Adverse Childhood Experiences Reorganise the Brain-Personality Network Across the Psychosis Spectrum

The study examined how adverse childhood experiences (trauma) affect the brain and personality traits in individuals with varying degrees of psychosis. The research included 120 participants with low and high schizotypal traits and patients diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Results show that childhood trauma reorganizes the brain-personality network, shifting it from a state driven by cognitive processes to one anchored in emotional reactivity. This transition is marked by increased influence of impulsive traits and strengthened connections within the salience network. Additionally, thinning was found in frontal brain regions responsible for control and regulation. The research suggests that trauma-conditioned emotional circuits may bypass weakened control mechanisms in the brain.