Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Aug 02, 2025

Neglected children end up with 'smaller brains'

Neglected children end up with 'smaller brains'

An early life full of neglect, deprivation and adversity leads to people growing up with smaller brains, a study suggests.
The researchers at King's College London were following adopted children who spent time in "hellhole" Romanian orphanages.

They grew up with brains 8.6% smaller than other adoptees.

The researchers said it was the "most compelling" evidence of the impact on the adult brain.

The appalling care at the orphanages came to light after the fall of Romania's communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989.

"I remember TV pictures of those institutions, they were shocking," Prof Edmund Sonuga-Barke, who now leads the study following those children, told the BBC.

He described the institutions as "hellholes" where children were "chained into their cots, rocking, filthy and emaciated".

The children were physically and psychologically deprived with little social contact, no toys and often ravaged by disease.

The children studied had spent between two weeks and nearly four years in such institutions.

Previous studies on children who were later adopted by loving families in the UK showed they were still experiencing mental health problems in adulthood.

Higher levels of traits including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a lack of fear of strangers (disinhibited social engagement disorder) have all been documented.

The latest study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to scan the brains for answers.

There were 67 Romanian adoptees in the study and their brains were compared to 21 adoptees who did not suffer early life deprivation.

"What we found is really quite striking," Prof Sonuga-Barke told the BBC.

First the total brain volume - the size of the brain - was 8.6% smaller in the Romanian adoptees on average.

And the longer they spent in the Romanian orphanages, the greater the reduction in brain size.

However, the impact on the brain was not uniform.

Prof Mitul Mehta, one of the researchers, said: "We found structural differences between the two groups in three regions of the brain.

"These regions are linked to functions such as organisation, motivation, integration of information and memory."

The researchers say these findings could help explain lower IQ and higher rates of ADHD in these adults.

What the study cannot explain is what exactly about early life neglect and deprivation has this effect on the brain.

It means it is hard to work out the effect of other early life traumas such as abuse or being a refugee.

However, the study is clear that the impact on the developing brain goes far beyond just poor nutrition.

Prof Sonuga-Barke said: "This study is important because it highlights for the first time, in a compelling way, the power of the early environment and early adversity to shape brain development.

"It drives impairments over this long period of time - over 20 years - even when children have received top-notch care in loving adoptive families."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
×