Apples for Health- Childhood adversity may affect brain

Childhood adversity may affect brain

BOSTON, July 17 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers suggest childhood adversity may affect how the brain anticipates rewards.
The study, published in Biological Psychiatry, suggests weaker responses of the brain to rewards might contribute to apathy, low motivation, or a reduced ability to experience pleasure.
The Harvard University researchers used magnetic resonance imaging scanning to track neural reactions as two groups of adults played a game involving cues predicting monetary rewards and penalties.
"In the group that had childhood adversity, two structures in the left basal ganglia were not responsive to reward cues, which differed from what we saw in the control group," study lead author Daniel Dillon said in a statement.
However, both groups reacted similarly to penalties.
The 13 individuals with childhood adversity had experienced abuse as defined by state guidelines, but were currently not experiencing any symptoms of depression or other disorder as adult. They had all been followed since childhood as part of the Cambridge Health Alliance study.