Early Life Stress Harms Mental Function And Immune System In Later Years, According To New Research

Evidence continues to mount that prenatal and early experience can have profound long-term effects on the developing central nervous system and its regulation of basic physiology, psychology, and immune function. Several reports at this meeting demonstrate that this phenomenon is conserved across species-from the barn owl to rodents to humans-suggesting that these effects are mediated by fundamental mechanisms.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041030132345.htm