The Neurobiology of Trauma By Hannah Sheridan and Holden Brimhall

This is just here to introduce the topic of the brain, don’t focus too much on it beyond that

Trauma During Childhood

Focus on the three types of trauma: Acute, Chronic, and Complex Ask why it’s important to know the type of trauma suffered (helps identify the needs of traumatized child, etc)

When the child is switched into “survival brain” it prevents effective learning, may lead to learning disabilities, etc

Quick review + extra facts

Psychological Impact on Victims of Sexual Assault Blamed Depressed Anxious Violated Reluctant/hesitant to seek help Transition away from children These are common feelings that a SA survivor may have How does knowing this make you want to treat a survivor differently?

How the Brain is Affected Hypothalamus Prefrontal Cortex Amygdala Hippocampus Talk about the first three Hippocampus is memory, then transition to the next slide

Post-it Note Analogy Imagine you’re taking notes on a bunch of tiny post it notes when you’re assaulted. The perpetrator takes your notes and hides them all over the messiest office you can imagine (pictured above). This is what happens to the memory during a sexual assault. Does this mean that the notes are any less accurate? No, they are merely scattered. Ask for sensory details, what color was his shirt, what did he smell like, could you taste anything, hear anything, etc. These will be easier to recall than dates, places, and times. Emphasize the importance of believing the survivor, especially as this process is not well known and often is another barrier that prevents survivors from seeking help.

What Happens During a Sexual Assault Cathecholamines Increase  Impairs Rational Thought Opioids Increase  Causes Flat Affect Corticosteroids Increase  Reduces Energy HPA Axis Hypothalamus Pituitary Adrenal Gland HPA Axis is a circular pattern that continues to trigger itself and release chemicals into the body that will cause harm over time.

Tonic Immobility “Rape-induced Paralysis” Automatic/uncontrollable response in extremely fearful situations Increased breathing, eye closure, paralysis 12-50% of victims experience tonic immobility Tonic immobility is more common in victims who have experienced sexual assault before. Focus on believing and supporting survivors. Too often they aren’t believed because they didn’t scream or fight back. The knowledge of tonic immobility is often extremely liberating to survivors, as it brings them understanding of why they didn’t fight when they always thought they would. TI is the freeze part of fight, flight, or freeze and is just as uncontrollable as the other two, no matter a person’s training.

What Happens During a Sexual Assault Increased stress hormones  impaired functioning in hippocampus  memories fragmented  MEMORY RECALL CAN BE SLOW AND DIFFICULT. EVENTS OF THE ASSAULT CAN STILL BE RECALLED ACCURATELY. Review of important points

It is a slow, fragmented process. Memory Consolidation It is a slow, fragmented process. Emphasize patience and kindness from helpers

How to Treat Victims Be Patient. Be Kind. Listen to them. Do not be accusatory. Show that you care. Other ideas??? Make it relevant to your audience’s life; make them come up with at least 5 other ideas that they’ve come up with as a result of this presentation

What to Remember Neurobiological changes can lead to flat affect or “strange” emotions or emotional swings. When victims have a wide range of emotions, it is okay. It is normal, and you can let the victim know that. Neurobiological changes can make memory consolidation and recall difficult. Their story may come out fragmented. The content of the memory is likely accurate. It will just take some time for it to come together. Tonic immobility is often frightening to victims. Victims sometimes blame themselves for what happened because of this. The reactions of friends, family and service providers are often hurtful to the victim. It is helpful to explain what TI is and to normalize it. Final review; remember to BELIEVE survivors, it’s the first step to helping them heal

References Rebecca Campbell’s presentation: The Neurobiology of Sexual Assault. Retrieved from: http://nij.gov/multimedia/presenter/presenter- campbell/pages/welcome.aspx