Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (May 2013)

Psychosocial deprivation, executive functions and the emergence of socio-emotional behavior problems

  • Jennifer Martin McDermott,
  • Sonya V Troller-Renfree,
  • Ross eVanderwert,
  • Ross eVanderwert,
  • Charles A Nelson,
  • Charles A Nelson,
  • Charles H Zeanah,
  • Nathan eFox

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00167
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7

Abstract

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Early psychosocial deprivation can negatively impact the development of executive functions (EF). Here we explore the impact of early psychosocial deprivation on behavioral and physiological measures (i.e. event-related potentials; ERPs) of two facets of EF, inhibitory control and response monitoring, and their associations with internalizing and externalizing outcomes in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP; Zeanah et al., 2003). This project focuses on two groups of children placed in institutions shortly after birth and then randomly assigned in infancy to either a foster care intervention or to remain in their current institutional setting. A group of community controls was recruited for comparison. The current study assesses these children at 8-years of age examining the effects of early adversity, the potential effects of the intervention on EF and the role of EF skills in socio-emotional outcomes. Results reveal exposure to early psychosocial deprivation was associated with impaired inhibitory control on a flanker task. Children in the foster care intervention exhibited stronger response monitoring compared to children who remained in the institution on the error-related positivity (Pe). Moreover, among children in the foster care intervention those who exhibited stronger error-related negativity (ERN) responses had lower levels of socio-emotional behavior problems. Overall, these data identify specific aspects of EF that contribute to adaptive and maladaptive socio-emotional outcomes among children experiencing early psychosocial deprivation.

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