Sexual trauma and the female brain

•Nearly one in three women experience sexual violence in their lifetime, often as young adults.•Women who experience sexual violence are at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.•Maternal behaviors can increase the survival of new neurons in female rodents.•Sexual aggression disrupts maternal behavior in young rodent females, which relates to decreases in neurogenesis.•MAP Training is a neurogenesis-inspired intervention to help women recover from trauma.

Sexual aggression and violence against women (VAM) are not only social problems; they are mental health problems. Women who experience sexual trauma often express disruptions in emotional and cognitive processes, some of which lead to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Animal models of neurogenesis and learning suggest that social yet aggressive interactions between a pubescent female and an adult male can disrupt processes of learning related to maternal care, which in turn reduce survival of new neurons in the female hippocampus. Mental and Physical (MAP) Training is a novel clinical intervention that was translated from neurogenesis research. The intervention, which combines meditation and aerobic exercise, is currently being used to help women learn to recover from traumatic life experiences, especially those related to sexual violence and abuse.