V. THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL TOLL OF EARLY HUMAN DEPRIVATION
Open accessAbstract
Children raised in institutions frequently suffer from a variety of behavioral, emotional, and neuropsychological sequelae, including deficits in attention, executive functions, disorders of attachment, and in some cases a syndrome that mimics autism. The extent and severity of these disorders appear to be mediated, in part, by the age at which the child entered and, in some cases, left the institution. Here we review the neurobiological literature on early institutionalization that may account for the psychological and neurological sequelae discussed in other chapters in this volume.
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Both the structure and function of the brain are altered in currently and formerly institutionalized children, at least for those raised in these settings for significant periods of early childhood beyond 6 months of age.
“Briefly, both the structure and function of the brain are altered in currently and formerly institutionalized children, at least for those who were raised in these settings for significant periods of early childhood beyond 6 months of age.”
From Deviations from the expectable environment in early childhood and emerging psychopathology (2015) · cites this paper as Nelson et al, 2011
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- Authors
- Nelson, C. A., Bos, K., Gunnar, M. R., & Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Boston Children's Hospital (US)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Corresponding author
- Nelson, Charles A
- Venue
- Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2011-12
- Volume
- 76
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 127-146
- ISSN
- 0037-976X (ISSN-L)
- 1540-5834
- PMC
- PMC4088355
- OpenAlex
- W1847936605
- Cited by
- 162
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 16.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) (submittedVersion)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH068857)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Child Welfare and Adoption
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Keywords
- early institutionalization, institutionalized children, neurobiological effects, attention deficits, executive dysfunction, attachment disorders, autism-like symptoms
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