The impact of early neglect on defensive and appetitive physiology during the pubertal transition: a study of startle and postauricular reflexes. Dev Psychobiol 2015 Apr;57(3):289-304
Date
03/17/2015Pubmed ID
25773732Pubmed Central ID
PMC5157206DOI
10.1002/dev.21283Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84925456575 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 13 CitationsAbstract
This study tested the effect of early neglect on defensive and appetitive physiology during puberty. Emotion-modulated reflexes, eye-blink startle (defensive) and postauricular (appetitive), were measured in 12-to-13-year-old internationally adopted youth (from foster care or from institutional settings) and compared to non-adopted US born controls. Startle Reflex: adopted youth displayed lower overall startle amplitude across all valences and startle potentiation to negative images was negatively related to severity of pre-adoption neglect. Postauricular reflex (PAR): adopted youth showed larger PAR magnitude across all valences. Puberty: adopted youth showed diminished PAR potentiation to positive images and startle potentiation during mid/late puberty versus the opposite pattern in not-adopted. Early neglect was associated with blunted fast defensive reflexes and heightened fast appetitive reflexes. After puberty, early neglected youth showed physiological hyporeactivity to threatening and appetitive stimuli versus heightened reactivity in not adopted youth. Behavioral correlates in this sample and possible neurodevelopmental mechanisms of psychophysiological differences are discussed.
Author List
Quevedo K, Johnson AE, Loman MM, Lafavor T, Moua B, Gunnar MRAuthor
Michelle Loman Moudry PhD Assistant Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdolescent Behavior
Adoption
Analysis of Variance
Child
Child Abuse
Defense Mechanisms
Electromyography
Female
Foster Home Care
Humans
Male
Photic Stimulation
Puberty
Reflex, Startle
