Citation

Hanson JL, Chung MK, Avants BB, Shirtcliff EA, Gee JC, Davidson RJ, Pollak SD. J. Neurosci. 2010; 30(22): 7466-7472.

Affiliation

Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53705, USA. jlhanson5@wisc.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Society for Neuroscience)

DOI

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0859-10.2010

PMID

20519521

PMCID

PMC2893146

Abstract

Individuals who experience early adversity, such as child maltreatment, are at heightened risk for a broad array of social and health difficulties. However, little is known about how this behavioral risk is instantiated in the brain. Here we examine a neurobiological contribution to individual differences in human behavior using methodology appropriate for use with pediatric populations paired with an in-depth measure of social behavior. We show that alterations in the orbitofrontal cortex among individuals who experienced physical abuse are related to social difficulties. These data suggest a biological mechanism linking early social learning to later behavioral outcomes.

Language: en