title: Sexual trauma and the female brain.
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.
authors.affiliation: Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers University, 152 Frelinghuysen Road Room 201, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. Electronic address: shors@rutgers.edu.
authors.forename: Tracey J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Shors
authors.affiliation: Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers University, 152 Frelinghuysen Road Room 201, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Emma M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Millon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D012742:Sex Offenses; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Depression; Exercise; Fear; Hippocampus; Learning; Maternal behavior; Meditation; Memory; Neurogenesis; Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); Puberty; Rumination; Sexual violence; Stress; Violence against women