According to a brain scan done with two children of the same age, but one an emotionally abused toddler and the one a toddler with a happy life, the one who was abused had a less structured brain.
The Damage of Emotional Abuse
According to Bruce Perry, professor and chief of psychiatry at Texas Children’s Hospital, this child is dealing with serious sensory deprivation neglect.
He shared the images from his findings and showed the public how neglect during childhood can mess with our cognitive growth in life.
The Images Explained
Professor Perry explains that in the CT scan on the left, we see a brain of a healthy 3-year-old with an average head size and on the other side; we see that of a 3-year-old with serious sensory deprivation neglect.
The brain of the child is much smaller than the average brain and it also has bigger ventricles and cortical atrophy.
What Does This Mean for the Emotionally Abused Child?
According to the study, the child will experience memory issues and delays in development.
Cortical atrophy is commonly seen in elderly suffering from Alzheimer’s.
During physical abuse, the child’s brain can get damaged and cause long-term complications and even death in some cases.
But, emotional abuse can also be harmful, even though it’s less discussed and thought about.
According to Perry, children and adults who’ve gone through emotional neglect have a hard time creating healthy relationships. Consequently, they have a higher risk of developing attachment problems and thus, become dependent or end up socially isolated.
Several studies have concluded that children who experience emotional distress from a young age will have memory and emotion problems.
According to a study done by Stanford Children’s Hospital from 2009, children with PTSD and high cortisol levels had a higher chance of experiencing a drop in their hippocampus size, a part of the brain responsible for memory and emotion processing.
Too Much of Something Is Never Good
Dr. Victor Carrion, child psychiatrist, explains that though daily stress levels are needed for a normal development of the brain, surplus amounts can be dangerous.
This isn’t the stress from having to do homework or fighting with your parents- it’s traumatic stress during which the child feels as if he/she is stuck in the middle of a street and a truck is heading towards them.
There have been other studies which have associated stress in childhood with heart illness, obesity, and hypertension later on in life.
In the conclusion of his paper, Perry wrote that healthy development of the neural systems depends upon nurturing caregiving in childhood and opportunities for the formation and maintenance of diverse relationships with other children and adults during childhood.
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