Abuse: Infant Abuse Linked To Early Experience, Not Genetics
Infant Abuse Linked To Early Experience, Not Genetics: "Intergenerational transmission of infant abuse is more likely caused by early experience than genetic inheritance, new University of Chicago research on macaque monkeys shows.
"Maternal abuse of offspring in macaque monkeys shares some similarities with child maltreatment in humans, including its transmission across generations," said Dario Maestripieri, Associate Professor in the Department of Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago.
"The mechanisms underlying the intergenerational transmission of abuse are not well understood," said Maestripieri, who is also an affiliate scientist at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University. " Ours is the first study to show that rhesus monkey females who are abused by their mothers in infancy tend to become abusive mothers themselves, and the first to provide experimental evidence that the intergenerational transmission of abuse is the result of early experience and not genetic inheritance," he said.
Maestripieri reports his findings in an article, "Early Experience Affects the Intergenerational Transmission of Infant Abuse in Rhesus Monkeys," published in the online Early Edition of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA the week of June 27-July 1.
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"Maternal abuse of offspring in macaque monkeys shares some similarities with child maltreatment in humans, including its transmission across generations," said Dario Maestripieri, Associate Professor in the Department of Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago.
"The mechanisms underlying the intergenerational transmission of abuse are not well understood," said Maestripieri, who is also an affiliate scientist at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University. " Ours is the first study to show that rhesus monkey females who are abused by their mothers in infancy tend to become abusive mothers themselves, and the first to provide experimental evidence that the intergenerational transmission of abuse is the result of early experience and not genetic inheritance," he said.
Maestripieri reports his findings in an article, "Early Experience Affects the Intergenerational Transmission of Infant Abuse in Rhesus Monkeys," published in the online Early Edition of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA the week of June 27-July 1.
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posted 11:56 p.m.
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