By MELISSA FLETCHER STOELTJE
Copyright 2000 Houston Chronicle
April 20, 2000, 4:23PM

As a freshman at Stanford University, Bruce D. Perry got an inkling of his future.
A visiting scientist was explaining his research. He had raised two sets of rats -- one handled by humans for 30 seconds right after birth, the other not. When he dissected the rats, he found differences between the two sets of brains. "I thought, `Wait a minute. A 30-second experience changed the brain function?' " says Perry, sounding still amazed. "That seemed like a pretty important thing."

Dr. Perry has gone on to become a pioneer in the study of childhood brain development, proving that environment plays a key role in how the brain grows, particularly during the first three years of life. Among Perry's findings are studies that show trauma and neglect can alter the biology of a child's brain, with lifelong consequences.

Now Perry, head of the Child Trauma Academy at Baylor College of Medicine and chief of psychiatry at Texas Children's Hospital, has teamed with Scholastic Inc. to spread the word about the importance of early-childhood environment.
He writes articles for the national publishing company on neurobiology and child mental health, translating often arcane science for a general readership of students, parents and educators throughout the nation.

While the subject seems complicated, it's actually quite simple, says Perry, 44, a personable, soft-spoken father of five. "The brain is designed in many ways to sense what's going on in the world and to change in response to that world," he says, sitting in his smallish office at Texas Children's Hospital. "It's an organ of adaptation."

In a predictable, consistent and nurturing environment, Perry says, a child's brain will develop the ability to feel empathy and to grasp complex and abstract concepts. If the external world is "chaotic, unpredictable and threatening," the brain will make changes to become "hypervigilant," he says, to overreact with stress responses, to pay more attention to "concrete, potentially threatening information."

The result?
While the child in the supportive world grows up to become a "contributor," the child in the chaotic world "would likely require special education, mental-health services and might very well end up in the criminal-justice system," Perry says.

A native of Bismarck, N.D., with degrees from Northwestern University, Perry was the keynote speaker at last year's White House conference on children and violence. He has testified before legislatures throughout the country on childhood brain development and has been a consultant on such high-profile cases as the Oklahoma City bombing and the Columbine High School shootings. Perry and his team of 12 clinicians and researchers have amassed the largest research database on abused and neglected children in the nation, soon to be published. He joined filmmaker Rob Reiner, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and others in a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of child brain development. While the campaign was a success, Perry says, it's important not to oversimplify. What comes after age 3 matters, too.  "You heard people say, `Oh, we shouldn't spend money on the juvenile-justice system because by then it's too late,' and that's the wrong message," he says.  With care and therapy, children who have experienced early deprivation and abuse can overcome their problems, although to varying degrees, he says.

How many children struggle with mental-health problems? Estimates say around 5 to 10 percent, Perry says. Not enough research has been done to say whether these numbers are on the increase.  "But you talk to someone who has been teaching for 20 years," he says, "and they'll say there has been a tremendous increase in the number of children who appear to have impulsivity and attention problems, who come to school unprepared, whose families seem overwhelmed."  Whether this increase stems from improved identification of such children or some deeper problem relating to families or some combination of the two remains to be seen, Perry says.  But while brain development and its effects on child mental health affect all aspects of society, they continue to be among the most underfunded and understudied areas of medical research, he says. Children -- abused children especially -- don't have a voice in society.   "At one point, there was more advocacy raised for the spotted owl than there was for research on child abuse," Perry says. By conservative estimates, 1.5 million to 2 million children are abused and neglected each year in America, he says.

So Perry's mission is to educate as many people as possible on the importance of environment and early brain development. He speaks to groups throughout America, lobbies policy-makers, writes articles, forms partnerships with such organizations as Child Protective Services -- all to get the word out. 

"I think if people knew more about how crucial childhood is, they'd make better decisions, better policy" he says. "That's the most important thing."

Spotlight is a weekly feature about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. To submit the name, brief description and anecdotes of a person making a significant contribution to the community, send mail to: Spotlight, Lifestyle, Houston Chronicle, P.O. Box 4260, Houston, TX 77210.

To access more of Dr. Perry's work and the work of the ChildTrauma Academy, visit www.ChildTrauma.org