Khaberni - A recent scientific study has unveiled that women suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to sexual assault experience "profound" disruptions in their brain's neural communications.
The findings were presented at the 38th Congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) in Amsterdam, where it represents one of the largest studies specifically focusing on survivors of sexual assault - a group that had been underrepresented in neurological research for decades.
Although the study of PTSD has been extensive in contexts of war, natural disasters, and accidents, the neurological effects of PTSD resulting from sexual assault remained unclear, as stated by scientists from the Clinic Hospital in Barcelona, Spain.
According to previous studies, about 70% of women who suffer sexual assault develop PTSD.
The recent study included 40 women who had been sexually assaulted within the past year and were suffering from PTSD, undergoing advanced brain scans using magnetic resonance imaging to assess patterns of neural connectivity.
The findings revealed that 22 out of the 40 women (55%) lost effective communication between two critical areas of the brain: the amygdala, responsible for processing emotions, and the anterior prefrontal cortex, responsible for emotional control.
Dr. Lydia Fortia, the lead researcher from Clinic Hospital in Barcelona, confirmed: "The connection between the amygdala and the anterior prefrontal cortex dropped to zero or close to zero in more than half of the participants."
Neuroscientist Marin Jukic from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden commented: "This severe decrease in communication between brain regions confirms the depth of disorders in emotional regulation networks after trauma."
The study suggests that PTSD resulting from sexual assault has unique characteristics, as it tends to be "particularly severe" and associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts compared to other types of trauma.
Interestingly, the researchers found no direct correlation between the severity of the disruption in neural communication and the severity of psychological symptoms experienced by the survivors.
These findings affirm that PTSD following sexual assault is not just a psychological condition, but a biological neural disorder involving malfunctions in brain circuits responsible for regulating emotion and fear.
The research teams intend to follow up on these results to determine whether neural connectivity markers can predict patients' responses to treatment, which could enable doctors to identify the most severe cases and provide intensified early care.
Dr. Fortia concludes: "Our aim is to help survivors regain control over their lives through a better understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying their suffering."
