In your own words, discuss the findings of Dr. Yehuda’s research. Is this an issue that you were aware of? What about how trauma affects the brain? Explain.
Make sure to review the materials including the Trauma & Epigenetics (video) ( https://youtu.be/zV9sya4F5KQ), How Trauma Affects the Brain by Dr. Natalie Johnson (attached), and Lisa’s 911 ( https://youtu.be/3lF5ID71wLU)all before beginning this assignment.
To complete this discussion, you will write an original post and at least two peer response posts fully answering the writing prompt(s)listed below. Be sure you are using Module readings to answer the questions. While outside sources are ok/welcome, they should only be used to supplement the reading information, not repeat it. You will be docked points for using outside sources in place of the ones already provided in the modules.
In your own words, discuss the findings of Dr. Yehuda’s research. Is this an issue that you were aware of? What about how trauma affects the brain? Explain.
What are the implications of Dr. Yehuda’s research and the knowledge of how trauma affects the brain for the study of Victimology? In other words, why is this important to the study of Victimology?
What are your thoughts about epigenetics, as well as how trauma affects the brain?
After hearing Lisa’s 911 call, should perpetrators be held responsible for epigenetic changes to their victims’ offspring? Why or why not?
Finally, examine the sites on victim compensation and tell me what you learned. Were you aware that certain victims are entitled to financial compensation? Examine the site specific to Georgia (GA Victim Compensation) and then choose one other state (National Association of Crime Victimization Compensation Boards (see each by state) to discuss the differences in amounts of money, etc. that victims can get as compared to Georgia.
Requirements: 400 words
How Trauma Affects the Brain By Dr. Natalie Johnson (This is part of an article I wrote in 2022 discussing a panel presentation I did on mental health and human trafficking—I have shortened it and tailored it to fit your CRJU 3810 Victimology course. The material presented here applies to victims of any type of abuse, not just human trafficking victims). See PowerPoint slides 24-29 for visuals and videos. How does trauma affect the brain? Trauma is an overwhelming event. It takes away our safety. It continues to affect our perception of reality. Most child abuse victims have experienced multiple types of violence (known as complex trauma and also sometimes called polyvictimization—they both mean the same thing), which is one thing that puts them at a higher risk of developing mental health/psychological issues and/or behavioral issues. Please keep in mind that these risks are simply increased. Being abused as a child does not mean the child will become an offender. In fact, most kids who are abused do not become abusers/offenders because of a variety of things: resilience, interaction with positive role models, therapy, early intervention, etc. Choice is even a factor if choice is an option. This may sound weird now but continue reading. That said, children who have been abused do live with other possible life-long effects. Back to the question of how trauma affects the brain. Let us examine some basic brain science. We all have survival instincts—fight, flight, or freeze (FFF) which is in the amygdala (within the limbic system). When our FFF is triggered, cortisol (our stress hormone) is released throughout the body and the brain. This is normal as it’s meant to help us survive. What is not normal is for our FFF to be constantly triggered, but this is what happens to children/teens and even adults who have experienced chronic abuse/complex trauma. Too much cortisol being released is called cortisol flooding and can damage the brain. Through this process, the brain gets rewired to expect danger via complex trauma (think of it as alarm bells going off in your brain non-stop). The brain has now been wired to expect danger, thus we don’t just “get over” a traumatic event or events. The hippocampus, which is within the limbic system, is also greatly affected. Its major role is learning and memory. Like the rest of the brain, it’s plastic (neuroplasticity), thus susceptible to being damaged by a variety of stimuli. Brain scans show childhood trauma can cause shrinkage in the hippocampus, thus impairing our memory abilities and ability to retrieve memories. Horrifyingly, complex trauma is linked to changes in our DNA and that’s called epigenetics (view this 6min clip: https://youtu.be/zV9sya4F5KQ). Epigenetics examines how stress can modify chemical “markers” on genes, switching them on or silencing them. We do have at least one protective factor against cortisol flooding which is called “Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor” (BDNF). BDNF is a protein located within the hippocampal cells and can protect a nerve cell from the toxic effects of cortisol. However, if