In 1966, Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu introduced extreme policies to increase the country’s birth rate. This led to the widespread abandonment of children, who ended up in orphanages in appalling conditions where they received no care, attention or love. Though tragic, this infamous “natural experiment” has allowed us to learn a great deal about the effects of early-life trauma on the brain.
Research into these children found that many of them had smaller brain volumes, which partially explained their poor cognitive performance. This atrophy was more severe in children who had spent longer in institutions.
