CHI 123 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Frontal Lobe, Natural Disaster, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
2 May 2018
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4/19/18 – NEUROBIOLOGY AND TRAUMA
Adverse Childhood Experiences
• Occur from birth to 18.
• Most vulnerable are those under age of 5.
• Traumatic events may be pervasive and chronic (such as incest, war) or time limited (natural
disaster, drive-by shooting, car accident).
• These experiences have an impact on child development and may have long term
neurobiological consequences.
Childhood Exposure to Traumatic Events
• Researh shos that a-ade trauati eperiees soial ad fail iolee hae log
term cognitive, behavior, social, and psychological consequences.
• Children who experience trauma manifest PTSD symptoms, anxiety, phobias, depression.
o These are often misunderstood, minimized, or ignored by adults who assume that small
children are resilient or not affected in the way adults are.
Trauma and the Brain
• The brain processes and internalizes the experience of trauma.
o Takes in everything and stores it.
• The brain is a complex organ that senses, stores, perceives, and acts upon internal and external
info.
• The rai’s ai futio is to esure surial–from the old reptilian brain to the frontal cortex.
• Through sensing, activation, and storing info, the brain makes sense of the external world.
o And creates patterns of response.
Threat, Activation, Memory
• The more frequent and neural activation, the more indelible the internal representation.
• Sensitization also occurs with frequent activation–the brain response becomes sensitized such
that even a minor occurrence triggers a survival response.
• In adults, traumatic events can trigger a state memory.
• In children, it becomes a trait–un niño nerviso
Sensitive or Critical Periods of Brain Development
• If trauma occurs during these periods, the brain itself may be altered–at a cellular, NT level,
affecting functioning in later stages of life.
o Sociopathic
• Experience provides the organizing framework for the brain of an infant or child.
• B/c the brain is ore plasti–affected by environmental factors–the child is most susceptible
to the variance of experience during this time.
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Document Summary
Threat, activation, memory: the more frequent and neural activation, the more indelible the internal representation, sensitization also occurs with frequent activation the brain response becomes sensitized such that even a minor occurrence triggers a survival response. In adults, traumatic events can trigger a state memory. In children, it becomes a trait un ni o nerviso. In animal studies and in adults one often sees the fight or flight response. Hyperarousal continuum: threat is perceived alarm system is activated leading to increased activity in the sympathetic nervous system to prepare the body for defense. Increased heart rate: perspiration, blood pressure, release of stored sugar. Increased muscle tone: hypervigilance, tuning out all non-essential info. Fight or flight: entails activation of the peripheral nervous system, the immune system and the hypothalamic, Pituitary, adrenal axis (hpa): which in turn releases adrenocorticotrophic hormone and cortisol which activates other stress- response neural systems in the brain.
