Studies show that rodents who receive more physical attention in youth have less cell loss during old age in the hippocampus, a brain area important for memory. These rats also perform better on certain memory tasks in old age. On the other hand, studies show that blocking the physical attention from a parent negatively changes the architecture of their baby's brain as well as certain memory abilities. Other new animal research shows that the separation results in impaired growth of brain cells in the hippocampus. Preliminary observations found that as adults, these animals perform poorly on certain learning and memory tasks.
Researchers have yet to directly link the animal findings to humans.
Some research, however, suggests that positive touch also is important for human development. For example, scientists found that neglected children from overcrowded, understaffed Romanian orphanages had abnormal stress systems. Moreover, the children with the most abnormal stress systems had the lowest scores on tests of mental and movement ability. Once a human effect is confirmed, scientists hope to find methods to treat children who come from extreme situations of neglect. Already, researchers have found evidence in animals that certain therapies can reverse the effects of separation situations.