From Psychiatry Advisor: Childhood trauma modulates the effects of bipolar disorder on the amygdala and hippocampus; it is associated with increased volumes of gray matter.
“‘Childhood maltreatment has been associated with long-term structural and functional brain abnormalities, alterations in neurochemistry and in other neurobiological targets,’ he stressed and added, ‘childhood traumatic events are more frequently reported in patients than in healthy controls, with a high prevalence rate (ie, childhood abuse and neglect have been reported by 51% patients with bipolar disorders).’
Therefore, Dr. Spalletta believes that ‘the assessment of early traumaâŚshould definitively be included in the clinical evaluation of patients with psychiatric disorders.’ In practical terms, he thinks that ‘physicians should have a reference textbook specifically focusing on childhood trauma in psychiatry to properly address a pharmacological/psychotherapeutic/rehabilitative treatment,’ since ‘considering childhood trauma, can, in fact, really make a difference between caring for symptoms and treating psychiatric disorders.'”