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By the age of two, a childвЂ™s brain has approximately 100 trillion synapses.Д«ased on the childвЂ™s experience, certain synapses are strengthened and remain intact, while non-essential synapses are shed in a natural elimination process called pruning. At its peak, the cerebral cortex of a healthy toddler creates two million synapses per second. These connections are called synapses, which are essentially junctions of nerve impulses on the super highway of consciousness. Because the brain is malleable, it will adapt to a negative environment just as easily as it will adapt to a positive one.Д«rain development is the process of creating, strengthening, and discarding connections between neurons, the building blocks of the brain. If this stimulation is lacking or absent, for example if a childвЂ™s caretaker is inattentive, hostile, depressed, or cognitively impaired, the childвЂ™s brain could be damaged.

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To reach full potential, these regions largely depend on receiving stimulation, which triggers activity and provides the foundation for learning. These regions are crucial to child development because they regulate emotions, language, and abstract thought. During those first three years, higher functioning brain regions, like the limbic system and cerebral cortex, grow rapidly. AmygdalaДЄbuse and neglect can cause overactivity in this area of the brain, which helps determine whether a stimulus is threatening and trigger emotional responses.Д«y the age of three, a childвЂ™s brain has reached almost 90 percent of its adult size. Maltreated children and adolescents tend to have decreased volume in the cerebellum, which helps coordinate motor behavior and executive functioning. HippocampusДЄdults who were maltreated may have reduced volume in the hippocampus, which is central to learning and memory. Maltreated children and adolescents tend to have decreased volume in the corpus callosum, which is the largest white matter structure in the brain and is responsible for interhemispheric communication and other processes. Some studies on adolescents and adults who were severely neglected as children indicate they have a smaller prefrontal cortex, which is critical to behavior, cognition, and emotion regulation. Neal added: вЂњSome of these more sensory or body-based interventions weвЂ™ve been exploring through the Trauma Center and through the Child Trauma Academy, to me, thatвЂ™s been really innovative вЂ“ understanding how occupational therapy principles can be applied to trauma survivors and give kids new ways to manage their energies.вЂќ Brain Development and Trauma Frontal Cortex Sometimes there arenвЂ™t words to describe what happened to you or to articulate the feelings and impacts associated with trauma.вЂќ вЂњSometimes language centers go dark when the nervous system is activated. вЂњWhatвЂ™s been most innovative is the attention we are now paying to the body and other forms of processing, apart from talk therapy,вЂќ Neal said. These new perspectives gave way to innovations in the clinical field of trauma-informed care.

вЂњThat warranted funding, focus, and attention from government and larger agencies that had capacity to determine the direction of research.вЂќ вЂњIt became indisputable that family issues and conditions causing stress among people was actually a public health issue,вЂќ said Neal. вЂ“ Emily Neal, VP, Organizational Development at Mercy Home for Boys & Girls ThereвЂ™s been a shift from вЂwhatвЂ™s wrong with youвЂ™ to вЂwhatвЂ™s happened to you?вЂ™ The landmark study, published in 1998, demonstrated a direct correlation between the number of adverse childhood experiences вЂ“ like abuse, neglect, and trauma вЂ“ to health and socials problems later in life. Neal credits the Adverse Childhood Experience Study (ACE Study), conducted by Kaiser Permanente and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as a catalyst for this paradigm shift. вЂњThereвЂ™s been a shift from вЂwhatвЂ™s wrong with youвЂ™ to вЂwhatвЂ™s happened to you?вЂ™ I think this really sums up what trauma-informed care is all about,вЂќ said Emily Neal, Mercy Home for Boys & GirlsвЂ™ clinical director. Where practitioners once used psychological, emotional, and behavioral terms to diagnose the effects of trauma, there is now scientific evidence of altered brain functioning due to early abuse and neglect. In recent years, new research compiled by the Child Welfare Information Gateway on early brain development has provided fresh insight on how trauma effects the developing brain during infancy and childhood.

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