INCUBATED IN TERROR : Neurodevelopmental

"Children are not resilient, children are malleable." RESILIENT 1. Marked by the ability to recover readily, as from misfortune. 2. Capable of returning to an original shape or position, as after having been compressed. MALLEABLE 1. Capable of being shaped or formed, as by hammering or pressure: a malleable metal. 2. Easily controlled or influenced; tractable. 3. Able to adjust to changing circumstances; adaptable. 2 Approximately 250,000 years ago, a few thousand Homo sapiens (our first genetically-equivalent ancestors) migrated out of Africa, beginning the long transgenerational process of inhabiting and, ultimately, dominating of the rest of the natural world (Leakey, 1994). This fragile process was aided by a great deal of luck and the remarkable potential of the human brain to allow non-genetic, transgenerational transmission of information (sociocultural evolution). For thousands of generations, life was characterized by danger-persisting threat and pervasive intra-and interspecies violence. Humankind and our current sociocultural practices evolved in-and, therefore, reflect-a brutal, violent and unpredictable world. The evolution of complex cultures and 'civilization' has not protected millions from the brutality which characterized the 'ascent' of humankind. While 'civilization' has decreased vulnerability to non-human predators, it has done little to decrease intraspecies violence (Keegan, 1993). Indeed, modern history is characterized by much more efficient, systematic and institutionalized violence (e.g., the Inquisition, slavery, the Holocaust, the Trail of Tears). Men were, and men remain, the major predators of vulnerable humans (typically women and children). The profound impact of domestic violence, community violence, physical and sexual abuse and other forms of predatory or impulsive violence can not be overestimated. Violence impacts the victims, the witnesses-and, ultimately, us all. Understanding and modifying our violent nature will determine, in large part, the degree to which we will successfully 'adapt' to the challenges of the future-the degree to which future generations of human beings can experience humanity. In order to understand the origins and impact of interpersonal violence, it is essential to appreciate how violence alters the developing child. The child and the adult reflect the world they are raised in. And, sadly, in today's world, millions of children are raised in unpredictable and violent settings-incubated in terror. In the United States alone, at least 5 million children are either victims of or witnesses to physical abuse, domestic violence or community violence-all while they are bathed in the powerful images of television which over-represent violent acts and over-value the of power violence as …