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16 Sep 2008
Parenting plays an important role in changing the genes that may place youngsters at risk of responding poorly to stress, a new study has suggested.
A survey carried out by staff from a range of academic institutions - the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Pennsylvania State University, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and North Carolina State University looked at 142 infants.
The children had been placed in a stressful situation - being separated from their mothers - when they were three, six and 12 months old.
Heart rates were measured when the children were exposed to the stressor and looked at a cardiac response called vagal tone - which acts like a brake on the heart when the body is calm, but is removed during a challenging situation to allow the body to deal with it.
DNA was also collected.
Both genes and parenting were found to be important in terms of the way the brain helps regulate responses to stress, with the scientists suggesting that the cumulative nature of exposure to their mother's behaviour has an effect on children.
"Our findings provide further support for the notion that the development of complex behavioural and physiological responses is not the result of nature or nurture, but rather a combination of the two," comments Cathu Propper, lead author of the study.
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