Conflict And Neglect Changes Kids' Brains And Affects Health Through Adulthood

Decades of research show that early brain development in childhood seriously influences the future health of adults. Children’s brains show a remarkable degree of plasticity — explaining why these brains are so incredibly sensitive to external stimuli, which can direct their development. In other words, a child's environment literally impacts the physical development of their brain.

These problems can range from an inability to fit into societal norms, difficulties in forming and sustaining healthy relationships, excessive aggressiveness and risk taking behaviors to neurological depressive disorders and problems with physical health.

The problems can come from both excessive stress caused by physical or emotional abuse and the lack of adequate communication caused by neglect.

Stress can have different effects on body and brain

Scientists distinguish two types of stress, which have profoundly different effects on human physical and psychological well-being.

Tolerable stress occurs for relatively brief periods. This allows the body and brain enough time to recover from the stress. In some circumstances, tolerable stress can even be beneficial, since it allows the body and brain to develop suitable resistance or coping mechanisms. Certain exposure to stress in childhood promotes adaptation mechanisms. This is a normal part of the developmental process.

Early exposure to severe and prolonged stress can have toxic effects on adult health later in life. Early life stressors such as physical and emotional abuse, parental abuse of drugs and alcohol, conflicts in the family, and difficult neighborhoods, are clearly linked to increased violence, drug abuse and even suicides in adolescent life.

Neglect can severely affect child development

It seems that neglect may result even in more profound effects. Multiple studies show that the lack of adequate adult-child communication in early life can lead to inadequate degree of “fight or flight” behavior, lower level of social engagement and atypical attachment behavior.

These findings make many researchers question the wisdom of placing children into a foster home where they may experience even less emotional security, even though it is compensated by better care-giving.

Early childhood experience directs the development of brain architecture

What are the neurodevelopmental mechanisms leading to such effects?

Developmental neuroscience has produced some really impressive findings in the last decade. In particular, it was discovered that certain regions of the brain, such as the prefrontal cortex and parietal regions, undergo a protracted period of maturation in children and adolescents.

This neural maturation manifests itself morphologically through a thinning of cortical grey matter and pruning of neuronal axons. Researchers believe that these changes reflect the growing control of the prefrontal cortex over behavior. The absence of such control results in poor decision making and impulsivity. The formation of proper neural control mechanisms seem to be very sensitive to environmental factors. Stress and neglect during childhood may lead to impaired impulse control later in the adolescent and early adulthood periods of life.

It is now believed that a lack of adequate communication in early life affects the architecture of brain and prevents the formation of proper neuronal networks.