The impact of childhood maltreatment on cerebellar volume

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the relationship between expusre to childhood maltreatment and the development of the cerebellar vermis and cerebrocerebellum. Reduced volumes in certain brian structures have been discovered in childhood maltreatment survivors, including the amygdala, hippocampus, and corpus callosum (Bremmer, et al., 1997; De Bellis, et al., 1999; Jackowski, et al., 2007; Teicher, et al., 2003; Teicher, et al., 2012). Furthermore, a number of studies have examined the impact of childhood abuse on cerebellar volume, suggesting that the cerebellum is susceptible to the effects of early stress (Anderson, et al., 2002; Bauer, et al., 2009; Beers & De Bellis, 2002; Carrion, et al., 2009; De Bellis & Kuchibhatla, 2006). However, few studies have examined the relation between type, frequency, and timing of maltreatment and cerebellar volume. Previous studies have addressed some of these questions, but had small sample sizes and were focused on different structures of the brain (rBRemmer, et al., 1997; De Bellis, et al., 1999). The current study proposes to examine cerebllar volume in relation to type, frequency, and timing of maltreatment with a considerably large sample size. It is hypothesized that there will be a significant relation between type, frequency, and timing of maltreatment and cerebellar volume. As the impact of maltreatment and development of the brain is still not fully understood, the current study seeks to contribute to the neuropsychological understanding of maltreatment and possibly shed light on potential treatment implications.