The Effects of Trauma in Infancy/Childhood on Brain Development

FINAL PROJECT SUBMISSION FOR:

UNDERSTANDING THE BRAIN: THE NEUROBIOLOGY EVERYDAY OF EVERYDAY LIFE

Introduction

There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that trauma (physical or psychological) during infancy and the early childhood years can have a significant effect on brain development.

The brain continues to develop following birth and throughout childhood and early adulthood, the main period of growth is in the first three years of life.

Everyday sensory and movement experiences develop neural pathways that lead to brain development and as a result learning

These experiences are reinforced by the reaction (positive or negative) of important adults in the child’s life

Possible Neurobiological Effects of Trauma:

Smaller brain size

Less neural connections due to the ongoing effects of decreased experiences and increased stress

Decreased myelination

Increased levels of cortisol (stress hormone) that is damaging to the brain if present in large quantities on an ongoing basis

Increased activity in the brain stem resulting in alterations to autonomic functions (heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, metabolism, temperature control)

Decreased activity in the cerebellum and cortex when compared with a ‘normally’ developing child. Due to the heightened survival/threat response the child is less able to activate the cortical areas and they are therefore less competent at processing this type of information

MRI showing the difference in activity at rest of a child from a ‘healthy’ environment (left) and a child who has experienced significant ongoing trauma (right)

Possible Effects of Trauma Learning difficulties

Poor executive function – reasoning, insight, planning, attention

Communication difficulties

Sensory processing difficulties

Poor fine and gross motor skills

Emotional disregulation

Mood disorders

Addictions

Poor social and relational skills

Compromised immune system

Cerebral Cortex – Language, Executive functioning

Child needs: Learning Experiences

Limbic – Memory, Learning, Emotional control, Attachment,

Social Belonging

Child needs: Engagement

Midbrain – movement regulation, sensory information transfer

Child needs: MovementBrain Stem – Autonomic

Functions, Sleep

Child Needs: Safety

Brain Functions and Needs for

Development

Implications for Care and Treatment Due to the ‘hard wiring’ of neurons during development the older

that a child is before the environment changes and the intensity of the trauma significantly affects the prognosis for the child

The plasticity of the brain during development allows for changes to occur in the brain once changes in the environment occur

The timing of the trauma is significant as if it occurs during a ‘critical period’ of development the child’s ability to learn these skills at an older age is diminished

The neurobiological changes to the brain result in ‘love isn’t enough’ to ‘fix’ these children, however, slowly over time and with professional assistance committed caregivers can see remarkable progress

Government and social agencies need to increase their knowledge of the ongoing impacts of trauma events on infants/children so that appropriate care and treatment can be provided to them

My Experience with this Course

I have had prior knowledge of neurology that began during my occupational therapy training and has continued spasmodically during the past 30 years. This course has been a great way to bring all that knowledge together and to revisit the information that has got lost along the way, due to me not retrieving it from the cortex via the hippocampus and then refiling it back to the cortex regularly.

The modules on hearing and the vestibular system were of particular interest as I have Menieres disease which affects the vestibular system, however, I also notice that my hearing is affected at the same time and now have an explanation as to why.

During early childhood I had approx. 50% hearing due to an issue with conductivity which wasn’t fixed until I was six years old, learning about the critical periods has led me to believe that this may go someway towards explaining my dreadful ability to pitch notes despite years of instrumental training.

Cont… In my work as an occupational therapist I am working with children who present

with neurological difficulties, during this course I have reflected on the treatment modalities that I use with my clients and made alterations to treatment programmes e.g. a child with global developmental delay has difficulty remembering new skills from one day to the next so we have begun doing several short burst of work throughout the day to repeatedly reinforce the recently learned skills.

My knowledge of the role of the cerebellum and the basal ganglia has increased and I find myself evaluating motor skills and trying to decipher which structure it is more likely that the action is primarily activated by, examples include my daughter learning piano scales, my length of stride when running (frustratingly short), knitting, teaching my daughter to drive, kayaking etc.

Recently I have been doing some work with traumatised children, hence the topic of my assignment, it was interesting to learn through the course that there is now evidence to suggest that the cerebellum is involved in some emotional and learning responses as at times the responses that these children produce seem so automatic.

The information presented in this course has been useful to me both personally and professionally and has helped to consolidate ideas and information that was previously just circling around in my brain in a chaotic manner.

References:

Michael De Bellis,The Psychobiology of Neglect, Child Maltreatment, Vol 10, No 2, 2005

Brain Development and Disability in Early Childhood presentation, Dr Susan Foster-Cohen, The Champion Centre

msbeaker.blogstop.co.nz, Summary of presentation by Nathan Mikaere-Wallis