The Effects of Early, Profound Deprivation on Brain and Behavioral Development

Many aspects of postnatal brain development depend critically on experience for development to proceed normally. In this talk I will discuss what happens to children whose postnatal experience violates what we have come to expect as a species. The Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) was a randomized clinical trial of foster care as an intervention for early institutionalization. A total of 136 children who had been abandoned at birth and placed in various institutions in Bucharest, Romania were targeted for study, along with a sample of 68 children who lived with their biological parents in the greater Bucharest community. Following an extensive baseline assessment (average age 22 month), half the institutionalized children were randomly assigned to high quality foster care created by the research team and the other half to care as usual (institutional care). This sample has been carefully studied through the first 12 years of life. Key findings covering a variety of domains (including but not limited to IQ, attachment, and brain development) will serve as the focus of my talk.Air date: 1/31/2014 2:00:00 PM
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