Trauma, Stress, and the Brain (Research Paper Sample)

Trauma versus Stress
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Course Name: Cognitive Neuroscience
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Trauma versus Stress
To understand the role of trauma and stress in human life and psychology, it is important to understand the functions and roles of the brain. The brain has a significant role in enhancing positive aspects of people's development. Trauma is likely to affect the brain, which may later affect cognitive functions. Traumatic events may lead to stress, which may lead to various other health problems. This cascade of events may affect how individuals interact with each other in society. The productivity and performance of people are also affected because of trauma leading to stress. Stress can have multiple effects on human physiology particularly on the neurophysiology of the brain. Stress affects brain function, which manifests as changes to the way individuals think and act. Furthermore, stress secondary to trauma can also impact the normal development of the brain. Such individuals may experience adverse life events on being exposed to prolonged traumatic stressors. This essay will critically discuss trauma and the brain. The paper will adopt a funnel approach to describe the development of the brain in general, the development of the adolescent brain, childhood trauma, and the effect of childhood trauma on health across the lifetime. The paper will also describe stress, the way stress affects the brain, the effects of childhood trauma on the brain, and solving trauma before ending with a conclusion.
Development of the Brain
The development of the brain starts before the birth of an individual in the prenatal period. It continues developing after birth from childhood to adulthood. It is during this period that critical aspects of brain development occur. The bulk of brain development happens in the in-utero period and continues after birth (Bremner, 2006) Therefore, the mother plays a critical role in the development of the brain. Human brain development starts in the third week of gestation with the differentiation of the neural progenitor cells (Stiles & Jernigan, 2010). During the prenatal period, maternal influences like maternal trauma and stress have a deep impact on the development of the brain of the fetus. A fetal brain impacted during this period may continue developing with inherent deficits after the birth. The first five years of life are essential because the brain volume expands (Bremner, 2006). The development of the brain may vary in different people based on their personal traits and determinants.
Once the prenatal period is over, and a child is born, brain development and physiology are affected by a set of environmental factors including trauma. The structure of the brain is affected by trauma, which may later affect the learning process. Early adversity affects the nucleus accumbens and inhibits the prefrontal cortex, which critical for impulse control and execution of the function (Harris, 2014). The prefrontal cortex is a brain area that is critical for learning, and disturbances may affect memory. Therefore, children may experience challenges in schools because of past traumatic events. High doses of childhood trauma may affect the amygdala, the brain's fear response center (Harris, 2014). Therefore, individuals who experience trauma in childhood are likely to engage in risk behaviors. The behaviors may lead to adverse impacts on their health.
As described, environmental influences including trauma affect brain development because they influence how an individual thinks. Stiles and Jernigan (2010) argued that alteration of gene expression and environment affects neural outcomes. Therefore, the environment should be conducive to ensure positive results are achieved in healthcare settings. Cortical and subcortical brain structures develop in fetal development and at the end of the gestation period (Stiles & Jernigan, 2010). The authors further argued that the major gray and white matter compartments continue to develop from childhood to adolescence. The