Family Violence Produces Same Neural Effects as Combat

A new investigation has determined that children who are exposed to violent family environments and abuse tend to suffer from the same type of brain changes that affect soldiers after they are exposed to combat for the first time.

At the same time, kids become capable of detecting any potential threats in the future with far greater accuracy than their peers who are not exposed to family violence. Details of the work appear in the latest issue of the scientific journal Current Biology, PsychCentral reports.

“Enhanced reactivity to a biologically salient threat cue such as anger may represent an adaptive response for these children in the short term, helping keep them out of danger,” University College London expert Eamon McCrory, PhD, explains.

Brain scans of traumatized kids revealed higher levels of activity in the anterior insula and amygdala when they were shown pictures of angry faces. These are regions of the brain that code for anticipation, fear and so on.