While much attention has focused on chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE in individuals playing football and other contact sports, a recent article published in ABC News Australia focuses on another group who may be just as vulnerable to CTE: victims of domestic violence. This population, mostly women who have been neglected in brain trauma research, suffer repeated physical abuse and concussions at staggering rates. Referring to the ongoing research from Eve Valera, PhD, the article highlights the importance of focusing not only on the brains of predominantly male athletes but also to include an examination of the brains of deceased victims of domestic violence for evidence CTE.
Dr. Valera published one of the first studies examining intimate partner violence or IPV-related traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and its relationship to cognitive and psychological functioning. She notes that globally one in three women have experienced physical or sexual partner violence in their lives. Just to put that in perspective, she notes that every year, hundreds of NFL players experience concussions, and thousands occur in the military. Valera estimates the number of annual brain injuries among survivors of domestic abuse is somewhere around 1.6 million.
The limited research we have suggests that women may be more vulnerable than men to traumatic brain injuries. Valera’s research has revealed that three quarters of women have experienced brain injury as a result of IPV, and about half of the women have sustained repetitive injuries. These brain injuries lead to persistent cognitive difficulties and are associated with increased vulnerability to depression, anxiety, and PTSD. This vulnerability in women may be related to anatomical differences; however, preliminary research indicates that sex hormones — estrogen and progesterone — may also play a role in modulating sensitivity to traumatic brain injury.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, use a safe computer and contact help. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800.799.SAFE (7233), or visit https://www.thehotline.org
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Domestic violence victims who suffer repetitive head injury should be screened for CTE, Australian experts say (ABC News Australia)
The Hidden Epidemic of Brain Injuries From Domestic Violence (The New York Times Magazine)
Valera EM, Cao A, Pasternak O, Shenton ME, Kubicki M, Makris N, Adra N. White Matter Correlates of Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries in Women Subjected to Intimate-Partner Violence: A Preliminary Study. J Neurotrauma. 2019 Mar 1;36(5):661-668. Free article.
Valera EM, Joseph AC, Snedaker K, Breiding MJ, Robertson CL, Colantonio A, Levin H, Pugh MJ, Yurgelun-Todd D, Mannix R, Bazarian JJ, Turtzo LC, Turkstra LS, Begg L, Cummings DM, Bellgowan PSF. Understanding Traumatic Brain Injury in Females: A State-of-the-Art Summary and Future Directions. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2021 Jan 1;36(1):E1-E17.
Eve Valera, PhD
Eve Valera, PhD is a researcher with the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and an Associate Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She has worked in the field of domestic violence for nearly 25 years using a range of methodologies to understand the neural, neuropsychological and psychological consequences of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) resulting from intimate partner-violence (IPV). Dr. Valera’s research has also focused on using neuroimaging to understand the neurobiology of ADHD.
