Childhood abuse is associated with neuro-developmental disruption, including heightened threat sensitivity. It is often assumed that this disruption is semi-permanent and resistant to change. Here we examine whether the exaggerated threat response seen in adolescents who have experienced past abuse was modified after a 7-month stay in a trauma-informed residential program. The sample included thirty-six adolescents who were placed into residential care and had either prior exposure to high levels of abuse (n = 36) or lower levels of abuse (n = 25). Groups (aged 12.7–18.9 years, 57 male) were matched on age, sex, IQ, and prescribed medications and were scanned twice (shortly after intake and after 7 months) on a looming threat task. Results indicated (i) trauma-informed residential care was associated with significant decline in depression, anxiety, aggression, and callous-unemotional trait symptoms irrespective of severity of prior abuse exposure; (ii) Participants who had been subjected to high levels of abuse showed heightened neural responsiveness to threats in both the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus and the amygdala/hippocampus at intake that reduced after 7 months; (iii) Both groups showed declines in responsiveness within the rostromedial frontal cortex and the lingual gyrus and fusiform cortex after a 7-month treatment. These data demonstrate that intervention can ameliorate heightened neural threat responsiveness and symptom severity in adolescents who have been exposed to high levels of abuse.
Blair et al. (Sat,) studied this question.