Lifelong impact of extreme stress on the human brain: Holocaust survivors study.
Holocaust survivors
Lifelong impact
MRI
Posttraumatic growth
Posttraumatic stress
Journal
Neurobiology of stress
ISSN: 2352-2895
Titre abrégé: Neurobiol Stress
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 101643409
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
May 2021
May 2021
Historique:
received:
22
10
2020
revised:
08
03
2021
accepted:
15
03
2021
entrez:
19
4
2021
pubmed:
20
4
2021
medline:
20
4
2021
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
We aimed to assess the lifelong impact of extreme stress on people who survived the Holocaust. We hypothesised that the impact of extreme trauma is detectable even after more than 70 years of an often complicated and stressful post-war life. Psychological testing was performed on 44 Holocaust survivors (HS; median age 81.5 years; 29 women; 26 HS were under the age of 12 years in 1945) and 31 control participants without a personal or family history of the Holocaust (control group (CG); median 80 years; 17 women). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using the 3T Siemens Prisma scanner was performed on 29 HS (median 79 years; 18 women) and 21 CG participants (median 80 years; 11 women). The MRI-tested subgroup that had been younger than 12 years old in 1945 was composed of 20 HS (median 79 years; 17 women) and 21 CG (median 80 years; 11 women). HS experienced significantly higher frequency of depression symptoms, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and posttraumatic growth, and lower levels of well-being. The MRI shows a lifelong neurobiological effect of extreme stress. The areas with reduced grey matter correspond to the map of the impact of stress on the brain structure: insula, anterior cingulate, ventromedial cortex including the subgenual cingulate/orbitofrontal cortex, temporal pole, prefrontal cortex, and angular gyrus. HS showed good adjustment to post-war life conditions.Psychological growth may contribute to compensation for the psychological and neurobiological consequences of extreme stress.The reduction of GM was significantly expressed also in the subgroup of participants who survived the Holocaust during their childhood. The lifelong psychological and neurobiological changes in people who survived extreme stress were identified more than 70 years after the Holocaust. Extreme stress in childhood and young adulthood has an irreversible lifelong impact on the brain.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
We aimed to assess the lifelong impact of extreme stress on people who survived the Holocaust. We hypothesised that the impact of extreme trauma is detectable even after more than 70 years of an often complicated and stressful post-war life.
METHODS
METHODS
Psychological testing was performed on 44 Holocaust survivors (HS; median age 81.5 years; 29 women; 26 HS were under the age of 12 years in 1945) and 31 control participants without a personal or family history of the Holocaust (control group (CG); median 80 years; 17 women). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using the 3T Siemens Prisma scanner was performed on 29 HS (median 79 years; 18 women) and 21 CG participants (median 80 years; 11 women). The MRI-tested subgroup that had been younger than 12 years old in 1945 was composed of 20 HS (median 79 years; 17 women) and 21 CG (median 80 years; 11 women).
RESULTS
RESULTS
HS experienced significantly higher frequency of depression symptoms, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and posttraumatic growth, and lower levels of well-being. The MRI shows a lifelong neurobiological effect of extreme stress. The areas with reduced grey matter correspond to the map of the impact of stress on the brain structure: insula, anterior cingulate, ventromedial cortex including the subgenual cingulate/orbitofrontal cortex, temporal pole, prefrontal cortex, and angular gyrus. HS showed good adjustment to post-war life conditions.Psychological growth may contribute to compensation for the psychological and neurobiological consequences of extreme stress.The reduction of GM was significantly expressed also in the subgroup of participants who survived the Holocaust during their childhood.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSIONS
The lifelong psychological and neurobiological changes in people who survived extreme stress were identified more than 70 years after the Holocaust. Extreme stress in childhood and young adulthood has an irreversible lifelong impact on the brain.
Identifiants
pubmed: 33869682
doi: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2021.100318
pii: S2352-2895(21)00026-6
pmc: PMC8039853
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
100318Informations de copyright
© 2021 The Authors.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
None.
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