Trauma and Stress Change your Brain

Trauma and Stress Change your Brain

Three parts of the brain important in trauma are the amygdala (emotional center), the hippocampus (memory), and the prefrontal cortex (an area of conscious thought including the area for controlling our thoughts). Multiple studies show these areas are changed when trauma occurs. Fortunately, these changes can be reversed by simply training your mind.

The scientific observation that specific areas of the brain are damaged through trauma is an important finding and several studies demonstrate it. Dr. Lisa Shin of Tufts University reported three changes in the brains of PTSD victims: an increase in the activity of the amygdala and a decrease in both the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex. Dr. Barbara Ganzel of Cornell University studied people who were in New York City when the World Trade Center towers came down in September 2001 and found the victims shared a reduction in the size of the hippocampus simply from being there that day. Dr. Rachel Yehuda, of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, reported that several studies have shown PTSD victims have smaller hippocampuses than the general population. Dr. Mike Koenigs, of the University of Wisconsin, has shown enhanced activity in the amygdala and reduced prefrontal cortex activity in PTSD victims. Dr. Nim Totenham at UCLA found children raised in a stressful orphanage had a larger amygdala than children raised in a traditional setting.

You can clearly see that trauma not only changes your brain, but it also affects several areas of the brain.

The Stress Response – Fight, Flight, or Freeze

When we are suddenly exposed to a stress, the subconscious mind helps us take quick action before we have a chance to think over the situation in detail. There may be danger involved, so we are designed to either fight, run away or simply freeze.

A good example of the freeze response was when I surprised my wife Patti after a game in Vancouver with an introduction to Heather Locklear. I had met Heather years earlier and she is one of those rare people who just radiates beauty and has a personality to match. I knew Patti was a fan of Heather’s, so I asked Heather to come and meet her. As we approached Patti, her back was turned. I tapped Patti on the shoulder and simply said, “Patti, here is someone I would like you to meet.” When Patti turned and saw Heather, Patti froze with an open mouth. She could not say a word.

The stress response starts when a stressful or dangerous situation is recognized by the amygdala and a signal is sent through other parts of the brain to the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are small glands that sit on top of the kidneys. In response to a stress signal, the adrenal glands release stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline.

Cortisol is an important molecule that has many effects. Unlike the better-known hormones testosterone and estrogen (which build up the body), cortisol breaks down cells to provide energy. Cortisol increases the amount of energy available for action both by breaking down our tissues and by inhibiting normal body activities that use energy. Thus activities such as digestion, building up bone and the immune system are restricted. You are more susceptible to infections when you are stressed because your immune system has been inhibited.

Adrenaline is also released during stress. Adrenaline increases the heart rate, constricts blood vessels, and opens air passages.

Stress hormones weaken the tissues of our body, including neurons. The stress hormones released lead to the death of brain cells. Simple relaxation techniques will go a long way to allowing the brain to heal. I will discuss this more in future newsletters.

Living in a High-Stress Environment

Dr. Michael Meaney of McGill University conducted a study with rats to demonstrate the effect of stress. While humans are not rats, the results are instructive to learn how stress works. The study looked at how mother rats took care of their offspring. (Apparently, fathers are not caregivers in the rat world.) He looked at the effects from mothers who spent a lot of time licking and grooming their pups compared with those mothers who were neglectful.

The pups of the well-cared-for rats were mellow, handled stress well, and liked to explore. The neglectful mothers produced neurotic pups. When they grew up and became mothers themselves, they treated their pups exactly as they had been treated. At this point in the study, the experiments produced what the researcher expected. Then, Dr. Meaney tried a couple of changes to learn if the neurotic behavior was a result of genetics or upbringing.

Dr. Meaney substituted mothers so that the caring mothers adopted the litter of the neglectful mothers while the neglectful mothers adopted the offspring of the caring mothers. The purpose of the switch was to see if caring was a genetic trait or a result of upbringing. He found that caring was entirely a result of upbringing and genetics had no effect.

The final test was to put the caring mothers in a stressful environment after they had successfully raised their first litter. The result was that the stress turned them into neglectful mothers. Of course, at first, you would think that caring is good and neglect is bad, but that is not the whole story. The neurotic rats would be more fearful and react quickly at any sign of danger. So in the end they may be better suited to escape quickly from a predator, but the stress hormones involved would hurt their overall health.

While such studies cannot be duplicated in people, you can draw parallels with some work done by Sir Michael Rutter of Kings College with adoptees from Romanian orphanages. Dr. Rutter is sometimes called the father of child psychology in the UK. He found that the adopted Romanian children had “some form of early biological programming or neural damage stemming from institutional deprivation,” but that the problems could be reversed through interaction with loving families.

