Child maltreatment leaves scars in the brain

Traces of childhood maltreatment detectable in the brain - scars remain for a lifetime

12/12/2011

More than 10,000 children are abused every year, physically, mentally or sexually, in Germany alone. Traumatization often lasts for those affected for life. Researchers at the interdisciplinary Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neurosciences at the University of Münster have now revealed visible signs of trauma in a study in which brains of those affected were examined by magnetic resonance tomography (MRI). Compared to people without serious experiences of violence or abuse, sufferers' brains show distinctly altered structures that are very similar to the brain structures of patients with manifested depression. The study suggests that abused and neglected children are more susceptible to mental illness throughout their lives.

Abused children suffer for a lifetime
Maltreated and neglected children often suffer the psychological consequences for a lifetime. In addition, many escape into an unhealthy lifestyle, smoke, consume drugs, and drink alcohol to relieve the constant stress „flashbacks“ and „triggers“ to compensate. The compensation can lead to an overall increased risk of physical illness or infection, as Professor Johannes Kruse reported during an event at this year's German Congress of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy in Essen in March this year.

The psychological long-term consequences of abuse and neglect were demonstrated in one study. Under the direction of dr. Dr. Udo Dannlowski and dr. Harald Kugel asked the Münster scientists 148 mentally healthy adults about abuse and violence as well as neglect in their childhood. Subsequently, the subjects were confronted with images of angry and fearful faces, while at the same time the activity of the so-called amygdala, the brain's anxiety center, was measured.

Abused people experience more severe anxiety reactions in the brain
The investigations revealed that maltreated subjects displayed significantly greater anxiety responses in the brain than participants in the study who experienced no abuse or neglect in their childhood. Dannlowski explains: „Those affected fear faster, have a stronger startle reflex, are afraid of being close to other people and are more anxious in everyday life than other people.“

Altered brain structures in those affected
The scientists also investigated the size of certain brain areas. They discovered that the hippocampus - important for learning and memory - and the frontal lobe, which is responsible for emotion regulation, is smaller in subjects abused in childhood than in subjects without such experience. American researchers also published a study in this week „Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine“, which came to the same result.

Both the smaller brain areas and the excitable center of anxiety have already been discovered by scientists in patients with depression and anxiety. The Münster scientists conclude that there is an increased risk for people abused in childhood to develop depression or other mental illnesses during their lifetime.

With the grave consequences of childhood traumatization, the victims sometimes have to fight for a lifetime. The ultimate goal is therefore first of all to produce a suitability for everyday use, as the social worker Sebastian Bertram opposite „Heilpraxisnet“ said. „Only when a certain stability has been reached can further therapy goals be pursued“, explained the expert and team leader of a Therapeutic Institution. The abstract of the study has been published in the scientific journal "Biological Psychiatry". (Ag)

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Picture: Martin Schemm