Research reveals that adverse life experiences heighten amygdala response and diminish prefrontal cortex activity, indicating potential neural mechanisms of psychological vulnerability.
By Vijay Kumar MalesuNov 5 2023Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc. In a recent study published in JAMA Network Open, researchers assess the link between adverse life experiences and changes in brain reactivity using the multilevel kernel density analysis method on task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging studies.
A meta-analysis using the MKDA method, which accounts for these variations, provided more reliable insights than the activation likelihood estimation method. However, given the inconsistencies in human studies on brain responses to adversity, further research is essential to understand long-term neuroplastic changes from adverse experiences.
Related StoriesBrain activation coordinate data were precisely extracted and verified. To elucidate the diverse definitions of adversity across studies, these data were categorized based on criteria like threat or deprivation and by adversity severity. Of the 50 studies on emotion processing, the adversity-exposed group exhibited heightened amygdala activity and reduced superior frontal gyrus activity. In 11 studies focused on inhibitory control, those who experienced adversity exhibited increased activity in the claustrum, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula. No difference was observed in studies about memory or reward-processing tasks.
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