Contributions from functional neuroimaging studies to the comprehension of traumatic child experiences: preliminary findings / Aportes de los estudios de neuroimagen funcional a la comprensión del trauma infantil: estudio preliminar

Abstract This study aimed to describe the cerebral activation patterns using fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) technology in a sample of 15 children with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and 7 with no PTSD. The study used a Quasi-experimental methodology where two experimental tasks were applied: an emotional face task and a version of an emotional Stroop task. The results point out differences in the group of PTSD on the processing of negative stimuli and changes in their frontal lobe activation. These preliminary results suggest that early traumatic experiences affect typical brain development patterns. And explicit and implicit variables involved in the traumatic experiences are discussed as a part of any intervention process.

Resumen El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo describir patrones de activación cerebral mediante una técnica de Imagen por resonancia magnética funcional -fMRI- (abreviatura en inglés de Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) en una muestra de niños con Trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT) y compararlos con un grupo de controles. Estudio cuasi-experimental en el que se tomó un grupo de 15 niños con TEPT y se comparó con un grupo de 7 niños sin TEPT. Se emplearon dos tareas experimentales: una prueba de caras y una versión del Stroop emocional. Los resultados preliminares, señalan diferencias en el procesamiento de estímulos, principalmente de carácter negativo en los niños con TEPT y cambios en los patrones de activación a nivel de estructuras frontales. Se concluye que el trauma a edad temprana afecta el curso normal del desarrollo cerebral y se evidencia la importancia de abordar los aspectos explícitos e implícitos asociados a la experiencia traumática como parte de la intervención.

Association of attentional bias with negative cognition and childhood trauma in somatic symptom disorders / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective:To investigate whether attentional bias exists in somatic symptom disorders and its correlation with negative cognition and childhood trauma.Methods:Totally 33 patients with physical disorder (physical disorder group) and 33 healthy controls (healthy control group) who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria in the outpatient or inpatient department of Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital were collected as the research objects.The patient health questionnaire (PHQ-15) and somatic system disorder-B criteria scale (SSD-12) were used to evaluate the severity of the disease, the childhood trauma scale (CTQ) was used to evaluate the childhood trauma experience, and the dot probe task edited by E-prime software was used to measure the reaction time.The repeated measurement variance analysis and independent sample t-test were used to compare the attention bias of the two groups, and the Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between attention bias, disease severity and childhood trauma. Results:The reaction time to negative pictures((510.86±124.72)ms) was longer than that to positive pictures ((504.21±117.21)ms, F=9.10, P<0.05) for physical disorder group and healthy control group, and the negative orienting index(5.22±28.02) in physical disorder group was significantly higher than that in healthy control group(-12.62±32.33)( t=2.397, P<0.05). Disengaging index to positive emotions in SSD patients was positively correlated with their negative cognition of the disease ( r=0.403, P<0.05), and the disengaging index to negative emotions in SSD patients was negatively correlated with emotional neglect ( r=-0.399, P<0.05). Conclusion:Reducing the occurrence of childhood trauma and correcting patients' negative cognition may help to improve the attention bias of somatic symptom disorders.

Polivictimización y su relación con las conductas autoagresivas y con la depresión en adolescentes / Polyvictimization and its relation with self-aggressive behaviors and with depression in adolescents

Resumen Introducción: La acumulación de experiencias de distinto tipo de maltrato o violencia durante la infancia ha sido nominada como polivictimización. Se ha documentado que la polivictimización genera consecuencias negativas en la salud mental de las personas. En Chile, no existe suficiente investigación respecto de este fenómeno, únicamente se conocen algunas cifras que muestran que es prevalente. El objetivo del estudio es evaluar la frecuencia con que adolescentes han sido sometidos a diferentes niveles de polivictimización y su relación con los niveles de sintomatología depresiva y con la frecuencia de conductas autolesivas. Método: El estudio, descriptivo correlacional, encuesta a 114 adolescentes de entre 17 y 18 años de edad. Resultados: Se aprecia que el 40,3% de la muestra habría sufrido al menos 2 tipos diferentes de victimización y que la polivictimización se asocia a la sintomatología depresiva y a la frecuencia de las autoagresiones. Conclusión: Se concluye que los profesionales de salud mental debieran evaluar la posibilidad de que la psicopatología de sus pacientes específicos pudiese estar relacionados con experiencias de victimización infantojuvenil que debieran ser consideradas en los tratamientos.

