A new research has warned that overprotective nature of parents can slowdown their kids' brain development in the region linked to mental disease.

The study, headed by Kosuke Narita of Gunma University, Japan, children whose parents are overprotective or inattentive are thought to be more prone to psychiatric disorders.

To reach the conclusion, Kosuke Narita took brain scans of 50 people in their twenties and asked them to complete a questionnaire regarding their relationship with their parents during their initial 16 years.

In their study, researchers used an appraisal called the Parental Bonding Instrument (pdf).

It asks partakers to give grades to their parents on statements such as "Did not want me to grow up", "tried to control everything I did" and "tried to make me feel dependent on her/him".

After analyses, it was found out that kids having with overprotective parents had less gray substance in a particular region of the prefrontal lobe as compared to those who had strong relationships.

Neglect from fathers, though not mothers, also interrelated with less grey matter.

This part of the prefrontal lobe expands during infancy, and abnormalcies there are common in people suffering from schizophrenic disorder and other mental problems.

The results of the research have been released in Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry. (With Input from Agencies)