Studies by a psychotraumatology research group show that torture may affect the way the brain works for years after the trauma. Studying a group of people who had experienced varying degrees of torture, researchers found not only evidence of dissociation, or mental separation from the event, but also abnormal brain waves and even structural and functional lesions in the brain. They interpret these effects to be a result of these regions separating from sensory experiences--a necessary action during the trauma that is ultimately harmful later in life.
Results of the research will appear in this month's issue of Psychological Science.
Read more: Survivors of organized violence often left with traumatic memories