Conte Center for Brain Programming in Adolescent Vulnerabilities

The Conte Center @ UCI addresses how early-life experiences, and especially early-life adversity, influence brain maturation and contribute to vulnerability to mental health problems throughout life.

We have identified unpredictable, chaotic sensory signals from parents or environment as an important novel type of adversity- which is amenable to prevention.

We employ cutting edge research tools in parallel infants, children, and adults and in experimental rodent models to determine how early-life experiences shape individual brain cells and the development and organization of brain circuits. These carry out the important complex functions of our brain, including behaviors such as risk-taking, drug use and depression.