Sexual trauma and the female brain.
Tracey J. Shors, Emma M. Millon
Frontiers in neuroendocrinology April 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2016.04.001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Meditation Aerobic exercise |
| Topics | Depression Meditation Neuroplasticity |
| Keywords | Exercise Fear Hippocampus Learning Maternal behavior Memory Puberty Rumination Sexual violence Stress Violence against women |
| Key points | Argues that sexual aggression and violence against women are mental health problems, citing animal models in which aggressive interactions between a pubescent female and an adult male disrupt learning related to maternal care and reduce survival of new neurons in the female hippocampus. Proposes that MAP Training, combining meditation and aerobic exercise, is a clinical intervention translated from neurogenesis research and currently used to help women recover from traumatic life experiences, especially sexual violence and abuse. |
Abstract
Sexual aggression and violence against women (VAM) are not only social problems; they are mental health problems. Women who experience sexual trauma often express disruptions in emotional and cognitive processes, some of which lead to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Animal models of neurogenesis and learning suggest that social yet aggressive interactions between a pubescent female and an adult male can disrupt processes of learning related to maternal care, which in turn reduce survival of new neurons in the female hippocampus. Mental and Physical (MAP) Training is a novel clinical intervention that was translated from neurogenesis research. The intervention, which combines meditation and aerobic exercise, is currently being used to help women learn to recover from traumatic life experiences, especially those related to sexual violence and abuse.
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| A complex systems perspective on psychedelic brain action. | 2023 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
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| Therapeutic mechanisms of psychedelics and entactogens. | 2023 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Meditation and Aerobic Exercise Enhance Mental Health Outcomes and Pattern Separation Learning Without Changing Heart Rate Variability in Women with HIV. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback March 2022
- MAP Train My Brain: Meditation Combined with Aerobic Exercise Reduces Stress and Rumination While Enhancing Quality of Life in Medical Students The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine April 20, 2020
- MAP Training My Brain™: Meditation Plus Aerobic Exercise Lessens Trauma of Sexual Violence More Than Either Activity Alone Frontiers in Neuroscience April 23, 2018
- Do sex differences in rumination explain sex differences in depression? Journal of Neuroscience Research January 2, 2017
Cites 3
- Mental and Physical (MAP) Training: a neurogenesis-inspired intervention that enhances health in humans. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory September 9, 2014
- Consciousness of subjective time in the brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences December 6, 2010
- Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density Psychiatry Research November 10, 2010