Impacts of Trauma on the Brain and Learning

Impacts of Trauma on the Brain

Trauma directly impacts the functioning of the brain in at least three major ways.

  • When affected by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (a disorder which trauma often leads to) the prefrontal cortex is taxed. This portion of the brain is responsible for rational thinking. As a result of trauma, and often the inevitable PTSD, individuals become less able to regulate emotions such as the fear response.
  • Trauma shrinks the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory. As a result, individuals experiencing trauma may not be able to differentiate between the past and present. Thus, when trauma is re-triggered by a memory or activity in the classroom, the hippocampus of an individual with trauma struggles to know the difference between the past traumatic event and the current reality. Individuals re-live the traumatic event as if it were happening in the present moment.
  • Finally, trauma causes the amygdala (responsible for emotion) to be hyperactive and for the affected person to be "hard-wired" for survival. This high level of alertness is difficult to switch off, resulting in hypervigilance or being "on edge".  (Palanac, 2023)

Graphic of how trauma affects the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala

 

 

Impacts of Trauma on Learning

Overall, trauma leads to a high state of arousal in which abstract thinking, something extremely vital for learning, becomes nearly impossible:

“Gray, Perry, and Zelenz tells us that when people are aroused, they focus on the concrete–what is immediately in front of them, tasks they need to accomplish, and what they need to remember…The state of alarm tips us into our emotionally reactive selves. Our bodies and minds constrict, becoming rigid and inflexible, and we are unable to concentrate on anything beyond the immediate environment…Frightened people are in a constant state of low-level arousal. They are too busy scanning the environment for potential threats to concentrate on future planning, making meaning, interpreting texts, connecting with fellow students and teachers, or pondering abstract concepts” (Daniels 2022, p.32-33).

Additionally, we can see the impact of trauma on learning by comparing the brain in two states: learning brain vs. survival brain.

(Note: Although this video is geared towards K-12 students, the concepts of learning vs. survival brain are still applicable to our adult students at Spokane Community College.) 

As we can see, when these vital parts of the brain are affected, and the brain is stuck in "survival" mode, it becomes extremely difficult for students to engage fully in educational settings and make progress. The ability to plan, to make meaning, to remember, and to connect are all impacted.