Chuggani - Rominan Orphanages

Title:

Global Deprivation on cognitive, emotional and behavioral function

Researcher:

Chuggani

Year:

2001

Aim:

To investigate the effect of early deprivation on the cognitive development of children raised in Romanian orphanage

Context:

Poltical laws to increase population in poverty places, resulting in influx of children and many parents could look after children, hence over crowding in orphanages

Method/Design:

  • Quasi, Lab experiment

Particpants:

Ten children (6 males, 4 females) - adopted into U.S families from Romanian Orphanges after hospital stay

 

Procedure

Pet imaging on 10 adopted Romanian orphans, (first control group) 17 normal adults + 7 children  (second control group)

Findings:

Early deprivation in Romanian orphans associated with dysfunction in number of brain regions + decrease glucose metabolism

  • Orbital frontal cortex

  • Prefrontal infralimbic cortex

  • Lateral temporal cortex

  • Medial temporal structure

  • Brain stem

Impairments in attention + academics

  • Abnormal behaviour (self stimulatory behaviours - rocking back and forth)

Conclusion:

  • Children exposed to social deprivation show long term cognitive and behavioral deficits - associated with dysfunction

  • Decreased glucose metabolism in limbic brain - activated by stress + damaged by prolong stress

  • Romaian children have brain damaged caused by chronic stress

  •  

Strengths

  • Pet scans

  • Pratical applications

  • Ethical (children were already deprived)

Limitations

  • Small sample size

  • Retrospective data (not all variables can be controlled)

Ethical Considerations

  • Informed  consent (due to using children)