Long-term effects of childhood abuse on brain and neurobiology

Childhood abuse has lasting effects on brain and neurobiology. Animal studies document that early stressors result in long-term effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and neurochemical systems. Brain areas implicated in the stress response include the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex, and amygdala. Studies in children and adults with a history of childhood abuse show long-term alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and norepinephrine systems. Functional brain imaging studies in adults with early abuse show dysfunction in medial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala. Structural brain imaging studies show hippocampal volume reduction in adults with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder from early abuse but not in children, which suggests that chronicity of illness and developmental epoch play a role in biologic findings in abuse-related posttraumatic stress disorder.