Münster researchers demonstrate long-term consequences of child abuse by means of magnetic resonance tomography Münster (upm),

Mo, 12 Dez 2011
People who were abused as children mostly suffer their whole life long from the psychological consequences. As a result, adults who were exposed to violence, abuse or neglect in childhood have a much higher risk of succumbing to psychological illnesses such as depression or anxiety disorders. For the first time, scientists from the interdisciplinary Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience at Münster University have now systematically examined the long-term consequences of the experience of abuse by means of magnetic resonance tomography (MRT). The data show that the consequences of experiencing violence in childhood can still be detected decades later in the brains of those affected.

The researchers questioned a large, representative sample of psychologically healthy adults on their experiences of violence in childhood. Using MRT, they not only measured the test persons' brain structure, i.e. the size of the important individual areas of the brain; they also recorded their brain activity while they were observing angry and scared faces.

The results painted an unmistakeable picture: the more experiences of violence or neglect the test persons talked about, the smaller were the important brain structures such as the hippocampus, which is important for learning and for the memory, or the frontal lobes, responsible for regulating the emotions. Also, test persons who had experienced violence demonstrated a clear overactivity of the amygdale, a central structure in the brain's fear network.
The results observed in the brains of test persons who had been abused in childhood are very similar to the changes in the brain frequently exhibited by patients suffering from depression. So these changes might explain the higher risk of psychological disorders appearing in people who have experienced violence, the researchers conclude.

The study has appeared online and will soon be published in the printed edition of the "Biological Psychiatry" journal. It was categorized as a "priority communication", i.e. as a significant publication. The work, led by Dr. Udo Dannlowski and Dr. Harald Kugel, is a collaborative project between scientists at the Clinic and Polyclinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and the Institute of Clinical Radiology at Münster's University Clinic. The project was funded by the German Research Foundation, the Faculty of Medicine at Münster University and the Rolf Dierichs Foundation.

The Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience (OCC) is a research centre at Münster University. Work there is carried out by scientists from the fields of medicine, biology and psychology. The researchers' work is of an interdisciplinary nature and they work on issues related to behavioural neurosciences using methods of modern imaging, molecular genetics and neurophysiology. The OCC, which offers its graduates attractive opportunities to do PhD work, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year.

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Original publication:
Dannlowski U. et al. (2011): Limbic Scars: Long-Term Consequences of Childhood - Maltreatment Revealed by Functional and Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Biological Psychiatry In Press; doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.10.021
 
 
Original publication (online first)Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience

• Scars in the soul – scars in the brain