Anita Remig, Ed.D. on Child Development

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. "Anita Remig, Ed.D. on Child Development", posted May 15, 2007. Dr. Remig describes the process of attachment and attachment disorders in biological, relational and maturational terms. Recent neuroscience findings have tended to confirm what 1950s child development theorists like John Bowlby suspected - that the quality of a baby's early relationships strongly influences the development of that baby's brain, and therefore, the quality of that baby's ability to regulate emotions, form a coherent sense of self and other and enter into and effectively manage social relationships. Modern imaging techniques have localized some of the brain areas damaged by inadequate, abusive or neglectful early caregiving. The midbrain and orbital prefrontal cortex are involved as are diverse right hemisphere circuits involved with emotional regulation and judgement. In short: Child abuse interferes with brain development.