PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE FOR ABERRANT CORTICAL DEVELOPMENT IN ABUSED-CHILDREN - A QUANTITATIVE EEG STUDY

The objectives of this study were to investigate cortical development and hemispheric asymmetry in abused children. Fifteen hospitalized chi ldren (mean age 10.7+/-2.5 years) with severe physical or sexual abuse and 15 normal children (10.1+/-3.1 years) were studied with quantitat ive EEG. Abused children had higher levels of left hemisphere coherenc e and a reversed asymmetry, with left hemisphere coherence significant ly exceeding right hemisphere coherence. Left hemisphere coherence dec reased more rapidly across electrode distance in normal subjects, sugg esting that increased left coherence in abused patients stemmed from a deficit in left cortical differentiation. These findings support the hypothesis that early severe abuse may have a deleterious effect on br ain development.