Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026

Limited Bedding and Nesting as a Model for Early-Life Adversity in Mice
Published on: July 12, 2024
Human amygdala development in the absence of species-expected caregiving
1Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, PO Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. nimtottenham@ucla.edu
Abstract:
In altricial species, like the human, caregiver presence is necessary for typical emotional development. Children who have been raised in institutional care early in life experience caregiver deprivation and are at significantly elevated risk for emotional difficulties. The current manuscript examines the non-human and human literatures on amygdala development following caregiver deprivation and presents an argument that in the absence of the species-expected caregiver presence, human amygdala development exhibits rapid development and perhaps premature engagement that results in some of the emotional phenotypes observed following early institutional care.
Related Concept Videos
Parental Care
Role of Amygdala in Memory
One of the...
Functional Brain Systems: Limbic System
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development
Exploration...
Attachment
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Stella Chess...