too much cortisol floods into the brain, which is what happens with complex trauma, BDNF cannot keep up and cells die. Cortisol flooding can turn off the gene that makes BDNF, which renders the cells indefensible and subject to brain damage. Consequently, complex trauma affects multiple areas of the brain. The prolonged activation of stress hormones in early childhood can reduce neural connections in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) which is responsible for logic, reasoning, decision making, judgment, and empathy (the thinking brain). Continuous trauma can weaken remaining neural pathways to the thinking brain and strengthen neural pathways to the limbic system (the emotional brain), thus bypassing the thinking part, which makes
some children less capable of coping with adversity as they grow up. Thus, cortisol flooding can cause shrinkage of areas of the brain responsible for: logic, reasoning, decision making, judgment, empathy (the prefrontal cortex/PFC, aka the thinking brain) and emotions, including anger (the amygdala), our memory, and learning (the hippocampus) [the limbic system; the emotional brain]. This shrinkage is called “pruning.” Think about how your fingers/toes prune when in the water too long. The same happens to the brain if damaged or goes unused. At the same time, stress actually strengthens these primitive circuits that actually make us very emotional and very much strengthens habits like cravings. And it’s a nasty process; this makes it difficult for you to deal with more stress. The effects of trauma on the brain are long lasting—victims of abuse are at risk of any combination of the following: impulsivity, poor decision-making, lacking empathy (which makes it easier to harm others) because the PFC has been damaged, “hot-tempered” (because the amygdala has been affected—studies have found that psychopaths brains are on average 17% smaller than the average person’s), hypervigilance (I’ll hurt you before you hurt me; physically and/or emotionally), distrusting others because the very people who are supposed to love them have hurt them deeply, getting in trouble with the law (usually starting as a juvenile), mental disorders such as Anti-Social Personality Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, PTSD, Clinical Depression, Anxiety Disorders, Reactive Attachment Disorder, etc.), cognitive/learning disabilities, memory problems, self-harm (emotional pain is now redirected to physical pain and if thinking about the physical pain, you aren’t thinking about your emotional pain as much; self-harm can also be a result of “it’s the one thing you can control”), suicidal ideation/attempts/completion, sexual risk-taking, substance abuse (to escape the emotional pain/numb the pain), and/or the intergenerational cycle of abuse. Other studies have found that maltreated children’s brains are about 20%-30% smaller when compared to brains of children raised in loving homes. It really is astounding how much damage trauma and stress can do to the brain. Everything I have discussed is trauma-informed care. Trauma-informed care refers to understanding how the brain is affected by trauma, thus understanding human behavior as a result of trauma. When we are educated on this topic, we are more likely to treat those who have been victimized with understanding, compassion, empathy, care, kindness, and patience. The last thing you want to do is revictimize someone who has been to hell and back. It helps us understand why victims/survivors don’t always behave the way you think they should. Many assume all sex trafficked victims would be grateful to have “been saved/rescued” but in reality, many may be violent and hostile, especially towards law enforcement. Many assume that children will be grateful to be taken out of an extremely abusive home, but often is not the case. You may be met instead with a child screaming not to be taken away from their abusive parent. There’s nothing that can prepare you for hearing an abused child screaming and crying for their mother/father/other family member who is their abuser. They may be combative with you, etc. That’s because their brain is wired to expect danger. They’ve learned to survive through the use of violence and to not trust anyone. Human trafficking victims have been brainwashed that authorities are not to be trusted and that law enforcement are the enemy, not the trafficker. This may be the case sometimes with abused children, though more prevalent among human trafficking survivors. All Criminal Justice professionals need to be trauma-informed so that when they work with victims/survivors they are less likely to revictimize survivors of any type of violence and abuse. This is vital to healing psychological wounds. Finally, I want to make one thing VERY clear. By explaining how trauma affects the brain, we are NOT excusing child abusers, or any other type of abuser. We are here to understand behavior and
