DENVER--Studies of saliva have helped researchers determine that early life experiences such as neglect or abuse affect activity in an individual's hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system.
In "The Psychobiology of Stress in Early Childhood," Megan Gunnar, a professor in the University of Minnesota Institute of Child Development, will talk about new research that shows that living in orphanages early in life increases the risk that children will produce higher baseline levels of cortisol. Cortisol, a stress hormone found in saliva, is the primary hormone produced by the HPA system in humans. Gunnar will speak during "Developmental Effects of Deprived Caregiving," a symposium from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. MST Saturday, Feb. 15, 2003, at the Colorado Convention Center, Denver, during the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting.
Gunnar will outline the findings of two studies on children and cortisol levels. In both studies, parents collected saliva from their children after they woke up and at bedtime. In the first study, children who lived in Romanian orphanages for more than eight months had elevated baseline cortisol levels. But, children adopted early did not have cortisol levels that differed from those of children born into and raised by a family.
A second study involved 200 internationally adopted children. The adopted children who came from orphanages where their care was described as poor or very poor had elevated cortisol levels, compared with children whose pre-adoption care was described as at least adequate. This saliva study found that 78 percent of internationally adopted children showed no evidence of elevated cortisol levels. This is a reassuring bit of information for families, Gunnar said. However, in studies on rats, baseline levels are rarely elevated as a function of early experiences--what changed was the response to stressful events.
Gunnar said the next step in this research is to determine whether the children adopted from orphanages or other conditions of poor early care are vulnerable to larger and more prolonged hormonal stress responses.
Embargoed until 2 p.m. MST (4 p.m. EST) Friday, Feb. 14, by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A related AAAS news briefing, 'Does Infant Stress Spell Trouble Later?,' will be held at that time.
Contacts:
Megan Gunnar, Institute of Child Development, 612-624-2846
Deane Morrison, University News Service, 612-624-2346; Feb. 12-16:
303-295-1234
Patty Mattern, University News Service, 612-624-2801