From these studies, we know that stress levels don’t depend on your genetics; furthermore, you can reduce the effects stress has on you. By building awareness, you can control your reaction to stress.

Train Your Mind

You now know that trauma and the subsequent stress causes loss of brain cells. It’s time to take action and train your brain so you can recover. Here are four methods scientifically shown to create more brain cells.

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise has a very strong positive effect on the brain. For example, Dr. Laura Baker of the University of Washington studied older adults with mild cognitive problems. Her experiment involved one group doing aerobic exercise while the other group did stretching. The aerobic group improved brain function while the stretching group continued to decline.

Another study by Dr. Yonas Geda of the Mayo Clinic with 1,324 elderly adults found exercise helps avoid mental decline.

Dr. Rusty Gage of the Salk Institute showed that aerobic exercise increases the size of the hippocampus in mice. This is important in trauma because the hippocampus is a part of the brain that trauma damages.

Smile

A smile is the universal expression of happiness. Besides building brain cells, a smile prompts your brain to release endorphins. Endorphins raise your level of optimism and reduce your stress. Optimistic people live longer. Try to laugh and smile as much as possible.

Even a fake smile is good for you. Dr. Fritz Stack of the University of Wurzberg in Germany tested volunteers by having them hold a pen in their mouths. The testing was done with the pen held by the teeth, which creates a fake smile, or held by the lips which creates a frown. He found that their mood changed based upon how they held the pen.

When painting the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci hired jesters to amuse his model. Da Vinci captured a smile that has arguably made the Mona Lisa the most famous painting in the world, even 500 years later. The painting is important because something in that smile makes us feel good. As da Vinci’s famous portrait shows, people will find you more attractive and want to look at you when you smile.

Yawn

Yawning sends blood to the brain so it improves alertness and builds brain cells. Dogs will frequently yawn before attacking. Yawning also decreases stress levels so you feel relaxed. Yawn often, although social customs may frown upon it. Try it. After a few fake yawns, you will start getting some good ones. After about 12 yawns, your eyes will water and you will be very relaxed. Yawning is so contagious that even reading about yawning may stimulate a yawn.

Meditation

Many scientific studies show meditation improves brain function. Contemplative neuroscience is now a hot field of study. Meditation is a technique to focus your mind so that your thoughts are not jumping around. This focusing technique trains the mind to think clearly (remember, it is the second priority of the subconscious mind).

Although attitudes are changing, people in western culture generally perceive meditation negatively. As contemplative neuroscience continues to show the benefits of meditation, people are becoming more open to it.

You can find many styles of meditation, divided into three general types: mindfulness meditation focused meditation, and meditation in motion. All three yield benefits. More study is needed to determine the relative merits of the different approaches.

Mindfulness Meditation

In 2010, the American Psychological Association put out a special issue on mindfulness meditation in their scientific journal Emotion. In recent years, scientists have undertaken considerable work using fMRI techniques on mindfulness meditation. This type of meditation has a direct effect on the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. These are two areas of the brain that trauma seriously impacts.

In mindfulness training, you are taught not to evaluate your thoughts but simply to observe them. If an emotion comes forward, you are simply to acknowledge it. For example, if anger comes forward, think “I am feeling angry” rather than identify with the anger and think “I am an angry person.”

This idea that you are to observe your thoughts and emotions is somewhat foreign to traditional western thought. Buddhist monks have done this kind of meditation for centuries. When tested with fMRI techniques, monks with many years of meditating showed a highly developed prefrontal cortex. They also were superior at recognizing someone in distress compared to an untrained western person.

One type of mindfulness meditation is a body scan. You start either sitting comfortably or lying on your back and then focus on your toes. It is not easy because your mind will wander. When your mind loses focus, simply acknowledge the new thought or feeling and move back to the toes. Gradually, move up and stop at each body part until you finish at the top of the head.

Focused Meditation

Focused meditation involves voluntarily honing in on one specific item. It can be an object, a word, a short prayer or your breath. Zen, Transcendental Meditation (TM) and the Benson Henry protocol discussed in Chapter 7 are examples of this style. The Maharishi Foundation reports over 600 scientific studies at 250 universities validating the health benefits of TM. The intent of focused meditation is that the mind will not be distracted by other thoughts.

Meditation in Motion

Meditation can involve concentration on movement such as Tai Chi. Tai Chi is a martial art developed in China both for self-defense training and for health benefits. The movements are performed slowly with an emphasis on control and precision. Dr. Chenchen Wang of Tufts University reviewed 40 studies of Tai Chi and found that Tai Chi improved psychological well-being and reduced stress.

If you haven’t done so yet, I encourage you to try these techniques, either by yourself or with a group. This will help you keep your brain healthy and enhance your ability to think clearly.

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