Health & Medicine
Disrupted Bonds Between Mother and Child can Harm Formation of Amygdala
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Dec 02, 2013 10:12 PM EST
The bond between mother and child is an essential connection for humans (and many other mammals) that begins early in life and continues on into adult.
Yet a recent study looks at the profound negative effects when the bonding process is disrupted. And unfortunately, according to UCLA researchers, this often translates into "indiscriminate friendliness" that may harm social interactions with others.
Researchers examined 67 youths between the ages of 4 and 17 who underwent fMRI. They were all shown pictures of their adoptive mother and then of an unfamiliar female. As half of the children spent time in institutions before adoption, a questionnaire regarding the child's curiosity, exploration and ability to trust was given out.
Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine youths who experienced time in an orphanage or similar adoption process. They found that for these children, the brain structure called the amygdala-an almond shaped cluster of neurons responsible for feelings of pleasure and fear-is much smaller than for those who were not raised in an institutional setting.
"The early relationship between children and their parents or primary caregivers has implications for their social interaction later in life, and we believe the amygdala is involved in this process," said Aviva Olsavsky, a resident physician in psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and the study's first author, via a press release. "Our findings suggest that even for children who have formed attachments to their adoptive parents, this early period of deprivation has led to changes in the brain that were likely adaptations and that may persist over time."
The researchers characterize what they refer to as "indiscriminate friendliness" rather, as a misnomer. It's behavior that is not characterized by deep friendliness but a lack of reticence that most children posses, according to background information from the study.
What do you think?
More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Biological Psychiatry.
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First Posted: Dec 02, 2013 10:12 PM EST
The bond between mother and child is an essential connection for humans (and many other mammals) that begins early in life and continues on into adult.
Yet a recent study looks at the profound negative effects when the bonding process is disrupted. And unfortunately, according to UCLA researchers, this often translates into "indiscriminate friendliness" that may harm social interactions with others.
Researchers examined 67 youths between the ages of 4 and 17 who underwent fMRI. They were all shown pictures of their adoptive mother and then of an unfamiliar female. As half of the children spent time in institutions before adoption, a questionnaire regarding the child's curiosity, exploration and ability to trust was given out.
Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine youths who experienced time in an orphanage or similar adoption process. They found that for these children, the brain structure called the amygdala-an almond shaped cluster of neurons responsible for feelings of pleasure and fear-is much smaller than for those who were not raised in an institutional setting.
"The early relationship between children and their parents or primary caregivers has implications for their social interaction later in life, and we believe the amygdala is involved in this process," said Aviva Olsavsky, a resident physician in psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and the study's first author, via a press release. "Our findings suggest that even for children who have formed attachments to their adoptive parents, this early period of deprivation has led to changes in the brain that were likely adaptations and that may persist over time."
The researchers characterize what they refer to as "indiscriminate friendliness" rather, as a misnomer. It's behavior that is not characterized by deep friendliness but a lack of reticence that most children posses, according to background information from the study.
What do you think?
More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Biological Psychiatry.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone