The Neuroscience and Genetics of Childhood Maltreatment

Summary: Childhood maltreatment is associated with later psychopathology, including conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder, anxiety, and depression. However, the neurobiological mechanisms by which childhood adversity heightens vulnerability to psychopathology remain poorly understood. There is likely to be a complex interaction between environmental experiences (such as maltreatment) and individual differences in risk versus protective genes, which influences the neurobiological circuitry underpinning psychological and emotional development. Brain imaging research in children and adults is providing evidence of several structural and functional brain differences associated with early adversity. These in turn are likely to be associated with patterns of psychological adaptation that may ultimately increase a child's risk for later psychopathology.