Novel neuroimaging study on dissociative symptoms reveals wounds of childhood trauma

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/mh-nns092320.php

News Release 25-Sep-2020
McLean Hospital

Being traumatized can cause what are known as dissociative symptoms--such as experiencing amnesia, an out-of-body experience, feeling emotionally numb--which may help people cope. Experiencing these symptoms intensely or for a long time, however, can negatively impact an individual's ability to function.

A team led by investigators at McLean Hospital has now found that brain imaging analyses can uncover changes in functional connections between brain regions linked to a specific individual's dissociative symptoms following trauma. The findings, which have been published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, may be useful for tailoring treatments for affected patients.

For the study, the researchers applied a novel machine-learning (artificial intelligence) technique to functional magnetic resonance imaging tests of 65 women with histories of childhood abuse and current post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The technique, developed by one of the lead authors, Meiling Li, PhD, from Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, showed that measurements related to connections between different regions of the brain correlated with dissociative symptoms in the women.

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Lebois noted that the existence of dissociative symptoms and dissociative disorders is often doubted, and people are rarely asked about them. "This doubt in the lay and medical communities fuels a vicious cycle: New generations of clinicians aren't educated about these experiences; these symptoms are misunderstood, stigmatized, and underdiagnosed; and funding isn't prioritized in this area of research." Consequently, people who suffer from these symptoms and disorders caused by childhood trauma don't have access to existing mental health interventions. "It's a global ethical issue--children are abused or neglected, and then on top of that injustice, they can't receive treatments that would help them as adults," said Lebois.

The study may help to address this issue by showing that dissociative symptoms in the brain can be objectively measured, making some of the invisible wounds of childhood trauma visible. "We hope that this biological evidence will be particularly compelling regarding the legitimacy of these psychiatric symptoms," said Lebois.Lebois noted that the existence of dissociative symptoms and dissociative disorders is often doubted, and people are rarely asked about them. "This doubt in the lay and medical communities fuels a vicious cycle: New generations of clinicians aren't educated about these experiences; these symptoms are misunderstood, stigmatized, and underdiagnosed; and funding isn't prioritized in this area of research." Consequently, people who suffer from these symptoms and disorders caused by childhood trauma don't have access to existing mental health interventions. "It's a global ethical issue--children are abused or neglected, and then on top of that injustice, they can't receive treatments that would help them as adults," said Lebois.

The study may help to address this issue by showing that dissociative symptoms in the brain can be objectively measured, making some of the invisible wounds of childhood trauma visible. "We hope that this biological evidence will be particularly compelling regarding the legitimacy of these psychiatric symptoms," said Lebois.

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tags: child abuse