The DOI matches its Crossref record; 46 of the 46 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
VI. SENSITIVE PERIODS
Open accessAbstract
This chapter reviews sensitive periods in human brain development based on the literature on children raised in institutions. Sensitive experiences occur when experiences are uniquely influential for the development of neural circuitry. Because in humans, we make inferences about sensitive periods from evaluations of complex behaviors, we underestimate the occurrence of sensitive periods at the level of neural circuitry. Although we are most interested in complex behaviors, such as IQ or attachment or externalizing problems, many different sensitive periods at the level of circuits probably underlie these complex behaviors. Results from a number of studies suggest that across most, but not all, domains of development, institutional rearing limited to the first 4–6 months of life is associated with no significant increase risk for long-term adverse effects relative to noninstitutionalized children. Beyond that, evidence for sensitive periods is less compelling, meaning that “the earlier the better” rule for enhanced caregiving is a reasonable conclusion at the current state of the science.
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“Specifically, examining children's outcomes following placement in familybased care enhances knowledge of developmental plasticity, including the degree to which lasting improvement following early deprivation is possible (8).”
From A Comprehensive Multilevel Analysis of the Bucharest Early Intervention Project: Causal Effects on Recovery From Early Severe Deprivation (2023) · cites this paper as [8]
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“We have considered these results as compatible with sensitive periods in brain development [1, 43, 44].”
From Alternatives for abandoned children: Insights from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (2017) · cites this paper as [44]
In the citing paper
“For example, as described by Zeanah and colleagues (Zeanah, Gunnar, McCall, Kreppner, & Fox, 2011), the odds of attaining full physical growth potential even once adopted into a stable home are likely to be low as a result of multiple risk factors (e.g., early puberty, prenatal factors, and growth retardation).”
From Risk and developmental heterogeneity in previously institutionalized children (2012) · cites this paper as Zeanah, Gunnar, McCall, Kreppner, & Fox, 2011
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Citations
Cites
Sensitive periods in the development of the brain and behavior
Knudsen, E. I. (2004) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/0898929042304796 · Cited by 1,842
Handbook of infant mental health
Zeanah, C. H. (2009) · Cited by 1,282
Self-citationEconomic, neurobiological, and behavioral perspectives on building America's future workforce
Knudsen, E. I., Heckman, J. J., Cameron, J. L., & Shonkoff, J. P. (2006) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0600888103 · Cited by 1,123
Cognitive Recovery in Socially Deprived Young Children: The Bucharest Early Intervention Project
Nelson, C. A., Zeanah, C. H., Fox, N. A., Marshall, P. J., Smyke, A. T., & Guthrie, D. (2007) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1143921 · Cited by 951 · cited 1×
“Examining children removed from institutions and placed in foster care between 7 and 33 months, investigators found that for IQ (Nelson et al., 2007), EEG power (Vanderwort, Nelson, Zeanah, Marshall, & Fox, 2009) and EEG coherence (Marshall et al., 2008), and security of attachment (Smyke et al.,…”
Self-citationFostering security? A meta-analysis of attachment in adopted children
van den Dries, L., Juffer, F., van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Bakermans‐Kranenburg, M. J. (2008) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2008.09.008 · Cited by 536
ZEANAH, C. H., NELSON, C. A., FOX, N. A., SMYKE, A. T., MARSHALL, P., PARKER, S. W., & KOGA, S. (2003) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579403000452 · Cited by 447 · cited 1×
“The Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP), for example, comprehensively assessed young children before randomly assigning them to care as usual or to foster care (Zeanah et al., 2003).”
Self-citationBeckett, C., Maughan, B., Rutter, M., Castle, J., Colvert, E., Groothues, C., Kreppner, J., Stevens, S., O'Connor, T. G., & Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S. (2006) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00898.x · Cited by 377
Self-citationInstitutional rearing and psychiatric disorders in Romanian preschool children
Zeanah, C. H., Egger, H. L., Smyke, A. T., Nelson, C. A., Fox, N. A., Marshall, P. J., & Guthrie, D. (2009) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.08091438 · Cited by 365
Self-citationRutter, M., Colvert, E., Kreppner, J., Beckett, C., Castle, J., Groothues, C., Hawkins, A., O'Connor, T. G., Stevens, S. E., & Sonuga‐Barke, E. J. S. (2007) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01688.x · Cited by 358
Self-citationBehavior problems in postinstitutionalized internationally adopted children
GUNNAR, M. R., VAN DULMEN, M. H. M., & THE INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION PROJECT TEAM (2007) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579407070071 · Cited by 348
Self-citation
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Ames, 1997, The development of Romanian children adopted into Canada: Final report
- Sheridan, 2009, Handbook of infant mental health, 40
- Vanderwort, 2009, Is there a sensitive period in EEG power for children removed from institutional care? A follow-up at age 8 years from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Early childhood development coming of age: science through the life course
Black, M. M., Walker, S. P., Fernald, L. C. H., Andersen, C. T., DiGirolamo, A. M., Lu, C., McCoy, D. C., Fink, G., Shawar, Y. R., Shiffman, J., et al. (2017) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(16)31389-7 · Cited by 3,014
Life Course Approaches to the Causes of Health Disparities
Jones, N. L., Gilman, S. E., Cheng, T. L., Drury, S. S., Hill, C. V., & Geronimus, A. T. (2019) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2018.304738 · Cited by 440
McCrory, E. J., Gerin, M. I., & Viding, E. (2017) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.12713 · Cited by 402
Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S., Kennedy, M., Kumsta, R., Knights, N., Golm, D., Rutter, M., Maughan, B., Schlotz, W., & Kreppner, J. (2017) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(17)30045-4 · Cited by 391
Self-citationBest practices for stress measurement: how to measure psychological stress in health research
Crosswell, A. D., & Lockwood, K. G. (2020) · Health Psychology Open · doi:10.1177/2055102920933072 · Cited by 372
Metadata
- Authors
- Zeanah, C. H., Gunnar, M. R., McCall, R. B., Kreppner, J. M., & Fox, N. A.
- Affiliations
- Tulane University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Zeanah, Charles H
- Venue
- Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2011-12
- Volume
- 76
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 147-162
- ISSN
- 0037-976X (ISSN-L)
- 1540-5834
- PMC
- PMC4130246
- OpenAlex
- W2126510952
- Cited by
- 194
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 25.47
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- Binder Family Foundation
- National Institute of Mental Health (P50MH078105, MH080905, R01MH091363, R01MH080905)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD050212)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Child Welfare and Adoption
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Education › Early Childhood Education and Development
- Keywords
- sensitive period, institutional upbringing, early institutionalization, brain development, caregiving, attachment, externalizing problems, IQ
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