A long-term study on monkeys shows that being raised by an abusive parent may alter brain chemistry in such a way that children are more prone to abusing their own offspring as adults.
Emory University researchers studied infant monkeys raised by both abusive and non-abusive mothers, testing their cerebral spinal fluid every six months. They found that infants who were exposed to high levels of maternal rejection during the first six months of life had far lower concentrations of metabolites associated with serotonin and dopamine production, even if they had not been raised by their biological mothers.
Interestingly, researchers found that abused monkeys with low concentrations of these metabolites were in turn more likely to abuse their own children as adults.
Past research has linked low serotonin levels to higher levels of aggression, impulsiveness and sensitivity to fear, possibly accounting for this behavior.
Results of the research are published in this month's issue of Behavioral Neuroscience.
Read more: Abuse can alter brain, study finds
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