1-067 - Deviations in Early Care and Development of the Amygdala: Integrating Evidence from Animal and Human Studies

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

The amygdala is a primary component of limbic system pathways for registering and regulating emotion. As such, it is functional from early in life and, in humans, develops rapidly over the first three years (Uematsu et al., 2012). Due to this period of rapid early growth, it is also likely to be sensitive to environmental conditions in early life, and animal models have established that postnatal stress is linked to abnormal amygdala development (Ono et al., 2008; Sanders & Anticevic, 2007; Sanchez et al., 2001). Finally, translational studies have indicated that changes in amygdala structure or function in infancy can have long-lasting effects on development (Vyas et al., 2004). However, there are still relatively few studies of amygdala development in humans.
The presentations in this symposium will explore, in both animal and human studies, a range of deviations in early care and their relation to deviations in amygdala structure and function in later development. The first presentation examines both maternal and infant components of a disorganized attachment relationship, the second presentation explores the sequellae of early institutional rearing, and the final presentation examines the adult sequellae of maternal abuse in infancy, using both natural and experimental models in rodents.
The discussion, led by a leading primate researcher, will focus on integrating human and animal data on the effects of early care on amygdala development and identifying what needs to be explored in future studies of human infants and their caregivers.

Sub Unit

• Biological Processes

Chair

• Karlen Lyons-Ruth, Harvard University

Discussant

• Stephen Suomi, National Institutes of Health

Individual Presentations

• Infant Disorganized Attachment and Maternal Disrupted Communication: Differential Relations to Left Amygdala Volume in Adulthood - Presenting Author: Karlen Lyons-Ruth, Harvard University

• Human Amygdala-PFC Circuit Development as an Ontogenetic Adaptation Following Maternal Deprivation - Presenting Author: Nim Tottenham, Columbia Univ

• Good Memories of Infant Trauma: Infant Abuse-Attachment Cues Rescue Adult Depressive-Like Behaviors and Alter Amygdala Function - Presenting Author: Regina Marie Sullivan, New York University