Centre for Mental Health Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom,
Psychiatr Danub. 2021 Dec;33(Suppl 11):19-26.
That 'Childhood Adversity', which includes many traumatic events but in particular includes sexual abuse during childhood, can cause changes in the brain, such as the finding of a smaller hippocampus is well established by the observations of such persons as Thomas Frodl (2008, 2013). That traumatic events in adulthood can also cause both clinical symptoms such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, with equivalent shrinkage of the hippocampus (Smith 2005), is also well known. In this article we apply these neurological findings to the particular traumatic event of sexual abuse at any age, first to demonstrate that such abuse can indeed cause a number of mental illnesses, and hence to produce a model of how different forms of mental trauma may cause different mental illnesses. Next we describe human sexuality as a form of language, whereby feelings ranging from love to indifference to exercise of power to hatred can be expressed. We suggest that the expression of these feelings can give rise to positive feelings or to the mental illnesses we have mentioned. We emphasize how free choice is central to the 'messages' that we give to our partners through our sexuality - and therefore that we are responsible for those messages and their consequences. We point out therefore that inappropriate choices by the couple may lead to the consequent neurological changes and mental health symptoms we have mentioned. We finally analyse the act of sexual intercourse into a number of component functions (or consequences) including the Generative Function - that of producing another human person, the Choice Function - that of choosing the other person, the Language Function - that of communicating that choice to the other person and the Empowering Function- that of empowering the other person. We propose a model of human sexuality in which these four functions are linked together, so that in normal circumstances they work together in complete harmony, however, numerous circumstances of modern life can cause these four functions to operate asyncronously, thus leading to the neurological changes which we have mentioned above. These neurological changes are associated with the changes in hippocampal size which we have described above. Thus in our model, we have linked the Neurological changes of Trauma with factors relating to Choice, psychological concepts, and consequent symptomatology of illness. We do this in the context of a model of the Human Person in which mind and body are linked so that the human person can be understood as an 'Embodied Spirit', rather than the Cartesian Model. This concept goes back to the model of the Human Person of Aristotle, and was re-expressed in Medieval times by Aquinas and Augustine, and is congruent with Phenominology as expressed by Husserl and Stein. We have previously argued that such an 'Embodied Spirit' model of the Human Person is more congruent with modern neuroscience than a Cartesian Model (Agius 2017).
童年逆境，包括许多创伤性事件，但特别是包括童年时期的性虐待，会导致大脑发生变化，例如托马斯·弗罗德尔（Thomas Frodl）等人的观察发现，海马体较小。成年期的创伤性事件也会导致创伤后应激障碍等临床症状，同时海马体也会出现相应的萎缩（Smith 2005），这也是众所周知的。在本文中，我们将这些神经学发现应用于性虐待这一特殊的创伤性事件，首先证明这种虐待确实会导致多种精神疾病，从而建立一个不同形式的精神创伤如何导致不同精神疾病的模型。接下来，我们将人类性行为描述为一种语言形式，通过这种语言形式可以表达从爱到冷漠到行使权力到仇恨等各种感觉。我们认为，这些感觉的表达可能会产生积极的感觉，或者产生我们之前提到的精神疾病。我们强调自由选择是我们通过性行为向伴侣传达“信息”的核心——因此，我们对这些信息及其后果负责。因此，我们指出，夫妻双方的不当选择可能导致我们之前提到的相应的神经变化和精神健康症状。最后，我们将性行为分析为许多组成功能（或后果），包括生殖功能——产生另一个人，选择功能——选择另一个人，语言功能——将这种选择传达给另一个人，以及授权功能——授权另一个人。我们提出了一个人类性行为的模型，其中这四个功能相互关联，因此在正常情况下它们协同工作，完全和谐，然而，现代生活中的许多情况可能会导致这四个功能异步运行，从而导致我们之前提到的神经变化。这些神经变化与我们上面描述的海马体大小变化有关。因此，在我们的模型中，我们将创伤的神经变化与与选择、心理概念相关的因素以及随之而来的疾病症状联系起来。我们在人类个体的模型中做到这一点，在这个模型中，身心相连，因此可以将人类个体理解为“体现精神”，而不是笛卡尔模型。这个概念可以追溯到亚里士多德的人类个体模型，在中世纪被阿奎那和奥古斯丁重新表达，并与胡塞尔和斯坦因表达的现象学相一致。我们之前曾提出，与笛卡尔模型相比，这种“体现精神”的人类个体模型与现代神经科学更为一致（Agius 2017）。
