Functional brain changes related to adverse childhood experiences and the presence of psychopathology

Abstract

Research suggests that associated changes in brain function may underlie the vulnerabilities for psychopathology following adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). In addition to the ACEs themselves, the development of trauma symptoms following ACEs may also contribute to psychopathology. The present study investigates how exposure to certain ACEs, specifically child maltreatment, and trauma symptoms both individually and combined, influence the presence of psychopathology in a sample of adolescents. Participants were 52 adolescents between the ages of 12–14 years recruited from New Hanover County Health and Human Services (NHC-HHS). Further, this study seeks to identify functional brain changes with electroencephalography (EEG) that may impact psychopathology in youth. While child maltreatment and trauma symptoms were not associated, results indicated that frontal and central EEG alpha power, but not alpha asymmetry, were associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing psychopathology in adolescents, with higher alpha power reflecting lower cortical activation. The results of this study suggest that certain changes in patterns of neural activity may be candidates for psychopathology prevention in adolescents.