenotypes among school-aged boys and girls along the birth weight continuum.
- Both food restriction and high-fat diet during gestation induce low birth weight and altered physical activity in adult rat offspring: the "Similarities in the Inequalities" model.
- Risk factors for sedentary behavior in young adults: similarities in the inequalities.
Breastfeeding and development
What is known about breastfeeding for children with different early-life risks?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
Dopamine
What does dopamine do in motivation, food choice, and stress?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Striatal dopamine gene network moderates the effect of early adversity on the risk for adult psychiatric and cardiometabolic comorbidity.
- Genetically-predicted prefrontal DRD4 gene expression modulates differentiated brain responses to food cues in adolescent girls and boys.
- Dopamine D4 receptor gene polymorphism (DRD4 VNTR) moderates real-world behavioural response to the food retail environment in children.
- Interaction of DRD2/ANKK1 Taq1A Genotype with in-Store Retail Food Environment Exposures on Diet Quality in a Cohort of Quebec Adults.
Serotonin
How might serotonin relate to eating and mood?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
How experience changes the brain
What does it mean for early experiences to leave lasting changes in brain function?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Insulin modulates mPFC gene expression and emotional behavior in a sex-specific manner following fetal growth restriction.
- Early adversity and insulin: neuroendocrine programming beyond glucocorticoids.
- Parenting: roots of the sweet tooth.
- Associations between parenting behavior and anxiety in a rodent model and a clinical sample: relationship to peripheral BDNF levels.
Reading animal and human studies
What can experiments in animals, human observations, and reviews each tell us?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers
- Differentiating genetic and gene-environment interaction profiles of physical and mental health disorders.
- Insulin modulates mPFC gene expression and emotional behavior in a sex-specific manner following fetal growth restriction.
- Early life adversity and the comorbidity of psychopathology and cardiometabolic disorders: insights from the UK Biobank.
- Genetically-predicted prefrontal DRD4 gene expression modulates differentiated brain responses to food cues in adolescent girls and boys.
Social conditions and health
How do income, education, and neighborhood conditions interact with biology?
Explanation to be developed
Related papers