Childhood Abuse Changes the Developing Brain

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From: malouf@... Mon Jan 1 13:03:41 2001

Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2001 11:08:53 -0800 (PST)

Subject: Childhood Abuse Changes the Developing Brain

<FONT SIZE=-1>By Emma Patten-Hitt</FONT>

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Childhood abuse and neglect may

do more than just affect the way a person looks at life, new

research suggests. Abuse may result in permanent physical changes

to the developing brain--changes that could cause psychological

problems in adulthood.

" The science shows that childhood maltreatment may produce

changes in both brain function and structure, " said lead

investigator Dr. H. Teicher, of the McLean Hospital,

Belmont, Massachusetts. " These changes are permanent, " he added.

" This is not something people can just get over. "

Teicher's team identified four abnormalities in the brain

that were much more prevalent in adults who had been abused and

neglected as children than they were in adults who were not

abused.

The investigators found that adults who had been abused as

children were more likely to experience epileptic seizures caused

by changes to the limbic system, a part of the brain that

controls emotions.

" Emotions that accompany these seizures include sadness,

embarrassment, anger, explosive laughter (usually without feeling

happy), serenity, and quite often, fear, " Teicher explains.

The researchers also found that abused children were twice as

likely as non-abused children to have an abnormal

electroencephalogram (EEG)--a reading that measures electrical

activity of the brain. Also, abnormal EEGs were associated with

increased self-destructive behavior and aggression.

Another change noted was deficient development of the left

side of the brain in adults abused as children, which, the

researchers speculate, may lead to depression and problems with

memory.

Abused children did not integrate the function of the left

and right sides of their brain as well as those who had not been

abused, the report indicates. The researchers suggest that this

may be caused by a decrease in the size of the bridge between the

two hemispheres of the brain.

Interestingly, Teicher and colleagues found a difference

between boys and girls in the response to type of abuse. Neglect

was the more likely factor to reduce the size of the bridge in

boys. But sexual abuse had no effect. In girls, sexual abuse was

associated with a decrease in the size, but neglect had no

effect.

" The trauma of abuse induces a cascade of effects, including

changes in hormones and neurotransmitters (chemicals released by

brain cells) that mediate development of vulnerable brain

regions, " Teicher writes in the Fall 2000 issue of Cerebrum.

" We know that an animal exposed to stress and neglect early

in life develops a brain that is wired to experience fear,

anxiety and stress, " Teicher said. " We think the same is true of

people. "

SOURCE: Cerebrum 2000;50-67.