A new study has found a connection between the lack of a loving caregiver in infants and problems for those children later in life when they look to bond with other people.
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin at Madison conducting a study that concludes that babies who do not receive enough loving attention shortly after birth tend to produce unusually low levels of social-bonding hormones later in life.
The hormones, vasopressin and oxytocin, have been found to be key to the formation of social relationships in animals. Those subjects with lower levels of these hormones had trouble creating healthy social relationships with their peers.
The results of the study were published in Monday's edition of the journal 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.'
Seth Pollack, the leader of the study explained that the results are 'a window into the neurobiology of attachment. The kinds of social interactions we have (as infants) help to configure the brain and the system we use to guide our social relationships as we develop.'
According to Pollack, the reason for the problem in infants who receive little attention is that 'There's no opportunity for them to learn to send a communicable signal to the environment and get a response.'
The study compared four-year-olds who were raised in an orphanage to children the same age who were raised by the parents. The children then played a computer game which required them to interact with adults. Urine tests were used to measure the hormone levels in each child.
Additional research is necessary to study the effect of neglect and a lack of loving attention on children as they later become adults. Additional time is needed to conduct that study.
