Bullying found to cause chemical changes in victims brains

By Staff Writer

Bullying can make high school an excruciating experience for its victims and can lead to years of emotional problems.

Now scientists have found that bullying can even cause changes in brain chemistry that contribute to long-term social anxiety.

Researchers working with mice found that a mouse that is persistently bullied by dominant males grows unusually nervous around new company, and that it develops a heightened sensitivity to the hormone vasopressin. They reported their results in the April edition of the journal Physiology & Behavior.

The finding translates to people because chronic social stress also affects human neuroendocrine systems, the chemical network that helps all mammals perform courtship, pair-bonding and parental behaviors.

Changes in that delicate network can lead to human disorders ranging from social phobias and depression to schizophrenia and autism. In addition, the heightened sensitivity of vasopressin receptors in humans is associated with a range of aggression, stress and anxiety disorders.

The researchers now plan to study whether the chemical effects of chronic stress endure throughout life, or if the brain can bounce back after a rest.

They will also study different treatments, including pharmacology - certain drugs can suppress the brain’s sensitivity to vasopressin - and behavior, such as social exercises that may heal the damage of bullying by building positive social relationships.