all Martin Teicher stories

Verbal beatings hurt as much as sexual abuse

50443248 — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:37:29 -0400

Sticks and stones may break my bones,

But names will never hurt me. …

That often repeated children’s rhyme is wrong, according to Harvard University psychiatrists. Scolding, swearing, yelling, blaming, insulting, threatening, ridiculing, demeaning, and criticizing can be as harmful as physical abuse, sexual abuse outside the home, or witnessing physical abuse at home, notes a report in the April issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter.

Childhood abuse hurts the brain

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:30:56 -0400

A thick cable of nerve cells connecting the right and left sides of the brain (corpus callosum) is smaller than normal in abused children, says Martin Teicher, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He and his colleagues at McLean Hospital, a psychiatric facility affiliated with Harvard, compared brain scans from 51 patients and 97 healthy children. The researchers concluded that, in boys, neglect was associated with a significant reduction in the size of the important connector. It was also abnormally small in girls who were sexually abused. "We believe that a smaller corpus collosum leads to less integration of the two halves of the brain, and that this can result in dramatic shifts in mood and personality," Teicher explains.

Researchers find brain damage linked to child abuse and neglect

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:14:09 -0400

Abuse can damage the developing brain. Harvard researchers working at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., have identified four types of brain abnormalities identified with abuse and neglect experienced in childhood. The researchers further believe that early damage to the developing brain may lead to disorders such as anxiety and depression in adulthood. "A child's interactions with the outside environment causes connections to form between brain cells," researcher Martin Teicher explains. "Then these connections are pruned during puberty and adulthood. So whatever a child experiences, for good or bad, helps determine how his brain is wired."

Study points to more targeted use of Ritalin

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:03:59 -0400

An area known as the putamen, located deep in the center of the brain, helps to control movement and attention. Harvard researchers believe that the putamen is involved in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. The finding also suggests that Ritalin may not be effective in treating ADHD. When researchers examined hyperactive, inattentive boys with a new type of scanner, they found a reduced flow of blood into the putamen. When doctors gave the drug Ritalin to six of 11 of the boys in the study, blood flow into the putamen increased significantly. The same doses, however, decreased blood flow even further in five other boys.

Paying attention to attention: How active is hyperactive?

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:03:57 -0400

McLean Hospital researcher Martin Teicher and his team believe that the surest way to separate youngsters who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from those with other problems is to look at their brain activity. His team carefully monitored the motions of thousands of children, including 700 first- and second-graders. They found that specific patterns of movement distinguish kids with ADHD from those who are normal, depressed, or suffering from traumatic stress disorder as a result of abuse. The researchers found that a marked difference in flow to an area in the center of the brain called the putamen distinguishes ADHD kids from normal kids. The putamen is a brain region principally involved in motor activity and fine movements.