Introduction: The accumulation of experiences of abuse or violence during childhood has been nominated as a polyvictimization. It has been documented that the polyvictimización generates negative consequences in the mental health of the people. In Chile there is not enough research on this phenomenon, only there is known that it is prevalent. The objective of the study is to evaluate the frequency of polyvictimization in the adolescents and its relation with the levels of depressive symptomatology and with the frequency of self-injurious behaviors. Method: This is a descriptive correlational study. We survey 114 adolescents between 17 and 18 years of age. Results: It was observed that 40.3% of the sample had suffered at least 2 different types of victimization and that polyvictimization is associated with depressive symptoms and with the frequency of self-harm. Conclusion: It is concluded that mental health professionals should evaluate the possibility that the mental health problems of their specific patients may be related to experiences of child and adolescent victimization, which should be considered in the treatments.

Trauma infantil e crime sexual: uma análise de caso a partir de Freud, Stoller e da linhagem psicanalítica Ferenczi-Winnicott / Childhood trauma and sexual crime: a case study from Freud, Stoller and Ferenczi-Winnicott psychoanalytic lineage / Trauma infantil y crimen sexual: un análisis de caso a partir de Freud, Stoller y del linaje psicoanalítico Ferenczi-Winnicott

Este artigo investiga a relação entre trauma infantil e crime sexual valendo-se da análise de processos penais, fundamentada em Freud, Stoller e na linhagem Ferenczi-Winnicott. De diferentes perspectivas, as interpretações se complementam, ao lançarem luz sobre um mesmo fenômeno. A partir de uma base freudiana, que vê certos traumas como irrepresentáveis e, nessa direção, compulsivamente repetidos (a partir do texto Além do princípio de prazer, 1920/2010), Stoller, por um lado, edifica sua compreensão relacionando a experiência traumática à formação da perversão, como um modo psíquico de operar que almeja a aniquilação do trauma por meio da obtenção cruel do prazer a qualquer custo. Sem apontar vítimas e culpados, a linhagem psicanalítica Ferenczi-Winnicott, por outro lado, concebe o crime como uma tentativa de controle psíquico da experiência traumática, a partir da qual o agressor se torna objeto de identificação e introjeção da vítima que, assim, o faz desaparecer de sua realidade, a fim de proteger seu verdadeiro self.

This paper investigates the relationship between childhood trauma and sexual crime, drawing upon the analysis of criminal cases, based on Freud, Stoller and Ferenczi -Winnicott line. From different perspectives, the interpretations complement themselves, to shed light on the same phenomenon. From a Freudian base, that sees certain traumas as unrepresentable and, in this direction, compulsively repeated (from the text Beyond the pleasure principle, 1920/2010), Stoller, on the one hand, builds his understanding relating the traumatic experience to the formation of perversion, as a psychic mode of operation that aims the annihilation of the trauma through cruel achievement of pleasure at any cost. Without giving victims and offenders, the psychoanalytic lineage Ferenczi - Winnicott, on the other hand, sees the crime as an attempt to control the psychic traumatic experience from which the offender becomes the object of identification and internalization of the victim who thus causes it to disappear from his or her reality, in order to protect his or her true self.

Este artículo investiga la relación entre trauma infantil y crimen sexual, valiéndose del análisis de procesos penales, fundamentado en Freud, Stoller y en el linaje Ferenczi-Winnicott. Las interpretaciones se complementan de diferentes perspectivas, al lanzar luz sobre un mismo fenómeno. A partir de una base freudiana, que concibe algunos traumas como irrepresentables y, en este sentido, compulsivamente repetidos (a partir del texto Allá del principio del placer, 1920/2010), Stoller, por un lado, edifica su comprensión relacionando la experiencia traumática a la formación de la perversión, como un modo psíquico de operar que desea la aniquilación del trauma por medio de la obtención cruel del placer a cualquier costo. Por otro lado, sin apuntar víctimas y culpados, el linaje psicoanalítico Ferenczi-Winnicott concibe el crimen como un intento de control psíquico de la experiencia traumática, a partir de la cual el agresor se torna objeto de identificación e introyección de la víctima que, así, le hace desaparecer de su realidad, a fin de proteger su verdadero self.

Somatization Disorder and Childhood Trauma / 中国临床心理学杂志

Objective: To investigate the relationship between somatization and childhood trauma. Methods: The subject was a woman suffering from somatization. The subject was interviewed for information related to medical history, resistance,transference and counter transference. The information was analyzed by using the method of the introspection, empathy, and psychoanalysis. Results: Several significant traumatic events were found in the subject's childhood, including the loss of her mother and being physically abused over a long period of time. As a result of the trauma, she suffered from fear of the separation and frequently indulged herself into excessive housework. She had serious repression, dissociation, panic attacks and other physiological stress reactions. As a grown-up, her major symptoms were somatization and panic attacks. The occurrence and aggravation of these symptoms were related to separation from family and overwork, which resemble to her early childhood experiences. The symptoms experienced were also similar to the past. Conclusion: Somatization may originate from physiological stress reactions related to physical abuse in childhood. The mechanisms of symptom formation involve repression of emotion, dissociation of the bodily reactions, secondary advantage and internalization of masochistic object relations.