Work

Human amygdala development in the absence of species‐expected caregiving

Year: 2012

Type: review

Abstract: In altricial species, like the human, caregiver presence is necessary for typical emotional development. Children who have been raised in institutional care early in life experience caregiver deprivation and are at significantly elevated risk for emotional difficulties. The current manuscript examines the non-human and human literatures on amygdala development following caregiver deprivation and presents an argument that in the absence of the species-expected caregiver presence, human amygdala development exhibits rapid development and perhaps premature engagement that results in some of the emotional phenotypes observed following early institutional care.

Source: Developmental Psychobiology

DOI: 10.1002/dev.20531

Author: Nim Tottenham

Institution: University of California, Los Angeles

Language: English

Topic: Child Welfare and Adoption

Subfield: Safety Research

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute of Mental Health