A recent paper explored brain imaging changes associated with pre- and post-natal stress (1). This study is the last of a series of investigations involving three generations of Holocaust survivors (HS)(2-6) . The target was to identify lifelong impact of extreme stress and post-traumatic growth (PTGI). In this last study, people who experienced stress during their prenatal development and early postnatal (PreP) period were compared with a group who experienced Holocaust-related stress later in their lives: in late childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood (ChA). Psychological testing was stress-positive in three generations versus controls; PTGI-positive in HS. The second and third generation were also stressed. At magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in HS, the grey matter was reduced in insulas, anterior cingulate, temporal pole. In the 2nd and 3rd generation, there was a clear change in MRI connectivity compared to controls.
In a sample of 43 Ukrainian women interviewed 3-42 weeks after emigration to the Czech Republic, adaptation to the situation of emigration and the association of their war and earlier experiences with the level of traumatization were investigated (7). These women presented high levels of adverse childhood experiences and post-traumatic stress symptoms were found. Moreover, they perceived the war as a currently negative central event associated with traumatic stress symptoms, and 79% of them expressed the opinion that the war had changed them.
Life-long psychological and brain structure changes in people who survived holocaust were identified more than 70 years after World War II. Extreme prenatal, childhood and young adulthood stress has an irreversible lifelong impact on the brain. The consequences of holocaust related trauma are transmitted to the 2nd and 3rd generation. Ukrainian refugees also exibit high levels of stress. Future studies will investigate the impact on brain structure and function and the consequences on their offspring.
Key Points: stress – prenatal stress - Holocaust
Publications:
- Lifelong effects of extreme prenatal stress on neurobiological and on psychological features of Holocaust survivors. Fňašková, M, Říha, P, Nečasová, M, Preiss, M, Rektor,I. SCIENTIFIC REPORT, 2023
- Lifelong impact of extreme stress on the human brain: Holocaust survivors study; Fnaskova, M; Riha, P; Preiss, M; … Rektor, Ivan. NEUROBIOLOGY OF STRESS Volume: 1 Article Nb: 100318 Published: MAY 2021
- Posttraumatic Stress and Posttraumatic Growth in Three Generations of Czech and Slovak Holocaust Survivors; Preiss M, Šamánková D, Štipl, J, Fnašková, M, Nečasová M, Bob P, Heissler R, Prokopová A, Hermánková, T, Juricková, V, Sanders, E, Wagenknechtová, E, Rektor I. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2021, 0, 1–9
- No Evidence of Persistence or Inheritance of Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number in Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants. Cai, Na; Fnaskova, M; Konecna, K; Fojtova, M ; Fajkus, J ; Coomber, E ; Watt, S ; Soranzo, N ; Preiss, M ; Rektor, I. FRONTIERS IN GENETICS Volume: 11 : 87 2020,
- Holocaust history is not reflected in telomere homeostasis in survivors and their offspring. Konecna, K; Lycka, M; Nohelova, L; … Rektor, I, Fajkus J. JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH, 2019: 117; 7-14
- Wellbeing and national identity in three generations of Czech and Slovak Holocaust survivors. Preiss M, Fnašková, M, Nečasová, M, Heissler, R, Bob, P, Prokopová, A, Šamánková D, Sanders E and Rektor I. FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE, Sept. 2022, DOI 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.919217
- Preiss M, Fňašková M, Berezka S, et al. War and women: An analysis of Ukrainian refugee women staying in the Czech Republic. Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health. 2024;11:e47. doi:10.1017/gmh.2024.7
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