title: Early childhood abuse and limbic system ratings in adult psychiatric outpatients.
abstract: The authors investigated the hypothesis that early abuse might affect the development of the limbic system. During initial psychiatric evaluation, 253 outpatients completed a self-report scale, the Limbic System Checklist-33 (LSCL-33), designed to measure somatic, sensory, behavioral, and memory symptoms suggestive of temporal lobe epilepsy, along with a questionnaire about physical or sexual abuse. Physical abuse was associated with a 38% increase in LSCL-33 scores (P < 0.01), sexual abuse with a 49% increase (P < 0.02), and combined abuse with a 113% increase (P < 0.0001). Physical or sexual abuse alone was associated with elevated LSCL-33 scores only if the abuse occurred before age 18.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Teicher
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Glod
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Surrey
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Swett
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004213:Dissociative Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008032:Limbic System / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012737:Sex Factors; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires