CTC Neurobiology of Trauma & Brain Development Flashcards

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) research, originally conducted by Felitti and Anda, demonstrated that higher ACE scores are correlated with:

Answer: Increased risk of chronic disease, mental illness, and early death

The landmark ACE study found a dose-response relationship between the number of adverse childhood experiences and negative lifelong health outcomes.

Which concept describes the process by which trauma-related memories become encoded without full narrative context, often stored as sensory fragments?

Answer: Implicit procedural memory encoding

During trauma, the hippocampus is often inhibited, causing memories to be stored implicitly as body sensations and images rather than coherent narratives.

The 'freeze' response in children experiencing trauma is regulated primarily by:

Answer: Dorsal vagal shutdown causing immobility and dissociation

The dorsal vagal complex triggers immobilization and dissociation when a child perceives escape is impossible, representing the most primitive survival response.

Toxic stress in early childhood differs from tolerable stress primarily because:

Answer: It lacks the buffering presence of a supportive adult relationship

Toxic stress occurs when a child faces prolonged adversity without the protective factor of a consistent, caring adult who helps regulate the stress response.

Which neurotransmitter system, when dysregulated by early trauma, is most associated with anhedonia and reduced motivation in traumatized children?

Answer: Dopamine reward system

Chronic trauma can dysregulate the dopamine reward pathways, contributing to anhedonia, motivational deficits, and vulnerability to substance use.

Developmental trauma disorder, as conceptualized by Bessel van der Kolk, differs from standard PTSD by emphasizing:

Answer: Complex, relational, and cumulative early childhood trauma affecting development across multiple domains

Developmental trauma disorder captures the broad dysregulation across biological, psychological, and social domains caused by chronic early relational trauma.