i have been working on this for awhile and it is still a work in progress it ties into Davids post a few days ago

hippocampus

I've just been studing that area of the brain and how cortisol (stress hormone) affects it in the developing or infant brain.. when cortisol levels are high for to long it starts to effect the hippocampus (brown and harris1978), infants and young children who's brains have been flooded with cortisol tend to have smaller hippocampi (bremner etal 1997; villareal and king 2001) adults sufferering from depressiion also have smaller hippocampus prehaps as a result of early experiences,

also the hippocampus through its link with the orbitofrontal cortex can evaluate situations and anticipate outcome, (if i do this this will happen and so on) a sence of responsibility.

high cortisol inearly life may also be responsible for hippocampus damage,(or lack of growth to its fullest potential),since cortisol increases the release of glutamates which damage the hippocampus, these glutamates . (see below for study ive done on glutamates in foods we eat) these glutamates may interfere with feedback systems and with the adaptability of the brain.Timing also does seem to play an important part in setting the baseline level or cortisol reaactivity, a childs brain is developing the most up to the age of 3,

(lyons et al. 2000b; Dettling et al 2002) the afeects of early stress appear to have the potentail for considerable handicapping of the indervidual's capacities to respond to future stress, where behavoir such as anxiety, neurosis or depression, borderline personality disorders etc.

what cause high cortisol levels in infants? as Jon Allan put in "unresponsiveness when the infant is in a state of high attachment needs'(allan 2001)

-an infant/child, whose brain and body systems are still in a process of development, they can not survive alone and are highly dependent on adults to provide for there basic needs both phsical needs , for food, shelter, clothes etc but also emotional needs comfort, feeling of worth, feeling loved and accepted, security/trust in that his/her needs will be meet..

Without these needs meet the infant will be in a state of stress/trauma, with cortisol level high ,

-Trauma causes the infant brain to be saturated in cortisol.

The essentail aspect of trauma is that it generates doubts about surviving -either as a body, but equally as a phychological self,

what causes "trauma" in the mind of an infant. The fear of abandonment, as when the cant see, touch or hear their mother.(or attachment figure) and that they will no longer have there physical needs for food etc responed to.

How does MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and aspartame and neotame (which is banned from most contrys but not NZ ). affect the brain escpecially the hippocampus

these products are called excitotoxin

So, what is an excitotoxin? These are substances, usually acidic amino acids, that react with specialized receptors in the brain in such a way as to lead to destruction of certain types of neurons. Glutamate is one of the more commonly known excitotoxins. MSG is the sodium salt of glutamate ,

"We can get into trouble, however, when too much glutamate or aspartate is ingested from our food or under certain conditions released by the brain itself (as that of the developing brain of a child). Especially vulnerable are areas of the brain called the hypothalamus and the hippocampus. Hypothalamic injury disrupts the endocrine system, leading to low levels of growth hormone, thyroid hormone, the sex hormones and the adrenal hormones. Hippocampal injury affects memory and emotions. But other brain cells are also injured—in the cortex, the cerebellum and a special emotional control system called the amygdala. Even the spinal cord can be damaged."

" What makes babies different is that their brains are undergoing rapid development, especially during the last three months of pregnancy and the first two years after birth. Excess glutamate and other excitotoxins have been shown to alter how the brain is formed, leading to varying degrees of brain maldevelopment, from mild behavioral and learning problems to full-blown ADD, ADHD or autism. "

Dr. Russell Blaylock is a board certified neurosurgeon and a former clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery.