A Critique Of Ehrlich, David E, And Donald G Rainnie

InJae Chung Bob Wyttenbach Neuroscience Behavioral Biology October 7, 2015 A critique of â€Å"Ehrlich, David E, and Donald G Rainnie. Prenatal Stress Alters The Development Of Socioemotional Behavior And Amygdala Neuron Excitability In Rats . 1.0 Background The research is discussing the effects of prenatal stress (PS) on the development of socioemotional symptoms as well as neurodevelopmental disorders. The study arises from existing literatures where a significant relationship has been established between prenatal stress and social deficits such as autism and attention-deficit hypersensitivity disorder among children and schizophrenia among adolescents. King et al. identifies exposures to environmental hardships and stressful events as the underlying factor in the development of PS (274). The aspect has a negative impact on the immune and endocrine system as well as neurological development (Charil et al. 56). Studies have revealed that PS affects several aspects of brain development in the fetal stage. It increases rate of cell death and reduces rate of proliferation in the hypothalamus-pituitary axis (Schoenfeld and Gould 15). The research argues that PS affects the amygdala, a socioemotional control center in the brain that plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders. The claim is backed by several studies. PS plays a major role in abnormal psychological, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes in both human and animals. Charil