Childhood Trauma Followed by Adult Breakup Could Affect Brain Size

Adults who report painful childhoods followed by the end of a romantic relationship have smaller hippocampuses.

By Paul Smaglik
Jan 30, 2025 10:30 PMJan 30, 2025 10:31 PM
Brain MRI scan
(Credit: SquareMotion/Shutterstock)

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Romantic breakups really can go right to one’s head — more specifically, to one’s hippocampus.

That part of the brain, which helps control memory and regulate emotion, tends to be smaller in people who’ve both experienced childhood trauma, then lived through the end of a long-term relationship once they are older, according to a study in the European Journal of Neuroscience.

How Trauma Impacts the Brain

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