Foster Care May Boost Brain Activity Of Institutionalized Children
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 - 08:35
in Psychology & Sociology
A longitudinal study of 200 Romanian children between the ages of 5 months and 42 months shows the effects of institutionalization on brain and behavioral development. Compared with children who grew up in families, children raised in institutions showed a pattern of reduced brain activity when they looked at pictures of a caregiver's face that alternated with pictures of a stranger's face. Children who were placed in high-quality foster care showed the beginnings of normalized brain activity when processing faces.