PTSD leads to changes in brain, study finds

[unhappycamper]

PTSD leads to changes in brain, study finds
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Aug 7, 2008 6:46:43 EDT

A new study from Brigham Young University may support the idea that post-traumatic stress disorder manifests as a neurological disorder, with research suggesting that adults who suffered PTSD-causing maltreatment as children have reduced volume in the hippocampus.

“The size reduction in the hippocampus seems to occur sometime after the initial exposure to stress or trauma in childhood, strengthening the argument that it has something to do with PTSD itself or the stress exposure,” said Dawson Hedges, an author in the study and a BYU neuroscientist.

Previous studies have shown adults who suffered maltreatment as children had volume deficits in the hippocampus, the region of the brain associated with memory, but had not determined if the PTSD caused the deficit or if people born with such a deficit were more at risk for PTSD.

BYU researchers combined previous studies to look at hippocampal volume in maltreated children and found that their brains were similar to a control group of children without PTSD. But when they looked at adults who had suffered maltreatment-related PTSD as children, there were deficits compared to a control group of healthy adults.

Researchers wrote that this suggests “hippocampal volume deficits from childhood maltreatment may not be apparent until adulthood.” They hypothesized that that region of the brain atrophies and doesn’t develop as the children grow into adulthood.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/08/military_ptsd_hippocampus_080508w/

[MichiganVote]

1. In depth memory is affected..the sensory ability to recall an event or experience is damaged.

[CoffeeCat]

3. I look forward to reading more about this...

...and it is validating to hear this.

I have major memory blocks from childhood, due to years of abuse.

I began remembering things that happened to me in my 30's. Some of my memories were corroborated
by another person. I had absolutely no knowledge of horrendous trauma that happened. That was
very difficult, because there is a bizarre brigade out there who does not believe in repressed
memories. They fight it tooth and nail. So quick to hammer anyone who adapted by forgetting.

My delayed recall is real...and my recovered memories were validated by someone who was there. I
was lucky. So many people recall and are further traumatized when they're made to feel like they're
making things up or the product of bad therapy.

It's encouraging to hear that science is explaining trauma and its affect on the brain and memory.

[MichiganVote]

4. Yes it is a good development. Repressed memory is, imo, a very small part of

the damage of what happens to the brain of the child exposed to repeated trauma. It just happens to be the more sensational aspect. The more fundamental damage is the impaired sensory aspects of the memory which are harder to define BUT which survivors report over and over again in their lives. It is this impaired sensory memory which supports repression, not the other way round'.

People do make things up and some therapy is bad. However these are circumstances that can be substantiated. What we need now is to substantiate the very real mental memory deficits that exist for millions of adults abused as children.

I'm sorry for your pain. I hope your recovery continues.

[CoffeeCat]

5. If you don't mind me picking your brain a bit...

You mention that impaired sensory memory supports repression.

I'm curious about this. Is it your understanding that trauma affects how the victim
experiences the world and processes information? So, possibly, survivors take in
the world differently--possibly at a blunted level--to compensate for the deluge
of stuff that comes at the brain of an abuse survivor?

If this is accurate, it would make sense that less would be remembered. It's almost as
if the victim has a safety screen--filtering out or blocking overwhelming stuff.

And I understand that there is bad therapy. And sometimes people lie. And as you
understand, those circumstances do not address the very real pain that survivors of
abuse experience. Sometimes I feel like screaming, "Ok. Some bad therapists were
irresponsible. Some adults lie. What in the hell does that have to do with the
untold numbers of survivors who don't lie and who have authentic repressed memories
and are just trying to heal and understand their process?"

To me, liars and bad therapists are irrelevant when it comes to the very real consequences
of trauma in children. Some people may lie about having cancer. That's been documented.
Some have even profitted off of these lies. Does that mean that all cancer victims are
lying or should be suspect? It's hard enough having your childhood robbed, but then to be
chastised for the way your brain adapted--really is a blow. It stunts recovery when you're
made to feel like a liar, a defective or some kind of new-age freak, just because your brain
involuntarily adapted to traumatic surroundings.

