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You do not have to become a victim or an abuser yourself: even if young people are not directly affected, feelings of violence and criminal acts are anything but a trace. A study shows that even growing up in a conflict environment has a negative effect on adolescent brain development. According to them, among other things, the volume of gray matter is reduced. Researchers report similar effects on soldiers in military missions
Whether it is physical abuse, shootings or burglaries: If people are abused, they may not only to leave scars on their bodies but also in their brains. Studies show that such traumatic experiences can be accompanied by changes in brain structure. But what if we are not affected, but the violence or crime is largely ignored? This question has now asked scientists at Oisin Butler of the Max Plack Institute for Educational Research in Berlin. For their study, they examined 65 healthy teenagers aged 14 and 18 who live in high crime neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
Without being themselves victims or perpetrators, all subjects had criminal or violent acts. The neighborhood is owned, witnessed or threatened. "Previous research, we know that living in conflict environments is badociated with lower cognitive performance and increased risk of mental illness." But there has been no study so far on how it affects adolescents, "says Butler, particularly at this age, however, negative influences could have serious consequences because the brain is still in an important phase of development.
Less gray matter
To badyze effects on the body of thought, They also examined their brain structure using magnetic resonance imaging.It turned out that subjects had a lower intelligence quotient and a smaller volume of gray matter compared to adolescents living in a non-violent environment, particularly in the anterior cingulate cortex and the frontal frontal bend. It is important for, among other things, cognitive control, language ability and mental stimulation.
"The thinning of the gray matter is part of normal brain maturation.But the longer this process is slow, the longer the cognitive functions need time to mature," Butler says. should show to what extent stress accelerates the decomposition of the gray matter.In general, according to the researchers, the results support the hypothesis that the indirect experiences of violence also influence the development of the brain. , the effect seems essentially similar to the more direct experience of violence.The same team of researchers recently discovered that military personnel also change the gray matter in military operations.
"Differentiated Image"
"The affected brain structures are similar to those of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, even though the individuals examined They do not present such a disorder, "adds Butler. Colleague Simone Kühn. Previous studies have focused primarily on stress and trauma research in individuals with clinical symptoms. "However, the majority of the population exposed to violence does not develop any clinical symptoms, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. With our investigations, we should now be able to draw a much more differentiated picture of stress influences on the brain, "concludes the researcher.
Source: Oisin Butler (Max Plack Institute for Human Development, Berlin) et al. : 10.1002 / hbm.23988
20. July 2018
© science.de – Daniela Albat
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