The brains of abused or neglected children show reductions of the size of several brain structures
The brains of mistreated children have been shown to be smaller than normal by 7 or 8 percent, with below-average volumes in multiple brain areas, including the prefrontal cortex; the corpus callosum, and several structures of the limbic system, whose dysfunctions greatly increase vulnerability to addiction. In a study of depressed women who had been abused in childhood, the hippocampus was found to be 15 percent smaller than normal. The key factor was abuse, not depression, since the same brain area was unaffected in depressed women who had not been abused.
References
- Mate, Gabor. (2010). In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts Chapter 18. Trauma, Stress, and the Biology of Addiction (p. 248). Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Metadata
Type:🔴 Tags: Biology / Neuroscience / Developmental Neurology Status:☀️