One of the most noteworthy and valuable features of presentations to the 10th World Congress of Women’s Mental Health in Bengaluru was consideration of all levels of system, from the individual micro cellular level to the wider social implications of research.
Of note was a plenary session entitled Early Adversity and Accelerated Aging: The persistent Scars of Early Trauma presented by Professor Vidita Vaidya, from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai. Professor Vaidya began her address with the recognition that neglect is the most prevalent form of child maltreatment with 75% of young women and girls’ mental illness diagnoses appearing between 12 and 25 years. Physical, sexual and emotional abuse, parental neglect/loss, parental/caregiver substance abuse and incarceration disrupt physiological and psychological functioning and drive maladaptive health outcomes. She noted that while 45% of health issues are mental health, only 2% of the budget is allocated to this.
How Does Early Trauma Impact the Brain?
Dr Vaidya presented data from animal studies to explain the neurobiological mechanisms that explain the long-term effects of early trauma. Rats were subjected to stressors including to the mother while infants were in utero: separation from the mother, inadequate bedding, or low maternal care. The results demonstrate persistent neuroendocrine dysfunction and anxio-depressive behaviours, and disruption to the trajectory of healthy brain aging.
Is There Any Good News?
It would be easy to become despondent, however it appears there is a possibility to address the consequences of early trauma. ‘The interim duration between exposure to early stressors and eventual brain aging outcomes provides a substantial temporal window for interventional approaches, including life-course factors such as exercise, diet, environmental enrichment, epigenetic and pharmacological interventions that may serve to reverse or ameliorate the negative impacts of early adversity on brain aging’. Studies by Dr Vidya’s colleagues demonstrated that nutritional supplements appeared to have an impact on neuro-inflammation and improved cognitive functioning. Similarly, fluoxetine treatment for juvenile rats produced positive benefits in anxiety and despair-like behaviours.
In Conclusion
This presentation draws attention to the need for ‘both and’ approaches to childhood trauma. We need to attend to those who have been affected by violence, abuse and neglect in their families or because of living in countries affected by poverty, natural disasters and war and there is evidence that effective solutions are possible. However, most people agree that prevention is better than cure. This requires addressing the issues at the broadest policy level to ensure laws protect all people, acceptance of violence is countered in our communities and education of both boys and girls aims to critique media supporting derogatory and harmful attitudes. It is a challenging brief but ultimately more economical than the costly effects of trauma on the aging brain.
Singla, A. and Vaidya,V. (2022) Early Adversity and Accelerated Brain Aging: A Mini-Review Pratik R. Chaudhari Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience
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