A Study Reveals That Childhood Adversity Could Damage The Brain’s White Matter
New research shows that childhood hardships can have long-term effects on the brain, with events like family conflict and poverty potentially impacting children’s cognitive function for years.
A team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts conducted this study, focusing on white matter—the brain’s deeper tissue composed of communication fibers that transmit information between neurons.
The researchers found that various adversities linked to reduced levels of fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of white matter structure, across the entire brain. This reduction correlated with poorer performance in mathematics and language tasks later in life, according to their published findings.
Study Links Childhood Challenges to Brain Development in 9,082 Children
The team examined white matter brain scans of 9,082 children aged 9 and 10. The researchers asked both the children and their parents to reflect on various childhood challenges they had experienced.
The study examined problems such as parental mental health and addiction issues, lack of medical care, and poor neighborhood safety, and compared them with the white matter scans to identify potential links.
Since the brain scans were taken only once, the study cannot establish cause and effect or track how white matter changes over time. However, the participants did complete various cognitive tests over the next three years.
The results showed that reduced white matter connectivity linked to lower cognitive performance. Although the differences were not large, they suggest that the impact of childhood adversities may extend into adolescence.
White Matter Changes and Early Life Stress: A Less Explored Link
While there has been a lot of research on how stressful experiences can leave lasting impacts on the brain, such as for children separated from their parents or soldiers returning from conflict, changes in white matter have not been studied as extensively.
“The aspects of white matter that relate to our early life environment are far more widespread across the brain than we previously thought,” says neurologist Sofia Carozza from Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
“Rather than being limited to just a few tracts critical for cognition, the entire brain is connected to the adversities someone may face early in life.”
There is some positive news, though. Positive influences on children, such as community support and involved parents, seemed to protect the brain’s white matter from damage.
The researchers aim to raise awareness about the potential harm that can occur as young bodies develop, which can have lasting effects later in life—although a happy and healthy childhood doesn’t guarantee protection.
“We are all shaped by our environment, and factors like our relationships, home life, neighborhood, and material conditions influence how our brains and bodies grow, affecting what we can do with them,” says Carozza. “We should work to ensure that more people can experience stable, healthy home lives that the brain needs, especially during childhood.“
Read the original article on: Sciencealert
Read more: How Childhood Habits can Affect Adult Life
