How Does Neglect During Childhood Affect Development?

It is clear to us that childhood is a very important time for the development of a child. It is during this time that so many cognitive skills begin to make a big difference in the brain and personality and emotions begin to come out in a way that will change you the child for the rest of their lives. It makes sense, then, that if a child is to suffer neglect during this critical period their brain development is likely to suffer as a result.

 

Increasingly, science is showing that neglect could be considered as harmful to a child’s brain development as physical abuse. This might sound like an extreme way of putting it, but a new study has shown that this may be the case. This recent study looked at mice placed in isolation early on in their lives – although it may appear on the surface that the research can’t really tell us anything new, as it’s very clear that neglect is a very bad thing for a child to suffer is highly likely to affect the way that a child develops.

 

However, it seems that in this study there is actual a more scientific principal in mind rather than one of common sense. During the research, the team found that there were striking abnormalities in the tissues that make it possible for electrical signals to be sent to the brain. This suggests that neglect isn’t just bad on the level that a lack of social interaction altering skills and stunting cognitive development, but from a scientific perspective it actually alters the physical nature of the brain. This could mean that the child can never hope to develop beyond a certain level in some mental faculties due to the neglect.

 

“This is very strong evidence that changes in myelin cause some of the behavioural problems caused by isolation,” said one of the co-authors of the study, Gabriel Corfas, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School. The team placed mice that were 21 days old in isolation for two weeks, and then returned them to their colonies. When the mice that had been placed in isolation reached adolescence, the researchers compared their brains and their behaviour to other mice that hadn’t been isolated – in this case the isolation was to mimic the conditions suffered by a neglected child.

 

The mice that were placed in isolation were noted to be far more antisocial than other mice, with apparent deficits in memory. On further inspection it was noticed that their myelin, a cell layer that forms around neuronal networks, was unusually and unexpectedly thin, especially in the prefrontal cortex, which is a region of the brain that is thought to be critical to cognition and personality. It would seem that the isolation that the mice were placed in, actually made a big difference to their lives, not just in terms that it made them antisocial, but it also contributed towards damaging physical effects as well.

 

It has been shown many times that children who grow up in orphanages have similar behavioural and social problems, due to the isolated nature of their lives and inability to connect with a loving parent.

 

“This is incredibly important data, because it gives us the neural mechanisms associated with the deleterious changes in the brain that arise from neglect,” said Nathan Fox, who is a cognitive neuro-scientist at the University of Maryland.

 

It is therefore clear that we need to treat the neglect of children very seriously, as it has now we shown to have truly damaging effects on their wellbeing and ability to develop normally.

Categories: brain development, Child, child abuse, Isolation, mental problems, Mice, nbsp, neglect

Could An Unhealthy Relationship Literally Break Your Heart?

It’s obvious how relationship problems can affect family wellness, but you may not be aware how your relationship with your partner affects your personal health. Relationship distress can interfere with your immune system and hormones, delay healing and even affect your mental health with depression and anxiety. According to a lot of studies, good relationships are beneficial to wellness, and can create a stronger sense of happiness. Unhealthy relationships, however, can damage your emotional and physical wellbeing. The question is; are you experiencing the signs of an unhealthy relationship?

 

1. Touch hunger: Clinical psychologist Dr Sue Johnson, author of Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love, explains that we Westerners are ‘the world’s least tactile people, we hold, hug, pat, stroke, fondle and caress each other much less often than do other folks. Psychologists have suggested that we suffer from “touch hunger” and that this is just one of the signs of our ongoing loss of connection and community.’ This lack of connection can be even more damaging when you feel it in context of your significant relationships, so maybe it’s time to get a little more touchy-feely.

 

2. Isolation within relationships: ‘The sense of isolation is a pivotal concern in love relationships,’ says Dr Johnson, who argues that touch hunger, or not feeling safe enough to touch a loved one, shows this deprivation of emotional connection at its most obvious. Dr Johnson comments, ‘The new science of love tells us that feeling a sense of connection to another is the deepest and most pressing need we have as human beings. Our social brain codes this connection as safety, and touch is the most obvious route into this safety.’ Loving touches releases oxytocin – the cuddle hormone – in your brain and turns on your mind’s reward centres, which makes you feel recognised, significant, relaxed, comforted or even aroused. As oxytocin counters cortisol – the stress hormone – this shows just how important physical and emotional connection is in weathering the stresses and strains of life.

 

3. The (literal) heartbreak rejection: According to Dr Johnson, ‘Partners speak about the pain of rejection or abandonment in terms of life and death. This is not because they are immature or too needy. It is because emotional isolation is traumatic, reminding us of our essential vulnerability in a world teeming with danger.’ When you feel emotionally alone or in hostile a situation within your relationship, research shows that this elevates your blood pressure, stress hormone levels, heart disease risk and risk of death from a major cardiac event. It turns out a bad relationship can really break your heart! Dr Johnson adds, ‘The quality of our love relationships is a big factor in how mentally and emotionally healthy we are. Conflict with, and hostile criticism from, our loved ones increase our self-doubts and create a sense of helplessness, classic triggers for depression.’

 

So that’s how an unhealthy relationship can affect your health, but how do you make things better? It’s normal to go through phases of feeling disconnected to the one you love, but if this separateness causes you to become more withdrawn, hostile or hurtful to one another, this can destroy your relationship as well as your health, and you need to take measures to bring you and your partner closer. Dr Johnson recommends reaching out to your loved one and asking to be held, perhaps with the help of couples’ therapy. ‘The couple therapy I do is a tested, cutting edge approach to healing a love relationship,’ she says. ‘The powerful outcomes it achieves seem to hinge on a couple’s ability to shape a “hold me tight” conversation, where each partner can reach for the other, be held and hold in return.’

Categories: Connection, dr johnson, emotional connection, heart health, Isolation, johnson, relationship, Relationships, stress hormone, Touch Hunger, unhealthy relationship