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Metabolic Brain Disease
Published in: Metabolic Brain Disease 2/2014

01-06-2014 | Original Paper

The effect of childhood trauma on spatial cognition in adults: a possible role of sex

Authors: Supriya Syal, Jonathan Ipser, Nicole Phillips, Kevin G. F. Thomas, Jack van der Honk, Dan J. Stein

Published in: Metabolic Brain Disease | Issue 2/2014

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Abstract

Although animal evidence indicates that early life trauma results in pervasive hippocampal deficits underlying spatial and cognitive impairment, visuo-spatial data from adult humans with early childhood adversity are lacking. We administered 4 tests of visuo-spatial ability from the Cambridge Neuorpsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) to adults with a history of childhood trauma (measured by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) and a matched sample of healthy controls (trauma/control = 27/28). We observed a significant effect of trauma history on spatial/pattern learning. These effects could not be accounted for by adverse adult experiences, and were sex-specific, with prior adversity improving performance in men but worsening performance in women, relative to controls. Limitations include the small sample size and reliance of our study design on a retrospective, self report measure. Our results suggest that early adversity can lead to specific and pervasive deficits in adult cognitive function.
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Metadata
Title
The effect of childhood trauma on spatial cognition in adults: a possible role of sex
Authors
Supriya Syal
Jonathan Ipser
Nicole Phillips
Kevin G. F. Thomas
Jack van der Honk
Dan J. Stein
Publication date
01-06-2014
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Metabolic Brain Disease / Issue 2/2014
Print ISSN: 0885-7490
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7365
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-014-9497-4

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