I know you understand this. I'm just blowing off some steam.

I'm doing very well. Reading articles like this, and hearing intelligent, rational people
like yourself--validate traumatic recovery--is very healing too. As children, we forget--in part--
because we're told we won't be believed. To dismiss outright, recovered memories, is to continue the
abuse of the perpetrator--because it further invalidates a survivor's need to unravel the
trauma and process it. How can you process if loud voices tell you that you're process is
wrong or a farce?

I appreciate your comments and your insight.

[MichiganVote]

6. Well here's what I think......

I'm curious about this. Is it your understanding that trauma affects how the victim
experiences the world and processes information?

--Yes, without question. As a long time survivor, as a therapist who has worked with scores of adult and child victims and as a school social worker there is no doubt in my mind that trauma affects one's perceptions of the world and the manner in which information is processed. The difference between trauma related responses and those associated with average upbringing is that one merely requires re-teaching whereas the other involves both re-teaching and grief work.

So, possibly, survivors take in
the world differently--possibly at a blunted level--to compensate for the deluge
of stuff that comes at the brain of an abuse survivor?

--Yes, the hypervigilence that victims experience sometimes on a daily basis is the result, I believe, of the brain's inability to determine what is critical and what is not. Similar to what the immune system does with disease if you catch my drift.

If this is accurate, it would make sense that less would be remembered. It's almost as
if the victim has a safety screen--filtering out or blocking overwhelming stuff.

--Yes. It is the brain's goal to live. Stress threatens that and stress that cannot be understood or relieved, the common case w/child abuse, is that very threat.

And I understand that there is bad therapy. And sometimes people lie. And as you
understand, those circumstances do not address the very real pain that survivors of
abuse experience. Sometimes I feel like screaming, "Ok. Some bad therapists were
irresponsible. Some adults lie. What in the hell does that have to do with the
untold numbers of survivors who don't lie and who have authentic repressed memories
and are just trying to heal and understand their process?"

--In view of the thousands of therapists and even more thousands of victims, it is irresponsible by opinionated people to propose that a scant few represent the vast number of people who are helped by therapy.

I know you understand this. I'm just blowing off some steam.

--I do. I've been called crazy, evil, misguided (to I respond yes I was misguided as a child) and a whole host of other things. The more I recovered, the less attention I paid to these things. I usually just chuckle.

I'm doing very well. Reading articles like this, and hearing intelligent, rational people
like yourself--validate traumatic recovery--is very healing too. As children, we forget--in part--
because we're told we won't be believed.

--You trust people to believe you, you rely on that trusting relationship to be your support until you can stand on your own and EVEN THEN, you help others to remind yourself of what you know to be true.

How can you process if loud voices tell you that you're process is
wrong or a farce?

--It gets easier with time and practice.

I appreciate your comments and your insight.

--Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to trade thoughts. It all opens doors for many people to recover which is a miraculous process in itself.

[CoffeeCat]

2. Makes so much sense...

The brain adapts. When children are constantly in "fight-or-flight" mode, the brain
must somehow compensate. I'm not a scientist, but I imagine that continued trauma
and stress over prolonged periods, causes chemical changes in the brain that may alter
those emotional centers in the hippocampus. The brain probably adapts by "shutting
down" a bit.

Otherwise a person is in constant overload. Critical functions are impaired, so the brain
attempts to turn off the spigot of overwhelming emotion.

After years of compensating like this, it's no wonder that people who were abused as children, have
different brain chemistry. It's really quite brilliant though. The mind is a very kind thing--attempting
to smooth over the trauma, by blunting emotional centers in the brain.

Also, as this article mentions, the hippocampus is associated with memory. Many traumatized children
have memory blocks. Some people go on to recover memories of abuse--which may indicate that healing
can take place. Possibly, these altered areas of the hippocampus aren't defects, but very clever
adaptations that help a person function and live--until they are safe or healthy enough to deal with
the trauma.

Very interesting. Thanks for posting this.