The aim of the book is to sensitize physicians and researchers to the important long-term health effects of early, persistent, and severe trauma. The author, an internist, rheumatologist, and basic researcher in psychoneuroimmunology, shows connections between adverse childhood experiences and typical adult sequelae. After early traumatic experiences and childhood stress, there is a higher incidence of mental illness, chronic pain, sleep disorders, dental problems, obesity, cardiovascular disease, asthma, diabetes mellitus and chronic inflammation. A selection of diseases unmistakably demonstrate the long-term consequences of early childhood trauma. These childhood experiences create a kind of long-term programming that has a negative effect in adulthood.
From his psychoneuroimmunological perspective, Rainer Straub identifies four factors that link the brain to the immune system and are involved in chronic immune activation: direct connectors originating from the brain, indirect connectors functioning through hormonal and neuronal pathways, extracorporeal (the environmental factors) and pleiotropic connectors (genetic factors).
Author(s): Rainer H. Straub
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 266
City: Berlin
Foreword
Preface
Contents
About the Author
1 The Long Shadow of Early Trauma—Look!
1.1 Mental Illness
1.2 Pain in Childhood—and What Comes Later?
1.3 How can I Sleep While My Bed is Burning?
1.4 Teeth Suffer
1.5 Target Variable: Weight
1.6 Cardiovascular Diseases
1.7 Chronic Lung Problems
1.8 And then Chronic Inflammation
1.9 To the Point
References
2 What is a Child’s Psychological Trauma?
2.1 Origins and Important Protagonists
2.1.1 Urie Bronfenbrenner, a Psychologist (1917–2005)
2.1.2 John Bowlby, a Child Psychiatrist (1907–1990)
2.1.3 Michael Rutter, Psychiatrist (1933–2021)
2.1.4 David Barker, Social Medicine and Epidemiologist (1938–2013)
2.1.5 Vincent J. Felitti, an Internist (Born 1938)
2.1.6 Robert J. Plomin, a Psychologist (Born 1948)
2.1.7 W. Thomas Boyce (Born 1943), a Pediatrician, and Jay Belsky (Born 1952), a Psychologist
2.1.8 Summary
2.2 The Different Types of Early Traumatic Experiences
2.3 Time Windows for Bad Childhood Experiences
2.4 Frequency of Bad Childhood Experiences
2.5 Compensating Positive Factors Against Trauma Experiences
2.5.1 Resilience
2.5.2 Unfavorable Versus Favorable Childhood Experiences
2.5.3 Orchid or Dandelion
2.5.4 Favorable or Unfavorable Genetic Predisposition
2.5.4.1 Phase 1—Twin and Adoption Studies
2.5.4.2 Phase 2—The Candidate Genes
2.5.4.3 Phase 3—Combination of Candidate Genes
2.5.4.4 Phase 4—Human Genome-Wide Association Studies
2.5.5 Favorable or Unfavorable Epigenetic Changes
2.5.5.1 Phase A—The Candidate Genes are Epigenetically Modified
2.5.5.2 Phase B—Polygenic Approaches in Epigenetics
2.5.5.3 Summary—Epigenetics
2.6 Child Disadvantages and Steeling Effects
2.7 Transmission of Behavior from Generation to Generation
2.7.1 Genetic Transmission
2.7.2 Epigenetic Transmission
2.7.2.1 The Dutch Hunger Winter—An Example of Intergenerational Transmission (F0 to F2)
2.7.3 Transmission—without Genetic and Epigenetic Explanations
2.8 An Evolutionary Medicine Perspective
2.8.1 Historical Development
2.8.2 Childhood Trauma and Evolutionary Medicine—the Results
2.8.3 Gender Differences—an Evolutionary Medicine Perspective
2.9 To the Point
References
3 Consequences of Early Traumatic Experiences
3.1 Many Places are Affected
3.2 The Brain Probably Suffers the Most
3.2.1 Alcohol, Nicotine and Drugs
3.2.1.1 Where in the Brain is the Problem?
3.2.2 Depression
3.2.2.1 Where is the Problem in the Brain?
3.2.3 Anxiety Disorders
3.2.4 Personality and Childhood Trauma
3.2.5 More Psycho- and Neuropathology
3.2.6 More Sleep Disorders as a Result of Previous Trauma
3.2.6.1 Where in the brain is the problem?
3.2.7 More Pain after Childhood Adversities
3.2.8 Summary
3.3 The Body Periphery Suffers as Well
3.3.1 High Body Weight
3.3.1.1 Fat-Making Eating Behavior
3.3.2 Heart Attack and Co.
3.3.3 Chronic Lung Diseases
3.3.4 The Stomach Aches and the Stool Consistency Bothers
3.3.5 And When We Get Old?
3.3.5.1 Accelerated Aging
3.3.5.2 Cancer Disease
3.4 And Finally the Immune System is Activated
3.4.1 Early Trauma and Autoimmunity
3.5 To the Point
References
4 Chronic Immune System Activation
4.1 Egoistic Brain and Egoistic Immune System are Fourfold Interconnected
4.1.1 Areas in the Brain that Stimulate Direct and Indirect Connectors
4.2 Direct Connectors Chronically Activate the Immune System (No. 1)
4.2.1 The Sympathetic Nervous System
4.2.1.1 Hans Selye and the Pro-inflammatory Response of the Sympathetic Nervous System
4.2.1.2 The Tone of the Sympathetic Nervous System Promotes Inflammation
4.2.1.3 The Tone of the Sympathetic Nervous System Inhibits Inflammation
4.2.1.4 The Sympathetic Nervous System Promotes Inflammation Through Various Adaptation Reactions
4.2.2 The Parasympathetic nervous system
4.2.3 The HPA Axis
4.2.3.1 What is the Tone and Stress Reactivity in Previous Early Traumas
4.2.3.2 The Increased Tone of the HPA Axis Increases Inflammation
4.2.3.3 Glucocorticoid Receptor Resistance Increases Inflammation
4.2.3.4 An Increased Breakdown of Cortisol Increases Inflammation
4.2.3.5 Cortisol Mobilizes Important Elements of Inflammation
4.2.3.6 Summary of the HPA Axis and Inflammation
4.2.4 Disruption of the Circadian Rhythm
4.2.4.1 Circadian Rhythm After Early Traumatic Experiences
4.2.5 Tone of the Pain Pathways
4.2.6 Tone of the Sex Hormone Axis
4.2.6.1 Influence of Early Trauma on the World of Sex Hormones
4.2.6.2 HPA Axis and Sex Hormones
4.2.6.3 Differential Effects of Sex Hormones on Inflammation
4.3 Indirect Connectors Activate the Immune System Chronically (No. 2)
4.3.1 Adipose Tissue is Pro-inflammatory
4.3.2 The Insulin from the Pancreas Promotes Inflammation
4.3.3 Reduced Physical Activity—Anti-inflammatory Factors are Missing
4.3.4 Microbiome and Inflammation
4.3.5 The Permeability of the Gut is Pro-inflammatory
4.3.6 The Skin Itches Chronically and is Inflamed
4.4 Environmental Factors Chronically Activate the Immune System (No. 3)
4.4.1 Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire
4.4.2 Where Fine Particles are Flying, It Gets Uncomfortable
4.4.3 Asthma
4.4.3.1 Environmental Factors (Extra-corporeal Connectors, 90% of All Forms)
4.4.3.2 The Brain Promotes Non-allergic Asthma (Indirect Connector, 10% of All Forms)
4.4.3.3 Asthma Makes Chronic Inflammation
4.4.4 Infections are Extra-corporeal Connectors
4.4.5 Risk Behavior
4.5 Gene Mutations as Pleiotropic Connectors (No. 4)
4.5.1 The Search in the Gene Databases Leads to Pleiotropic Connectors
4.6 Summary
4.7 To the Point
References
5 Energy, Early Traumatic Experiences and Chronic Immune System Activation
5.1 Brain and Immune System Define Energy Expenditure
5.2 The Trauma Reaction can Use a Lot and a Little Energy
5.3 Is there a Trauma and Energy Provision Memory?
5.4 Energy and Chronic Immune System Activation
5.4.1 How High is Inflammation in People with Early Traumatic Experiences Really?
5.4.2 How High is Energy Expenditure at Different Levels of Inflammation?
5.4.3 The Quintessence
5.5 To the Point
References
Glossary
