FSTDT Forums
Community => Science and Technology => Topic started by: Shane for Wax on February 18, 2012, 04:34:38 am
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/feb/13/childhood-abuse-growth-brain-emotions
Being sexually or emotionally abused as a child can affect the development of a part of the brain that controls memory and the regulation of emotions, a study suggests.
The results add to the growing body of evidence that childhood maltreatment or abuse raises the risk of mental illnesses such as depression, personality disorders and anxiety well into adulthood.
Martin Teicher of the department of psychiatry at Harvard University scanned the brains of almost 200 people who had been questioned about any instances of abuse or stress during childhood. He found that the volumes of three important areas of the hippocampus were reduced by up to 6.5% in people exposed to several instances of maltreatment – such as physical or verbal abuse from parents – in their early years.
I think we should compare this to other things that could be stressful or cause anxiety later, as well.
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What's considered "verbal abuse" or "emotional abuse" by the study? 'cause this could explain a LOT of shit in my close and extended family-- the authorities in said families weren't known for their emotional wellness themselves, so this might explain how emotional and mental sickness was passed on.
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I don't know. You'd have to find the original study notes, I expect.
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The findings aren't particularly shocking, although this does give us something to point to when people expect victims of child abuse to "just get over it and move on with your life".
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I thought this was old news.
It has already been determined that child abuse can cause some serious psychological problems including problems with memory. I was interested to learn about the way it stunts brain development though. That is new to me.