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Helping News July 2013 Issue 61

Brain Scarring from Childhood Abuse

As reported in Time, a recent study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry denoted differences in the brains of non-abused and previously abused adult participants. For participants who endured childhood sexual abuse, the area of the brain related to genital sensation (and for some the area of the brain related to face or mouth) was thinned compared to the non-abused participants, suggesting the location of the sexual abuse may be mapped on the brain and alter future sensations in that area.

Childhood emotional abuse

impacted the area of the

brain related to self-awareness

and emotional regulation.

The sample size was small

and further research is needed

to replicate findings.