Question
What are some long-term effects of trauma on the brain?
Answer
Long-term trauma can significantly impact various brain regions, including the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. The amygdala, responsible for emotional responses, can become hyperactive, leading to exaggerated fear responses, such as constant feelings of imminent danger.
Trauma survivors, especially those with childhood trauma, may exhibit smaller hippocampal regions, affecting memory, emotional regulation, and stress responses. Additionally, trauma can suppress the prefrontal cortex, impairing executive functions such as decision-making, planning, and impulse control, potentially leading to issues like addiction, ADHD, or learning difficulties.
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the webinar, Achieving Resiliency After Trauma: Ways to Support Symptom Relief, presented by Samantha Silverman, MSW, LCSW
Continued and its subsidiaries provide professional education authored by qualified Subject Matter Experts for continuing education purposes. These materials are intended for educational purposes and do not constitute medical advice or a substitute for individual clinical judgment. Continued is not a clinical healthcare provider; the licensed professional is solely responsible for ensuring that the application of any techniques or information presented is within their legal scope of practice and jurisdictional requirements.
