Child abuse produces adult problems
By Marilyn Elias, USA TODAY

Child abuse and neglect create serious brain abnormalities that can last through adulthood, suggest landmark studies out today.

"The brain becomes rewired, changing in both function and structure," says Martin Teicher of McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass.

His report, in the journal Cerebrum, is the largest and most detailed on how childhood experiences affect brain development. He used high-tech brain imaging with several hundred children and adults. The findings confirm smaller studies showing that the brain "re-sculpts" in response to trauma.

The brain damage linked to childhood maltreatment would foster such problems as aggression, poor emotional control, personality disorders, and memory and attention impairment, according to Teicher's studies.

Among the differences between normal brains and the brains of those abused or neglected in childhood:

Poor development of the usually dominant left, verbal hemisphere. The right hemisphere, "the more emotional one," is relied on more, so someone may be "less able to use language and reason to control their emotions,"
Teicher says.

A much smaller corpus callosum, the pathway between the hemispheres. Boys who suffered neglect and sexually abused girls were most affected. The result can be potentially serious mood and personality disorders.

Electrical impulse disturbances in part of the brain. They could lead to aggression and self-destructive behavior.

Good psychotherapy might help to normalize brain function, says child psychiatrist Lisa Amaya-Jackson of Duke University Medical Center. Recent evidence shows that cognitive behavioral therapy positively changes
the brains of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, she adds.

"The trouble is, we put very little resources into prevention. We pay attention when children do the hurting, as delinquents, but do little when they're being hurt."

Childhood abuse "can be catastrophic, but we know some kids do recover when they get help. They shouldn't be viewed as hopeless," says San Diego adolescent psychiatrist Martin Greenberg.

In his recent book, On Playing a Poor Hand Well (Norton, $30), psychologist Mark Katz reported research on the lives of children who flourish despite trauma.

They tend to see themselves as resilient and courageous. They often attain success in at least one arena, such as school or sports, and they have supportive adults around, even if not at home, Katz says.