Human brain development is optimized to learn from environmental cues. The protracted development of the cortex and its connections with subcortical targets has been argued to permit more opportunity for acquiring complex behaviors. This review uses the example of amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex circuitry development to illustrate a principle of human development-namely, that the extension of the brain's developmental timeline allows for the (species-expected) collaboration between child and parent in co-construction of the human brain. The neurobiology underlying affective learning capitalizes on this protracted timeline to develop a rich affective repertoire in adulthood. Humans are afforded this luxuriously slow development in part by the extended period of caregiving provided by parents, and parents aid in scaffolding the process of maturation during childhood. Just as adequate caregiving is a potent effector of brain development, so is adverse caregiving, which is the largest environmental risk factor for adult mental illness. There are large individual differences in neurobiological outcomes following caregiving adversity, indicating that these pathways are probabilistic, rather than deterministic, and prolonged plasticity in human brain development may also allow for subsequent amelioration by positive experiences. The extant research indicates that the development of mental health cannot be considered without consideration of children in the context of their families.

中文翻译：

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早期的逆境和幼态的人脑

人类大脑的发育经过优化可以从环境线索中学习。有人认为，皮层的长期发育及其与皮层下目标的联系为获得复杂行为提供了更多机会。这篇综述以杏仁核-内侧前额叶皮层电路发育的例子来说明人类发展的一个原理，即大脑发育时间线的延长允许孩子和父母之间（物种预期的）合作，共同构建人类的大脑。情感学习背后的神经生物学利用这一漫长的时间线在成年期发展出丰富的情感库。人类之所以能够如此缓慢地成长，部分原因是父母提供的长期照顾，而父母在童年时期帮助支撑了成熟的过程。正如充分的照料是大脑发育的有力影响因素一样，不良的照料也是成人精神疾病最大的环境风险因素。护理逆境后的神经生物学结果存在很大的个体差异，这表明这些途径是概率性的，而不是确定性的，并且人类大脑发育的长期可塑性也可能允许通过积极的经历进行后续改善。现有研究表明，如果不考虑家庭背景下的儿童，就不能考虑心理健康的发展。