Parents with unpredictable behavior: what consequences for children?

Do people often say that you have trouble managing your emotions? What if you dwell on your childhood to verify this theory? Because according to a recent study, our emotional brain circuit is largely conditioned by the level of unpredictability that rocked our daily lives when we were children, say American researchers from the University of California.

Research carried out on rodents and detailed in an article published by the journal Sciencesuggest that growing up in an unpredictable environment (lack of routine, occurrence of frequent disasters) disrupts the development of the emotional brain circuitry in children, thereby increasing their vulnerability to mental illness and substance abuse.

The influence of maternal behaviors

“Studies of mice raised by mothers displaying unpredictable behavioral patterns during the early postnatal period show that maternal behaviors influence synaptic connectivity in key brain nodes, including those that contribute to stress.s,” the study explains.

“We conduct mechanistic studies on experimental rodents and follow infants, children and adolescents at the center. We are now ready to test our findings in large-scale, “real-world” research.“, specify the authors of the research.