Fig. 1
From: Early life adversity as a risk factor for cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease
The potential mechanisms underlying increased vulnerability to cognitive impairment and AD following ELA. ELA exposure can induce multiple physiological and pathological processes. Several key mechanisms may be implicated in the increased vulnerability to cognitive impairment and AD in later life, including HPA axis dysregulation, altered gut microbiome, oligodendrocyte dysfunction and hypomyelination, inflammation, and aberrant adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Furthermore, these pathological processes may interact with each other and collectively contribute to adverse neurological outcomes. HPA, Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal