In this thesis a literature review was conducted to map the results of earlier neuroimaging studies in minors who experienced childhood psychological trauma. Next, three different structural... Show moreIn this thesis a literature review was conducted to map the results of earlier neuroimaging studies in minors who experienced childhood psychological trauma. Next, three different structural neuroimaging techniques were employed to study the effects of childhood sexual trauma in youth .Main findings:1. Neuroimaging studies in traumatised children and adolescents are scarce and heterogeneous in design, in particular with regard to the sample studied and type of trauma.2. The results of structural neuroimaging studies in traumatised minors differ from those in adult populations, in particular with regard to findings on hippocampus and corpus callosum (CC).3. Paralleling the inconsistent findings on hippocampal volume reduction in traumatised minors, our VBM-study did not show differences between groups for hippocampal volume.4. VBM showed smaller volumes of key regions of the limbic system (ACC, amygdala) in the CSA-related PTSD group compared to controls.5. Adolescents with sexual abuse-related PTSD show no abnormalities in cortical thickness, in line with findings in adults. 6. Adolescents with CSA-related PTSD show less integrity of parts of the CC compared to healthy non-traumatised controls.7. Our structural neuroimaging studies showed limited associations with trauma symptomatology, in line with findings in studies in minors. Show less
