Title: Childhood Abuse Changes the Developing Brain
URL: http://nospank.net/teicher.htm
Abstract: This article reveals the results of a research on the negative affects of childhood abuse and neglect in causing permanent damage to the brain structure of growing children, which shapes their perception towards life. A researchers headed by Martin H. Teicher of the McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, identify four abnormalities in the brain. They find that the trauma of abuse induces cascade of effects, including changes in hormones and neurotransmitters, which mediate development of vulnerable brain regions. Due to this the adults who had been abused and neglected as children are more likely to experience epileptic seizures caused by changes to the limbic system, a part of the brain that controls emotions. The emotions that accompany these seizures include sadness, embarrassment, anger, mental worry and torture behind cheerful explosive laughter, serenity, fear and even the self-destructive behavior. The difference of effects on boys and girls is also discussed.
Posted in Health, Stress | Tags: Child Abuse, Child Development, Sexual Abuse, Survivors of Child Abuse, Brain Damage, Psychological Effects, Perception of Life, Social Interaction, Neglect of Child, Domestic Relations, Family as the Primary School, Limbic System, Hormones, Neurotransmitters, Epileptic Seizures, Emotions, Mental Worry, Fear, Sadness, Embarrassment, Anger, Explosive Laughter, Serenity, Adults, Adolescence, Child Psychology, Adult Psychology, Family Violence, Self-destructive Behavior, Retarded Growth
