How Early Experience Shapes Human Development: The Case of Psychosocial Deprivation

Abstract

Experience plays an essential role in building brain architecture after birth. The question we address in this paper is what happens to brain and behavior when a young child is deprived of key experiences during critical periods of brain development. We focus in particular on the consequences of institutional rearing, with implication for the tens of millions of children around the world who from an early age experience profound psychosocial deprivation. Evidence is clear that deprivation can lead to a host of both short- and long-term consequences, including perturbations in brain structure and function, changes at cellular and molecular levels, and a plethora of psychological and behavioral impairments.

Figure 1

Possible multiple sensitive periods for the speech processing system. Figure was reproduced from Werker and Tees [13] (under the Creative Commons Attribution License/public domain).

Figure 2

Figure illustrating the interaction of experience and maturation during critical periods in development. Figure was reproduced from Hensch and Bilimoria [16] (under the Creative Commons Attribution License/public domain).