when we understand the root causes of a problem (in this case, family violence towards intimates, children, elderly, etc.) we are better able to alleviate and reduce the problem. Are we ever going to eradicate family violence? Probably not, BUT by understanding basic brain science, we are better trauma informed, are better equipped to work in the Criminal Justice System, and better equipped to make a difference in countless people’s lives whether in your career and/or everyday life. Additionally, no one is saying family violence offenders don’t deserve punishment, but it is necessary to think critically about what causes someone to engage in these heinous behaviors. Did some of these family violence offenders even have a fair shot at life because of their own trauma? At first, the answer appears to be yes. However, based on the brain science you just learned, do we really have free-will? If our brain controls everything and the brain has been damaged, particularly the parts that control cognitive functioning and decision-making and our emotions, do we really have free-will? While this course is not on serial killers, etc. I do like to use two cases to make a point. For those that have ever heard of Richard Kuklinski, this will be familiar to you. Kuklinski is also known as “The Iceman”—he was a contract killer for the mafia for about 30 years. He also killed others on his own time “for the thrill of it” or others that just “pissed him off.” If you had profiling the serial offender with me, you will have seen the documentary on him (if you haven’t and would like to watch it, you can find it here: https://youtu.be/wZMR5gb3zR8 about 50mins and is OPTIONAL). Some back story on Kuklinski—his father was extremely violent. He witnessed his father physical and psychologically abuse his mother (witnessing abuse is a form of psychological abuse). He suffered extreme physical and psychological abuse at the hands of his father. His father, Stanley, even murdered Richard’s brother Florian right in front of him when Richard was just 6 years old. Could you imagine seeing your father (or anyone else) kill your sibling right in front of you? Think about how Richard’s brain may have lost basic functioning because of such serious abuse. Ask yourself: could he really control his behavior? What about other serial killers or family violence offenders that have similar backgrounds? If your brain controls everything and your brain is damaged, do you really have free-will and control of your actions? Next, is the story of Dr. James Fallon who is a famous neuroscientist that discusses the three ingredients for violence (he says murder, but the same applies to violence). He has the brain make-up of a psychopath, he has all the genetic markers for violence (keep in mind, just because you have genetics for violence doesn’t mean you will be violent). However, Dr. Fallon grew up in a very loving home. What’s the one difference between Kuklinski and Fallon? The answer is obvious. While this is just a comparison of two people, it mirrors the scientific research on kids who have been abused vs. those kids who have not. Here’s the short clip from Dr. Fallon (about 8-9mins): https://youtu.be/Vx8RxRn6dWU Thus, when thinking about possible outcomes of kids who have been abused, think about how some children may inherit violent genes, think about biological predispositions where the brain may have been developed in the womb (simply born that way like Dr. Fallon), or think about how the brain can be damaged through child abuse. Kuklinski may have inherited some genetics traits of violence (though we can’t know for sure since he’s dead now). It’s certainly possible Stanley had some genetic markers for aggression and passed them on to Richard. And think about how abuse played a role in Kuklinski’s life as opposed to Dr. James Fallon who has the genetic makeup of a potentially violent person and the brain makeup of a psychopath, yet is very successful (and by all accounts is a law-abiding citizen). The one ingredient that is missing in Dr. Fallon’s history is child abuse. I know trying to understand why anyone would abuse a child is something most don’t want to do, but it must be done. Otherwise, how else can we prevent future child abuse? We MUST understand the root causes of it. Please note this is also not an exhaustive list/explanation for what causes child abuse. It is a piece of the puzzle. Ultimately, being abused as a child puts them at risk of being an abuser
as they grow up to teens/adults, but it does not mean they will become an abuser. Finally, don’t forget the element of learning. Maybe some abused kids did not develop brain damage, but abuse and violence is all they know, so it’s passed down from generation to generation via the learning process (the intergenerational cycle of abuse). I hope this helps you understand how trauma affects the brain and then how that can perpetuate future child abuse, even if you don’t like it.
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