Early neglect is a key determinant of adult hair cortisol concentration and is associated with increased vulnerability to trauma in a transdiagnostic sample.

BACKGROUND: Childhood adversities and traumatic events have each been associated with hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation and trauma-related symptoms in adulthood. Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) reflects cumulative cortisol levels over the course of months and is discussed as a potential marker between trauma-induced neuroendocrine dysfunction and trauma-related symptoms. The present study examines this hypothetical link by delineating the impact of exposure to categories of abuse and neglect during development and lifetime traumatic experiences on HCC and trauma-related symptoms. METHODS: The Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology Exposure (MACE) scale, Life Events Checklist, and predictive analytics were used to evaluate the importance of type and timing of maltreatment and trauma load on HCC in inpatients (n = 183) with different psychiatric diagnoses. Additionally, a comparison group of n = 75 controls were recruited from the community. The extent to which the relationship between trauma load and trauma-related symptoms was influenced by childhood adversities and HCC was determined by analysis of variance. RESULTS: Early neglect, in particular neglect at 3 years, emerged as the most important predictor of adult HCC. Post-hoc explanatory analysis showed that patients with high neglect at age 3 had lower HCC compared to patients with low neglect at age 3 and controls. Patients with high neglect at age 3 and low cortisol reported increased trauma-related symptoms upon trauma exposure. CONCLUSION: Results strengthen evidence that inadequate care and neglect during critical periods alter HPA axis biology towards enduring reduction in cortisol, the latter being associated with augmented trauma-related symptoms upon trauma exposure. If validated by longitudinal assessments these cross-sectional findings suggest biological mechanisms of childhood adversities into psychopathology in adulthood.

Oscillatory magnetic brain activity is related to dissociative symptoms and childhood adversities - A study in women with multiple trauma.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with trauma-related disorders are complex and heterogeneous; part of this complexity derives from additional psychopathology like dissociation as well as environmental adversities such as traumatic stress, experienced throughout the lifespan. Understanding the neurophysiological abnormalities in Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) requires a simultaneous consideration of these factors. METHODS: Resting state magnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings were obtained from 41 women with PTSD and comorbid depressive symptoms, and 16 healthy women. Oscillatory brain activity was extracted for five frequency bands and 11 source locations, and analyzed in relation to shutdown dissociation and adversity-related measures. RESULTS: Dissociative symptoms were related to increased delta and lowered beta power. Adversity-related measures modulated theta and alpha oscillatory power (in particular childhood sexual abuse) and differed between patients and controls. LIMITATIONS: Findings are based on women with comorbid depressive symptoms and therefore may not be applicable for men or groups with other clinical profiles. In respect to childhood adversities, we had no reliable source for the early infancy. CONCLUSION: Trauma-related abnormalities in neural organization vary with both exposure to adversities as well as their potential to evoke ongoing shutdown responses.

Cardiac defense in response to imminent threat in women with multiple trauma and severe PTSD.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) arises as a long-term result of exposure to trauma and brings with it an altered autonomic response to potentially threatening stimuli. The present study investigates the dynamic sequence of cardiac defense in women with and without PTSD. An acoustic noise of 0.5-s duration and 105 dB was used to elicit the cardiac defense reaction. The stimulus was repeated three times. Within the PTSD sample, respondents who suffered from more severe PTSD showed a higher heart rate at rest, a higher baseline, and a greater response. Compared to the healthy subjects, the PTSD group showed an elevated heart rate from 6 s to 25 s following the presentation of the first stimulus. There was evidence of habituation in the PTSD group and hints of differential effects on the cardiac defense of traumatic experiences with a high proximity of danger.