Stress and maternal deprivation in infancy and childhood leads to excess stress chemicals
A stressful childhood can result in an overactive stress response in later life, and predictively maternal deprivation and other types of adversity during infancy and childhood result in chronically high levels of cortisol. Also, elevated levels of cortisol can shrink the hippocampus, and the frontal cortex is equally vulnerable to shrinkage from cortisol as the hippocampus. Another major stress chemical that’s overproduced after insufficient early maternal contact is vasopressin, which is implicated in high blood pressure.
References
- Mate, Gabor. (2010). In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts Chapter 18. Trauma, Stress, and the Biology of Addiction (p. 244). Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Metadata
Type:🔴 Tags: Biology / Neuroscience / Developmental Neurology Status:☀️