How War Changes Children’s Brains
Sarit Roizman, Dr. Rola Farah, Dr. Mika Shapira Rootman, Noah Wenger, Prof. Rivka Tuval-Mashiach & Prof. Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus
A new study found that exposure to war-related experiences is associated with changes in children’s brain activity and with difficulties in attention, reading, and language processing.
We all know that war affects how children feel and behave. But does exposure to war also change the way their brain function? To answer this question, we compared children aged 5-13 who were assessed before the war with children who were assessed during the war. We asked them to complete tasks measuring attention, language, and reading, collected information about their experiences during the war, and used advanced brain imaging to examine how different brain regions “communicate” with one another. We found that the more children were exposed to war-related experiences, such as air raid sirens, disruptions to their daily routines, or feelings of insecurity, the more they struggled with attention, reading, and language tasks. At the same time, we observed changes in the communication between different brain regions.
Our findings remind us that the effects of war do not end when the sirens stop. They may continue to influence children’s learning, concentration, and development long afterward. We hope this research will help identify children who need additional support and guide the development of interventions that can help them get back on track with their learning and healthy development.
