Child abuse permanently alters 'stress' gene

A research team, lead by McGill University in Montreal, looked at the brains of people who had committed suicide and found key genetic changes in those who had suffered abuse as a child.

The team examined the gene for a glucocorticoid receptor - which helps control the response to stress - in the specific brain region of 12 suicide victims who had also been abused as children and in 12 suicide victims who had not suffered abuse as children.

They found chemical activity that reduced the activity of the gene in those who had suffered child abuse, which led to fewer glucocorticoid receptors. This would have led to an abnormally heightened response to stress.

The lead researchers says that this not only shows that experiences in childhood can lead to brain changes, but they also suggest that biochemical changes could take place later in life.