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Rowland GE, Purcell JB, Lebois LM, Kaufman ML, Harnett NG. Child sexual abuse versus adult sexual assault: A review of psychological and neurobiological sequelae. MENTAL HEALTH SCIENCE 2024; 2:e51. [PMID: 39006552 PMCID: PMC11244653 DOI: 10.1002/mhs2.51] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
Sexual trauma (ST) occurs with alarming frequency in the United States (U.S.) in the form of both childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and adulthood sexual assault (ASA). It is well-established that the effects of ST are pervasive, and that ST can be a risk factor for the development of several psychiatric disorders. However, the potential for distinct psychological consequences or neural correlates between CSA and ASA has received little attention. Furthermore, despite the high prevalence of sexual revictimization, the combinatorial effects of CSA and ASA are understudied in comparison to each form of ST on its own. In the current review, we present results from both clinical psychology and neuroscience research on the impacts of CSA and ASA, describing major psychological, biopsychosocial, and neuroimaging findings for each form of ST. We further highlight limitations in the current state of the research and needed areas of future research to better understand the distinct, overlapping, and cumulative effects of ST in both childhood and adulthood. The present study summarizes the state of the literature on this critical form of trauma and provides recommendations for future clinical research practices to mitigate the deleterious outcomes of ST.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace E Rowland
- Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA
| | - Juliann B Purcell
- Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Lauren M Lebois
- Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Milissa L Kaufman
- Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Nathaniel G Harnett
- Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
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Rowland GE, Roeckner A, Ely TD, Lebois LAM, van Rooij SJH, Bruce SE, Jovanovic T, House SL, Beaudoin FL, An X, Neylan TC, Clifford GD, Linnstaedt SD, Germine LT, Rauch SL, Haran JP, Storrow AB, Lewandowski C, Musey PI, Hendry PL, Sheikh S, Jones CW, Punches BE, Kurz MC, Gentile NT, Hudak LA, Pascual JL, Seamon MJ, Harris E, Pearson C, Merchant RC, Domeier RM, Rathlev NK, Sergot P, Sanchez LD, Miller MW, Pietrzak RH, Joormann J, Pizzagalli DA, Sheridan JF, Smoller JW, Harte SE, Elliott JM, Kessler RC, Koenen KC, McLean SA, Ressler KJ, Stevens JS, Harnett NG. Prior Sexual Trauma Exposure Impacts Posttraumatic Dysfunction and Neural Circuitry Following a Recent Traumatic Event in the AURORA Study. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 3:705-715. [PMID: 37881578 PMCID: PMC10593890 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2023.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Prior sexual trauma (ST) is associated with greater risk for posttraumatic stress disorder after a subsequent traumatic event; however, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain opaque. We investigated longitudinal posttraumatic dysfunction and amygdala functional dynamics following admission to an emergency department for new primarily nonsexual trauma in participants with and without previous ST. Methods Participants (N = 2178) were recruited following acute trauma exposure (primarily motor vehicle collision). A subset (n = 242) completed magnetic resonance imaging that included a fearful faces task and a resting-state scan 2 weeks after the trauma. We investigated associations between prior ST and several dimensions of posttraumatic symptoms over 6 months. We further assessed amygdala activation and connectivity differences between groups with or without prior ST. Results Prior ST was associated with greater posttraumatic depression (F1,1120 = 28.35, p = 1.22 × 10-7, ηp2 = 0.06), anxiety (F1,1113 = 17.43, p = 3.21 × 10-5, ηp2 = 0.05), and posttraumatic stress disorder (F1,1027 = 11.34, p = 7.85 × 10-4, ηp2 = 0.04) severity and more maladaptive beliefs about pain (F1,1113 = 8.51, p = .004, ηp2 = 0.02) but was not related to amygdala reactivity to fearful versus neutral faces (all ps > .05). A secondary analysis revealed an interaction between ST and lifetime trauma load on the left amygdala to visual cortex connectivity (peak Z value: -4.41, corrected p < .02). Conclusions Findings suggest that prior ST is associated with heightened posttraumatic dysfunction following a new trauma exposure but not increased amygdala activity. In addition, ST may interact with lifetime trauma load to alter neural circuitry in visual processing regions following acute trauma exposure. Further research should probe the relationship between trauma type and visual circuitry in the acute aftermath of trauma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace E Rowland
- Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts
| | - Alyssa Roeckner
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Timothy D Ely
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Lauren A M Lebois
- Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Sanne J H van Rooij
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Steven E Bruce
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri - St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Tanja Jovanovic
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
| | - Stacey L House
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Francesca L Beaudoin
- Department of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
| | - Xinming An
- Institute for Trauma Recovery, Department of Anesthesiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Thomas C Neylan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Gari D Clifford
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Sarah D Linnstaedt
- Institute for Trauma Recovery, Department of Anesthesiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Laura T Germine
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Institute for Technology in Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts
- TheMany Brains Project, Belmont, Massachusetts
| | - Scott L Rauch
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Institute for Technology in Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts
| | - John P Haran
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Alan B Storrow
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | | | - Paul I Musey
