1. The Neurobiology of Trauma
By Hannah Sheridan and Holden Brimhall

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

3. Trauma During Childhood

5. 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)

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

8. Quick review + extra facts

9. 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?

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

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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

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

16. 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

17. 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

18. References
Rebecca Campbell’s presentation: The Neurobiology of Sexual Assault. Retrieved from: campbell/pages/welcome.aspx