Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Neurobiology of Childhood Trauma and its Implications for Therapy


Affiliations
1 School of Human Ecology, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Childhood trauma is a widely prevalent phenomenon often neglected due to the taboos attached to it. Yet its consequences for the development of the individual cannot be ignored. Children with histories of adverse childhood trauma tend to display complex disturbances with varied individualized presentation due to developmental delays across a broad range including but not only limited to cognitive, language, motor and socialization skills. The significance of the presentation of these responses for therapy is highlighted here. The aim is to review current literature on the neurobiology of childhood trauma and its implications for therapy. The keywords such as Neurobiology of trauma, prevalence, the adverse childhood experience studies, and recent advances in trauma based therapy were entered into search engines such as Google search, Pubmed. Over 40 accessible full length articles were reviewed. The key findings suggested that trauma at different stages in childhood leads to adverse etfects in the developmental process of the individual. Children with background of trauma are unable to capitalize on opportunities for socio-emotional learning during the critical periods of brain development. Severe trauma originating in the childhood has the ability to override any genetic, constitutional, social and psychological factor contributing to resilience due to its ability to alter biological stress systems. Experience of childhood trauma has the capacity to severely impact the physiological and psychological fhnetioning of the individual.. Thus there is a need to integrate and individualize therapeutic interventions to help individuals overcome their traumatic past.

Keywords

Psychological Trauma, Childhood Trauma, Neurobiology of Trauma, Therapy for Trauma.
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Beutel, M.E., Stark, R., Pan, H., Silbersweig, D., & Dietrich, S. (2010). Changes of brain activation pre post short-term psychodynamic inpatient psychotherapy: An FMRI study of panic disorder patients. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 184, 96-104.

  • Blonder, L., Bowers, D., & Heilman, K. (1991), The role of the right hemisphere in emotional communication. Rra/n, H4, 1115-1127.

  • Borod, J., Cicero, B., Obler, L., Welkowitz, J., Erhan, H., Santschi, C., Gmnwald, I., Agosti, R., & Whalen, J. (1998). Right hemisphere emotional perception: Evidence across multiple channels.Neuropshycology 12,446-458.

  • Bowlby, J. (9S0). Attachment and loss (Vol. 3). NewYork, NY: Basic Books.

  • Bremner, J., & Narayan, M. (1998). The effects of stress on memory and the hippocampus throughout the life cycle: Implications for childhood development and aging. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 871-885.

  • Brody, A.L. (2001). Regional brain metabolic change in patients with major depression treated with either paroxetine or interpersonal therapy. Archives of General Psychiatry, 55(7), 631-640.

  • Browne, A., & Finkelhor, D. (1986). Impact of child abuse: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 99(1), 66-77.

  • Cole, P.M., & Putnam, F.W. (1992). Effect of incest on self and social functioning: Developmental psychopathology perspective. Journal of Consult Clinical Psychology, 60(2), 174-184.

  • Crittenden, P.M. (1992). Treatment of anxious attachment in infancy and early ehiCBoo6. Dev Psychopathology, 4, 575-602.

  • De Beilis, M. (2001). Developmental traumatology: The psychobiological development of maltreated children and its implications for research, treatment, and policy. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 539-564.

  • Devinsky, O. (2000). Right cerebral hemisphere dominance for a sense of corporeal and emotional sqU. Epilepsy a-ndBehavior, 7(1), 60-73.

  • Drossman, D.A., Leserman, J., Nachman, G., Li, Z., Gluck, H., Toomey, T. C., & Mitchell, C. M. (1990). Sexual and physical abuse in women with functional or organic gastrointestinal disorders. An-nals of Internal Medicine, 775(11), 828-833.

  • Ertl, V., Pfeiffer, A., Schauer, E., Elbert, T., & Neuner, F. (2011). Community- implemented trauma therapy for former child soldiers in Northern Uganda a randomized controlled trial (2011). .Journal of theAmerican MedicalAssociation, 596(5), 503-512. doi:10.1001/jama.2011.1060

  • Felitti, V.J., Anda, R.F., Nordemberg, D., et al. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The adverse childhood experiences (ACE)study. Am JPrevMed, 74(4), 245-258.

  • Felmingham, K., Kemp, A., Williams, L., Das, P., Hughes, G., Peduto, A., & Bryant, R. (2007). Changes in anterior cingulate and amygdala after cognitive behaviour therapy of posttraumatic stress. Psychological Science, 127-129.

  • Furmark, T., Tillfors, M., Marteinsdottir, I., Fischer, H., Pissiota, A., Langstrom, B., & Fredrikson, M. (2002). Common changes in cerebral blood flow in patients with social phobia treated with citalopram or cognitive-behavioral therapy. Archives General Psychiatry, 59,425-433.

  • Goldapple, K., Segal, Z., Garson, C., Lau, M., Bieling, P., Kennedy, S., Mayberg, H. (2004). Modulation of cortical-limbic pathways in major depression. Treatment- specific effects of cognitive behaviour therapy. Archives of General Psychiatry, 61, 34-41.

  • Heim, C., & Nemeroff, C. (1999). The impact of early adverse experiences on brain systems involved in the pathophysiology of anxiety and affective disorders. Biological Psychiatry, 46(11), 1509-1522.

  • Kaufman, I., & Rosenblum, L. (1967). The reaction to separation in infant monkeys: Anaclitic depression and conservation-withdrawal. Psychosomatic Medicine, 40, 649-675.

  • Kleven, M.S., Perry, B.D., Woolverton,W.L.,& Seiden,L.S. (1990). Effects of repeated injections of cocaine onDl andD2 dopamine receptors inairi'bra.in. Brain Research, 552(l-2),265-270.

