Smacking your child can affect their brain development by altering neural responses to their environment, a new study warns.
Harvard University researchers investigated the effects of smacking, known as corporal punishment, on the brains of 147 children.
They found it may affect a child's brain development in similar ways to 'more severe forms of violence' and maltreatment.
Children who had been smacked had a greater neural response in multiple regions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), including in regions that are part of what's known as the 'salience network' (SN).
These regions respond to cues in the environment that tend to be consequential, such as a threat, and may affect decision-making and processing of situations.