New research is suggesting that
there may be physical structural differences in the brains of adolescents who
are regularly bullied.
A recent study charts brain
changes linked to bullying.
According to the National Center for
Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics, between one
and three studentsin the United States report being bullied at
school.
In recent years, cyberbullying has
become a widespread problem.
Cyberbullying is any bullying
performed via cell phones, social media, or the Internet in general.
Such devices allow bullies to
continue their harassment anonymously and at any time of the day.
Bullying
has serious effects on health
One study revealed
that childhood bullying has effects on health, and it can lead to significant
costs for individuals, their families, and society at large.
In the U.S., researchers estimate
that the prevention of high school bullying could result in lifetime benefits
of over $1 million per individual.
New research now suggests that
bullying may cause physical changes in the brain and increase the chance of
mental illness. The study now appears in
the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
Erin Burke Quinlan, of King's
College London in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted this study. They
analyzed questionnaires and brain scans of more than 600 young people from
different countries in Europe.
The participants were part of the
IMAGEN long-term project. The goal of the study was to assess the brain
development and mental health of young adults through
questionnaires and high-resolution brain scans, taken when the participants
were 14 and 19 years old.
The scientists found that more than
30 of the participants had experienced chronic bullying. Then, they compared
the data with those of young people who had not been victims of chronic
bullying.
The
analysis showed that severe bullying was linked to changes in brain volume and
levels of anxiety at age 19.
The brains
of bullied adolescents
The study confirms the results of
previous research that linked bullying with mental health issues — but it also
revealed something new.
Bullying
may decrease the volume of parts of the brain called the caudate and putamen.
The caudate plays a crucial role in
how the brain learns — specifically how it process memories. This part of the
brain uses information from past experiences to influence future actions and
decisions. The putamen regulates movements and affects learning.
The authors say that the physical
changes in the brains of adolescents who were constantly bullied partly explain
the relationship between peer victimization and high anxiety levels
at the age of 19.
"Although not classically considered relevant to
anxiety, the importance of structural changes in the putamen and caudate to the
development of anxiety most likely lies in their contribution to related
behaviors such as reward sensitivity, motivation, conditioning, attention, and
emotional processing."
Erin
Burke Quinlan
She explains that it is worrying
that as many as 30 percent of young people could be bullied on an almost daily
basis. Burke Quinlan also highlighted the importance of brain development
during adolescence.
She also hopes to see more efforts
to fight bullying in the future, as peer victimization is becoming a global
problem that might lead to physical changes in the brain, widespread anxiety,
and high costs for society.
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