  • Lipton, P., Alvarez, P., & Eichenbaum, H. (1999). Crossmodal associative memory representations in rodent orbitofrontal cortex. Neuron, 22(2), 349-59.

  • MacLean, P. (1985). Evolutionary psychiatry and the triune brain. Psychological Medicine, 15,219-221.

  • Martin, S.D., Martin, E., Rai, S.S., Richardson, M.A., &Royall, R. (2001). Brain blood flow changes in depressed patients treated with interpersonal psychotherapy of venlafaxine hydrochloride. Archives General Psychiatry, 55(7), 641-648.

  • Matsuzawa, J., Matsui, M., Konishi, T., Noguchi, K., & Miyawaki, T. (2001). Age- related changes in brain gray, white matter in healthy infants and children. Cerebral Cortex, H, 335-342.

  • Mesulam,M.M. (1998). From sensation to cognition.Brain 121, 1013-1052.

  • O'Neill, J. (2012). MRSI correlate of cognitive-behavioral therapy in pediatric obsessive compulsive disorder. Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology and Psychiatry, 75d(l), 161-168.

  • Perry, B., Pollard, R., Blakley, T., & Baker, W. (1995). Childhood trauma, the neurobiology of adaptation and use dependent development of brain: How states become traits. Infant Mental Health Journal, 16(4), 271-291.

  • Prasco, J., Horacek, J., Zalesky, R., Kopecek, M., Novak, T., Paskova, B., Skrdlantova, L., Belohlavek, O., & Hoschl, C. (2004). Change in regional brain metabolism in panic disorder during treatment with cognitive-behavioral therapy or antidepressant. Neuroendocrinology Letters, 25(5), 340-348.

  • Radu, N. et al (2011). Cognitive behavioral therapy-related increases in cortical inhibition in problematic perfectionists. Brain Stimulation, 5,44-54.

  • Rizolatti, G., Fadiga, L., Gallese, V., & Fogassi, L. (1996). Premotor cortex and the recognition of motor actions. Brain Research. Cognitive Brain Research, 5(2), 131141.

  • Rossouw, P. (2013). The neuroscience of talking therapies. Neuropsychotherap-y in Australia,24,1-13.

  • Schiffer,F., Teicher, M., & Papanicolaou, A. (1995). Evoked potential evidence for right brain activity during the recall of traumatic memories. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 7, 169-175.

  • Schnell, K., & Herpertz, S.C. (2007). Effects of dialectic-behavioural-therapy on neural correlates of affective hyperarousal in borderline personality disorder. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 41, 837-847.

  • Schore, A. (1994). Affect regulation and the origin of the self: The neurobiology of emotional development. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

  • Schore, A. (2001). The effects of a secure attachment relationship on right brain development, affect regulation, and infant mental health. Infant Mental Health Journal, 22,7-66.

  • Schore, A. N. (2002). Advances in neuropsychoanalysis, attachment theory, and trauma research: Implications for self psychology. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 22(3), 433-484.

  • Spence, S., Shapiro, D., & Zaidel, E. (1996). The role of right hemisphere in the physiological and cognitive components of emotional processing. Psychophysiology, 55,112-122.

  • Streeck-Fischer, A., & Van der Kolk, B. (2000). Down will come baby, cradle and all: Diagnostic and therapeutic implications of chronic trauma on child development. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 34, 903-918.

  • Teicher, M., Anderson, S., & Polcari, A. (2002). Developmental neurobiology of childhood stress and trauma.Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 25,397-426.

  • Van der Kolk, B.A., & Fisler, R. (1995). Dissociation and the fragmentary nature of traumatic memories: Overview and exploratory study. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 5(4), 505-525.

  • Van der Kolk, B.A. (2005). Developmental trauma disorder: Toward a rational diagnosis for children with complex trauma histories. Psychiatric Annals, 35, 401408.

  • Whitfield, C. L. (1998). Adverse childhood experiences and trauma. American Journal ofPreventiveMedicine, 14(4), 361-364.

  • Zhang, L.X., Levine, S.,Dent, G.,Zhan, Y.,Xing, G., Okimoto,D., Gordon, M., Post, R. & Smith, M. (2002). Maternal deprivation increases cell death in the infant rat brain. Brain Research, 133,1-11.


Abstract Views: 734

PDF Views: 1




  • Neurobiology of Childhood Trauma and its Implications for Therapy

Abstract Views: 734  |  PDF Views: 1

Authors

Mrinalini Mahajan
School of Human Ecology, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Abstract


Childhood trauma is a widely prevalent phenomenon often neglected due to the taboos attached to it. Yet its consequences for the development of the individual cannot be ignored. Children with histories of adverse childhood trauma tend to display complex disturbances with varied individualized presentation due to developmental delays across a broad range including but not only limited to cognitive, language, motor and socialization skills. The significance of the presentation of these responses for therapy is highlighted here. The aim is to review current literature on the neurobiology of childhood trauma and its implications for therapy. The keywords such as Neurobiology of trauma, prevalence, the adverse childhood experience studies, and recent advances in trauma based therapy were entered into search engines such as Google search, Pubmed. Over 40 accessible full length articles were reviewed. The key findings suggested that trauma at different stages in childhood leads to adverse etfects in the developmental process of the individual. Children with background of trauma are unable to capitalize on opportunities for socio-emotional learning during the critical periods of brain development. Severe trauma originating in the childhood has the ability to override any genetic, constitutional, social and psychological factor contributing to resilience due to its ability to alter biological stress systems. Experience of childhood trauma has the capacity to severely impact the physiological and psychological fhnetioning of the individual.. Thus there is a need to integrate and individualize therapeutic interventions to help individuals overcome their traumatic past.

Keywords


Psychological Trauma, Childhood Trauma, Neurobiology of Trauma, Therapy for Trauma.

References