Gender violence causes potentially permanent physical damage (as well as very serious psychological repercussions): a study led byUniversity of Granada (Spain) has shown that victims show brain problems, especially related to memory and learning.
Researchers studied how gender violence affects victims’ verbal memory, specifically via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) conducted during a word recognition task.
The work was conducted involving 80 women, of which 40 were survivors of gender violence and 40 without a history of violence. And unfortunately the results speak for themselves: women victims of violence showed difficulties in the initial stages of learning, as well as differences in their brain patterns.
More specifically, the research found poorer initial learning: victims recognized fewer words in the first two studies and performed worse at remembering them. Furthermore, the severity of the violence plays a role: the more physical violence, the worse the recognition in these early stages of learning.
And unfortunately the brain pattern is also influenced: during recognition, the victim group showed greater deactivation in some areas of the brain (mPFC/vmPFC, anterior cingulate cortex and caudate nucleus), a result consistent with a greater effort required to achieve the same performance as the control group.
Previous research already indicated attention and memory difficulties following violence. However, there was a lack of studies showing real-time brain mechanisms, such as those that occur during a memory task.
This study fills this gap – explain the authors – and provides a neurobiological explanation for the daily difficulties experienced by women who have suffered gender violence
Scientists say the data helps to understand why daily activities that rely on verbal memory, including learning new information and remembering lists, can be more strenuous for victims, and they are now focusing on these neuropsychological consequences with the aim of evaluating them and developing potential rehabilitation treatments.
The work was published on Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
Sources: University of Granada / Journal of Interpersonal Violence
