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Memory and Executive Functioning in 12-Year-Old Children With a History of Institutional Rearing

Johanna Bick1,2, Charles H Zeanah3, Nathan A Fox4

  • 1Boston Children's Hospital.

Child Development
|September 13, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Children raised in institutions showed lasting deficits in visual recognition memory and executive functions, including spatial working memory (SWM), even at age 12. Early neglect impacts cognitive development, affecting memory and learning processes into preadolescence.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Child Psychiatry

Background:

  • Institutional rearing in early childhood is associated with long-term cognitive deficits.
  • Understanding the persistence of these deficits into preadolescence is crucial for intervention.
  • Executive functions and memory are key areas impacted by early life experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess visual recognition memory and executive functioning in 12-year-olds exposed to institutional rearing.
  • To determine if previously observed deficits persist into preadolescence.
  • To link early experiences to ongoing cognitive development.

Main Methods:

  • The study involved 150 12-year-olds from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, a randomized controlled trial.
  • Participants included children reared in institutions and those placed in foster care.
  • Cognitive assessments focused on visual recognition memory and executive functions (SWM, planning, rule learning, attention shifting).

Main Results:

  • Institutionally reared children exhibited significant deficits in visual recognition memory and spatial working memory (SWM) at age 12.
  • Deficits in attention shifting and rule learning were also evident in this group.
  • These findings mirror earlier reports at age 8, indicating persistent effects.

Conclusions:

  • Early institutional experiences continue to shape memory, learning, and executive functioning development through preadolescence.
  • These persistent cognitive deficits may underlie broader difficulties seen in children with severe early life neglect.
  • Interventions addressing early life adversity are critical for long-term cognitive outcomes.

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