A study published this week by the Stress and Development Lab examined brain responses to emotional information in children exposed to maltreatment.  Maltreated children exhibited greater activation than children who had never experienced violence in the amygdala and other brain regions when looking at negative images, suggesting that negative emotional cues are more salient to children who have been maltreated.  However, maltreated children were just as able to modulate amygdala responses to negative cues as children who had never experienced violence after being taught specific strategies for regulating their emotions.  These findings have promising implications for treatment, as the strategies participants used in the study to regulate their emotions are similar to those used in trauma therapy for children.

You can read more about these findings here.