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Physical or Sexual Abuse Linked With Later Substance Abuse
Findings from a new study suggest that repeated physical or sexual abuse makes lasting changes in the brain, changes that can explain why abused children often use illegal drugs later in life. Researchers found that children who were sexually abused had changes in the blood flow and function of a brain region called the cerebellar vermis, which is also known to change when people abuse drugs.
"This part of the brain has been recently implicated in the coordination of emotional behavior, is strongly affected by alcohol, cocaine, and other drugs of abuse, and may help regulate dopamine, a neurotransmitter critically involved in addiction," McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, where the study was done, said in a statement.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used in the study to look at the brains of 32 adults, aged 18 to 22, half of whom had been abused as children. The cerebellar vermis was homed in on because that area of the brain develops slowly and is known to become affected easily by stress hormones. According to the researchers, "Damage to this area of the brain may cause an individual to be particularly irritable, and to seek external means, such as drugs or alcohol, to quell this irritability."
A second study showed similar results when it found that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can increase the cravings for substance abusers. Thirty cocaine-dependent and 45 alcohol-dependent volunteers, all of whom also suffered from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) resulting from a physical or sexual attack, were asked to describe their worst trauma on tape. The tape was then played to them while they were presented with a drug or alcohol "cue," such as a crack pipe or a serving of alcohol. Each volunteer was then asked how badly he or she wanted a drink or a dose of drugs.
The study’s findings revealed that craving increased significantly when participants heard the tape and were then shown cues related to their substance of choice. "From our research with trauma victims,” the researchers explained, “we know that intrusive trauma memories are very upsetting to patients, and now we have shown that these trauma memory-induced negative emotions increase craving in substance abusers with PTSD."
The results of both studies add support to the contention that the two disorders, PTSD and drug abuse, need to be treated at the same time.
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