Based on a large cohort of adolescents followed and evaluated from 14 to 18 years old, researchers show that young maltreated children present persistent differences during adolescence in certain regions of the brain involved in emotions and memory. These findings suggest that childhood maltreatment is associated with lasting alterations in brain development which could contribute to increasing vulnerability to certain psychological disorders. Communiqué.
Child abuse includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse, as well as physical and emotional neglect, experienced by people under the age of 18. It currently constitutes a major public health issue due to its high prevalence in the general population. According to the WHO, six out of ten children – or 400 million – under the age of five regularly suffer from corporal punishment and/or psychological violence.
Childhood maltreatment is recognized as a major risk factor for many psychiatric disorders, including depression and behavioral disorders. In order to better understand the mechanisms underlying this association, much research is focusing on the consequences of mistreatment on brain development.
Previous studies, carried out in adults, have already highlighted differences in the structure of the brain between people who suffered abuse during childhood and those who were not victims. These differences notably concerned the volume of gray matter, composed of nerve cells. However, this work was based on observations made at a given moment in life and did not allow us to know how these alterations evolved over time.
To go further, a team led by Inserm researchers Jean-Luc Martinot and Éric Artiges, within the Developmental Trajectories and Psychiatry laboratory (Inserm/ENS Paris-Saclay) and the Borelli Center (CNRS/Université Paris-Saclay), analyzed data from a large cohort of adolescents followed between 14 and 18 years old. They investigated whether experiences of maltreatment during childhood were associated with persistent brain changes during adolescence.
The researchers were specifically interested in studying the limbic system, a set of brain regions involved in memory, learning and emotion regulation. Due to its central role in the processing of emotions, reward and stress, the limbic system constitutes a privileged target for the study of the neurobiological effects of childhood maltreatment.
The analysis focused on data from 634 adolescent volunteers from the European Imagen cohort(1) including 105 having reported violence before the age of 14. Participants were assessed at 14 years old and then at 18 years old. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), researchers analyzed the volume of gray matter as well as brain activity within the limbic system. The study was also supplemented by a series of questionnaires relating to the mental health state of the participants.
Repeated measurements analysis demonstrated lower gray matter volume in the limbic system(2) adolescents aged 14 and 18 who had suffered abuse during childhood, compared to adolescents who had not reported such experiences. Furthermore, no difference in changes in gray matter volume was observed between the two groups during the four years of follow-up. In other words, the alterations observed at age 14 were still present at age 18, suggesting that they persist throughout adolescence.
© Estelle Chaillat, Borelli Center
Furthermore, adolescents who reported having been victims of childhood abuse showed more signs suggestive of depression at the ages of 14 and 18, as well as a higher risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at 18 years of age. They also reported more emotional and behavioral difficulties, including symptoms of hyperactivity and inattention, problems with peer relationships, and levels of prosocial behavior.(3) weaker.
Most of the brain regions showing alterations highlighted in this study have already been associated with psychiatric disorders such as depression, anhedonia – that is to say difficulty feeling pleasure – or even post-traumatic stress disorder. These results thus reinforce the hypothesis according to which brain changes linked to childhood abuse could contribute to increasing vulnerability to certain psychological disorders.
“This is the largest longitudinal study to date of ‘brain scarring’ in adolescent victims of childhood abuse. These results highlight the need to evaluate new prevention and support strategies targeted to at-risk adolescents who have been victims of mistreatment. In other words, prevention efforts should focus on young people with warning signs of risk to their mental or physical health.explains Jean-Luc Martinot, Inserm research director, co-last author of this publication.
Results published in European Psychiatry.
(1) https://www.imagen-project.org/the-project
(2) In detail, adolescents reporting childhood maltreatment had lower gray matter volume than other adolescents in the right insula, left orbito-frontal cortex, putamen, superior medial frontal gyrus, paracentral lobule and other paralimbic regions.
(3) Prosocial behavior means any voluntary behavior that aims to help, support or benefit another person or group, without necessarily expecting a reward in return.
• Press release, “Childhood abuse: “brain scars” that persist into adolescence”, Inserm, 1is July 2026
