New study reveals ‘biological toll’ on Holocaust survivors’ brain function
The stress of surviving the Holocaust has been shown to have a lifelong negative impact on the brain structure of survivors, as well as potentially impacting their offspring and grandchildren, according to a study presented at the 5th European Academy of Neurology Congress in Oslo.
It found that surviving the Holocaust had a life-long “psychological and biological effect with grey matter reduction affecting the parts of their brain responsible for stress response, memory, motivation, emotion, learning, and behavior,” according to Prof. Ivan Rektor, head researcher at the Centre for Neuroscience of Masaryk University in the Czech Republic.
He told the congress that using MRI scanning, the study looked at the brain function of 56 people with an average age of 79-80, comparing 28 Holocaust survivors with 28 others of a similar age who had not been directly exposed via personal or family history to...
