experience stress from an early age. Although stress is a factor for the average human being, it can be a positive or negative molding aspect in a young Early childhood is a critical period in a child's life that includes ages from birth to five years old. Psychological stress is an inevitable part of life. Human beings can experience stress from an early age. Although stress is a factor for the average human being, it can be a positive or negative molding aspect in a young child's life. A certain amount of stress is normal and necessary for survi Ea… Early childhood is a critical period in a child's life that includes ages from birth to five years old. Psychological stress is an inevitable part of life. Human beings can experience stress from an early age. Although stress is a factor for the average human being, it can be a positive or negative molding aspect in a young child's life. A certain amount of stress is normal and necessary for survival. A few stressors can be manageable for young children; stress can be beneficial by helping children develop skills needed to adapt to a new set of circumstances and deal with dangerous and intimidating situations. These labels are based on theorized differences in lasting physiological changes occurring as a result of the intensity and duration of the stress response. Stress is caused by internal or external influences that disrupt an individual's normal state of well-being. These influences are capable of affecting health by causing emotional distress and leading to a variety of physiological changes. Internal stressors include physiological conditions such as hunger, pain, illness or fatigue. Other internal sources of stress consist of shyness in a child, emotions, gender, age and intellectual capacity. Childhood trauma has lifelong impact. If sufficient support is not available, this type of stress can result in permanent changes in brain development. Research has found that children experiencing severe and long-term abuse have smaller brain sizes. If the situation is not as severe, toxic stress will still alter the stress response system; these changes will cause children to react to a wider variety of stressors. However, with sufficient care and support from adults, children can return their stress levels to tolerable or good. Examples of toxic stress are abuse, neglect, violence and overall hardship without adult support. Toxic stress can have a cumulative effect on physical and mental health. These neurobiological systems of the body help maintain viability and are necessary for survival in early childhood and along the course of life. When a child or adult experiences a stressor, the body will attempt to regulate the stress through releasing hormones that pass through the body. However, effects of the prolonged or frequent biological stress response may increase the risk for future physical and mental health problems in early childhood. Since brain circuits are vulnerable in early childhood, early stressors may impact the development of necessary brain connections. Therefore, the theory of toxic stress is that stress might alter or impair brain circuit formation and essentially result in a small brain size in young children. There are however no studies yet that have measured these brain circuits or volumes of brain centers prospectively in young children to prove this theory. == Stress response pathway in humans == In humans, the stress response pathway consists of the sympathetic-adrenomedullary (SAM) system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). The SAM system is a part of the sympathetic component of the autonomic nervous system. Usually, newborns have peak cortisol levels every 12 hours and this does not depend on the time of day. After three months of life, babies begin to experience the adult cortisol production patterns, an early morning cortisol peak and low evening levels of cortisol. These cortisol rhythmic changes occur throughout infancy and early childhood, along with changes in sleep patterns. The activity of the HPA stress system adapts by repeated exposure to stressful stimulation. As newborns progress through the early months of life, babies experience increased cortisol levels during medical examinations. This is physically characterized by the fussing and crying of babies. After three months of life, babies do not respond to physical examinations with the HPA stress response system. However, babies can still respond to behavioral distress. As another example, if blood is drawn from a baby, the baby experiences an increased cortisol level. When this process is repeated 24 hours later, the same increase in cortisol is observed. In addition, during the first year of life, it becomes difficult to induce cortisol level increases to some mild stressors. These stressors include the approach of a stranger, strange events, few-minute separations from parents, and more. The decreased sensitivity of the HPA stress response may be due to physiological changes that occur in the system during early ages. The physiological changes that may occur include improved negative feedback regulation of the HPA system, and decreased sensitivity of the adrenal cortex to ACTH. Also, the availability of adult support for young children helps safeguard the activity of the HPA stress system. The effects of repeated increases in cortisol levels have been researched in many animal studies, but these types of controlled studies are not ethical to conduct in humans. Personality disorders may arise as well. Posttraumatic stress disorder may come about in children who have experienced stressors that are traumatic such as abuse or neglect. === Psychological === Changes in mood or personality, increased irritability or aggressiveness are some psychological symptoms indicative of stress in children. Frustration, feelings of guilt or confusion, isolating themselves from family and friends. Children may also exhibit symptoms of

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