Trauma and the Brain: Understanding the Impact of Violence

June 16, 2016

Often, we encounter violent behavior in both adults and youth, and we dismiss them as inherently bad individuals lacking empathy without considering the underlying childhood trauma effects. However, understanding trauma and the brain reveals the complex interplay between past experiences and behavior.

However, violence can often be attributed to early trauma and abuse affecting the development of certain parts of the brain. Trauma and brain development are closely linked, as a violent adult may have experienced childhood trauma effects like excess abuse and neglect in their youth that they are constantly in a state of hypervigilance and emotionally aggressive arousal. This environment prevents them from developing the coping skills needed to regulate their emotions appropriately.

Below is a map of the areas of the brain stunted by trauma and how they can lead to a more aggressive adult.

Frontal Cortex

Some studies on adolescents and adults who were severely neglected as children indicate they have a smaller prefrontal cortex, which is critical to behavior, cognition, and emotion regulation. Prefrontal cortex trauma can severely impact decision-making and impulse control.

Corpus Callosum

Maltreated children and adolescents tend to have decreased volume in the corpus callosum, which is the largest white matter structure in the brain. Trauma and the brain’s development can lead to issues in interhemispheric communication and other processes.

Hippocampus

Adults who were maltreated may have reduced volume in the hippocampus, central to learning and memory. Trauma and the brain experience changes that affect cognitive functions.

Cerebellum

Maltreated children and adolescents tend to have decreased volume in the cerebellum, which helps coordinate motor behavior and executive functioning. Healing from childhood trauma is essential to regain these functionalities.

Amygdala

Abuse and neglect can cause overactivity in this area of the brain, which helps determine whether a stimulus is threatening and trigger emotional responses. Childhood trauma effects include heightened emotional responses and misinterpretation of threats.

Sometimes violence is the only mechanism a youth knows. Studies have shown that when a child has been exposed to traumatic experiences, trauma and brain development are affected, altering the normal growth process.

Trauma affects all areas of someone’s life, including difficulty to:

• Process information
• Distinguish between threatening and nonthreatening situations
• Form appropriate relationships with adults
• Self-regulate emotional states

Early causes:

• Excess cortisol (stress hormone) in the bloodstream, which negatively affects brain development. This also can lead to a decreased ability to regulate it by adulthood
• Triggering the body’s “alarm system” in situations not warranting that reaction
• Impairment of executive functions, attention and concentration, leading to issues in school and learning in general

Mercy Home offers services to cope with the problems caused by early trauma, including counseling, tutoring, and residential care. Healing from childhood trauma is possible with support and the right resources.

You can help in the healthy development of a child!

source: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/brain_development.pdf