{
  "id": 3769397,
  "title": "Disrupted neuropeptide-signaling drives enduring reward deficits after early-life stress",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/disrupted-neuropeptide-signaling-drives-enduring-reward-deficits",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-27T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.26.747402v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Early-life stress (ELA) can lead to lasting difficulties in experiencing pleasure, a key symptom of depression. Traditionally, the stress hormone corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) has been a target for depression treatment, but efforts to block its receptor1 (CRHR1) have not yielded successful therapeutic results. Researchers have now discovered that CRH signaling via CRHR1 actually impairs reward behaviors in mice with no prior stress exposure, while those mice that have experienced ELA show disrupted CRH signaling. Instead, activating CRH receptor 2 (CRHR2) can alleviate the anhedonia-like behaviors seen in adult mice that have been through early-life stress. These findings challenge previous assumptions about the role of stress signaling in anhedonia and offer a promising new target for treating stress-related mental health disorders.",
  "summary": "Whereas brain systems mediating acute stress are essential for survival, chronic early-life stress (ELA) may lead to poor ability to experience pleasure (anhedonia), a core feature of depression. For decades, the stress neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) has been a target for treating depression. However the failure of several clinical trials blocking CRH receptor1 (CRHR1) has…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}