How childhood trauma can change brain connections and lead to impulsive aggression
Official title: Thalamo-hippocampal interplay in early life trauma-induced aggression
Funded at Virginia Polytechnic Inst and St Univ · NIH-11360714 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether changes in a specific brain circuit after early-life trauma cause attention problems and impulsive aggression in people who experienced childhood abuse or neglect.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Virginia Polytechnic Inst and St Univ NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Blacksburg, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2025 |
| Project end | April 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $575,171 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH137465-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11360714 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with a history of childhood abuse or neglect who now have attention problems and impulsive, socially disruptive aggression are the group most likely to benefit.
✕Less likely to help
People whose aggression is due to other causes (for example, acute substance effects, situational stress, or psychiatric conditions not linked to early trauma) may not benefit directly from these findings.
What this research studies
I want to understand how early trauma can alter the brain circuits that control attention and impulse control. The researchers use mice exposed to early-life stress to study a thalamic hub (the nucleus reuniens) and its connections with the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, and they measure attention and social aggression with behavioral tests. They change calcium channel activity with drugs and use circuit-specific methods to see which neural changes lead to poor attention and impulsive aggression. The aim is to point to brain targets that could be used to develop new treatments for people affected by childhood trauma.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify brain targets for new treatments that reduce impulsive aggression and improve attention in people with early-life trauma.
How similar studies have gone: Animal research has connected thalamic-hippocampal-prefrontal circuits and calcium channel changes to attention and aggression, and the team's preliminary mouse data show an L-type calcium channel drug alters attention and increases aggression, but translation to humans remains unproven.
Where this research is happening
-
Virginia Polytechnic Inst and St Univ
Blacksburg, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Shin, Sora — Virginia Polytechnic Inst and St Univ
- Study coordinator: Shin, Sora
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.