During the 1980s, thousands of infants in Romanian
orphanages spent up to 20 hours a day lying untouched in their cribs, deprived
of human contact. As they grew up, neurological and psychological tests
confirmed a haunting phenomenon observed in other species, such as mice and
rhesus monkeys: Early isolation and neglect can produce lasting cognitive
damage, ranging from severe emotional instability to mental retardation. Now,
researchers say they have discovered a possible explanation for why early
neglect wreaks such havoc—isolation may stunt the growth of the brain cells
that insulate neurons, resulting in slower communication between different
areas of the brain.