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Phyllis L Hendry
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida
| | - Sophia Sheikh
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida
| | - Christopher W Jones
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, New Jersey
| | - Brittany E Punches
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio
- Ohio State University College of Nursing, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Michael C Kurz
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama
- Division of Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama
- Center for Injury Science, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Nina T Gentile
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Lauren A Hudak
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Jose L Pascual
- Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Mark J Seamon
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Division of Traumatology, Department of Surgery, Surgical Critical Care and Emergency Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Erica Harris
- Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Claire Pearson
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Wayne State University, Ascension St. John Hospital, Detroit, Michigan
| | - Roland C Merchant
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Robert M Domeier
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ypsilanti, Michigan
| | - Niels K Rathlev
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts
| | - Paulina Sergot
- Department of Emergency Medicine, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, Houston, Texas
| | - Leon D Sanchez
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Mark W Miller
- National Center for PTSD, Behavioral Science Division, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Robert H Pietrzak
- National Center for PTSD, Clinical Neurosciences Division, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Jutta Joormann
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Diego A Pizzagalli
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts
| | - John F Sheridan
- Division of Biosciences, Ohio State University College of Dentistry, Columbus, Ohio
- Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, OSU Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Jordan W Smoller
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Steven E Harte
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Department of Internal Medicine-Rheumatology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - James M Elliott
- Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, St. Leonards, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Northern Sydney Local Health District, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Physical Therapy & Human Movement Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Ronald C Kessler
- Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Karestan C Koenen
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Samuel A McLean
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Trauma Recovery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
| | - Kerry J Ressler
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
- Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts
| | - Jennifer S Stevens
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Nathaniel G Harnett
- Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
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Wittekind DA, Kratzsch J, Mergl R, Wirkner K, Baber R, Sander C, Witte AV, Villringer A, Kluge M. Childhood sexual abuse is associated with higher total ghrelin serum levels in adulthood: results from a large, population-based study. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:219. [PMID: 37349303 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02517-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Ghrelin is an orexigenic peptide hormone synthesized in times of stress and hunger and alterations of the ghrelin system following acute stressors could be repeatedly shown in humans. However, little data exists on long-term effects of trauma on the ghrelin system. We aimed to investigate the influence of childhood trauma on total ghrelin serum levels in a large, population-based study. Total serum ghrelin was measured in 1666 participants of a population-based cross-sectional study ('LIFE study'). The Childhood Trauma Screener (CTS) was used for the assessment of childhood trauma in the final sample (n = 1086; mean age: 57.10 ± 16.23 years; 632 males, 454 females). Multiple linear regression analyses and generalized linear models were chosen to examine the association between childhood trauma and total serum ghrelin concentrations. Childhood sexual abuse went along with significantly higher ghrelin serum levels in the total sample (β = 0.114, t = 3.958; p = 0.00008) and in women (β = 0.142, t = 3.115; p = 0.002), but not in men (β = 0.055; t = 1.388; p = 0.166). Women with severe emotional neglect in the childhood had higher ghrelin levels than those without (odds ratio = 1.204; p = 0.018). For the CTS Sum Score and other CTS sub-scale scores, no significant association with ghrelin serum levels was found. Our study is the first to show associations between childhood sexual trauma and total ghrelin levels in adults in a large, community-based sample. Our results should initiate further research of the role of ghrelin in human stress response in prospective study designs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk Alexander Wittekind
- Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Jürgen Kratzsch
- Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roland Mergl
- Institute of Psychology, University of the Bundeswehr Munich, Neubiberg, Germany
| | - Kerstin Wirkner
- Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases (LIFE), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ronny Baber
- Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases (LIFE), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christian Sander
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - A Veronica Witte
- Clinic of Cognitive Neurology, University of Leipzig, and Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Arno Villringer
- Clinic of Cognitive Neurology, University of Leipzig, and Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Michael Kluge
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Rudolf-Virchow-Hospital, Glauchau, Germany
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