Neuroimaging has many uses in developmental psychology, for example to examine the effects of experience on the brain, such as neuroplasticity resulting from intervention designed to promote development to the neural effects of trauma or severe neglect. For example, Rutter and colleagues compared the size of three brain regions believed to be affected by negative early experiences in fourteen Romanian orphans and a matched control group with no early privation experiences (n=11), (Mehta et al. 2009). MRI showed that the longer the children had spent in the orphanage, the smaller their left side amygdala. Overall amygdala volume was greater for the orphans than the control group. 

Activity: Sketch a scatter diagram to show the correlation between time spent in the orphanage and left amygdala size. Remember, the smaller the left amygdala, the more time in the orphanage, the larger the left amygdala the less time in the orphanage. What type of correlation is this? Now think about the orphanage group compared with the control group. Sketch a bar chart to show the difference in overall amygdala volume. Remember bars should not be touching on a bar chart. As always label axes with care and ensure all charts and graphs have informative titles.

• What do these findings suggest about the right amygdala?
• Why should extreme caution be exercised when drawing conclusions from this study?