Child Abuse Leaves Mark on Brain Jennifer Welsh Live Science
Mon, 13 Feb 2012 Childhood abuse and maltreatment can shrink
important parts of the brain, a new study of adults suggests.
Reduced brain volume in parts of the hippocampus could help to
explain why childhood problems often lead to later psychiatric
disorders, such as depression, drug addiction and other mental
health problems, the researchers say. This link could help
researchers find better ways to treat survivors of childhood
abuse. “These results may provide one explanation for why
childhood abuse has been identified with an increased risk for
drug abuse or psychosis,” study researcher Martin Teicher, of
Harvard University, told LiveScience. “Now that one can look at
these sub-regions [in the brain], we can get a better idea of
what treatments are helping.” The researchers used magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of 193 individuals
between 18 and 25 years old, who had already undergone several
rounds of testing to be qualified. Th