Functional correlates underlying the neurobiological mechanisms linking childhood trauma to risk for psychiatric disorders.

Exposure to severe traumatic events in childhood, such as neglect and abuse, considerably increase the risk to develop a psychiatric disorder. The most common psychiatric symptoms following childhood trauma are depression, anxiety and psychosis. Often these symptoms occur together. It is well-known that adults with a history of childhood trauma have characteristic brain alterations, but very little is known about the functional consequences of these alterations on the risk for psychiatric disorders. This project aims to examine a number of important functional correlates associated with these brain structures that are possibly altered in individuals with known exposure to childhood trauma, more in particular increased sensitivity to stress and to negative social interactions.