Carrion, V. G., & Wong, S. S. (2012). Can traumatic stress alter the brain? Understanding the implications of early trauma on brain development and learning. Journal of Adolescent Health, 51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.04.010

Can traumatic stress alter the brain? Understanding the implications of early trauma on brain development and learning

Xavier University

When trauma is experienced, the brain recognizes it as a threat and therefore activates a neurobiological stress response. Though this stress response can be beneficial in the moment to help protect a person from danger, repeated exposure to stress/trauma and thus, the repeated, overactivation of a neurobiological stess response, can negatively affect the mind and body. Exposure to traumatic stress during childhood can damage and/or alter a child's brain as it is developing. Such damage can affect their ability to learn in school and even affect them into adulthood. 


Childhood Traumatic Stress 

Children can develop post traumatic stress symptoms in response to traumatic stressors in their environment. These include reexperiencing symptoms, avoidance and emotional numbing symptoms, and hyperarousal symptoms. The Hippocampus and Prefrontal Cortex are believed to play a role in this. 


Childhood Traumatic Stress: PTSD and PTSS

 Neuroimaging allows for the development of evidence based clinical interventions for individuals who experienced traumatic stress during childhood. It can also help to determine which forms of treatment work best by looking at changes in biological markers in the brain. This can help psychologists to understand which impairments to the brain are reversible and the type of intervention that best reverses them as well as predict how well someone will respond to a specific treatment. 


Childhood Traumatic Stress: Neuroimaging Implications 

While neuroplasticity is prevalent across the lifespan, children's brains are especially neuroplastic. In order to learn and develop, children's brains take in information from the world around them. This can be a good thing when the child is living in a healthy, positive environment. However, it proves problematic when the child is consistently exposed to adversity. 

Childhood Traumatic Stress: Neuroplasticity and Its Effect on Children 

Children who experience traumatic stress are more likely to
-  Preform poorer in school 
-  Have lower reading scores 
- Miss more days of school
-  Decreased verbal IQ 
- Develop learning and behavior disorders

Childhood Traumatic Stress Influence During Childhood 

Individuals who experience childhood traumatic stress as children are more likely to experience the following during adulthood: 
-  Higher risk of health issues 
- Depression
-  Substance abuse 
- Suicidal thoughts

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