Conflict Between Parents Takes A Toll on Babies' Brain Functioning

Exposure to arguments between parents is linked to the way babies' brains process emotional tones of voices. Even when infants are asleep they respond to an angry tone, according to a press release.

According to the study reports, a baby's brain is extremely flexible but comes with certain weaknesses. The brain develops based on the environment and events a baby is exposed.

Stressful conditions such as maltreatment or institutionalization can hamper the baby's development.

The study was conducted by University of Oregon doctoral student Alice Graham, working with her faculty advisers Phil Fisher and Jennifer Pfeifer.

The researchers wanted to examine whether the common source of early stress i.e conflict between parents in children's lives was linked to an infant's brain function.

They conducted a study on 20 infants between 6-12 months. They studied them at their regular bedtimes. While sleeping in scanner the babies were exposed to nonsense sentences spoken in very angry, mildly angry, happy and neutral tones of a male adult.

Those infants who came from high conflict homes reacted greatly to very angry tone of voice in brain areas that were linked to stress and emotional regulation.

Through this study the researchers highlight the fact that kids are unaware of parental conflicts and exposure to such conflicts takes a toll on their health and the way their brain processes emotion and stress.

The details of the findings were published in the APS journal Psychological Science.