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This study focuses on hippocampal and amygdala volume, seed-based connectivity, and psychological traits of Holocaust survivors who experienced stress during prenatal and early postnatal development. We investigated people who lived in Central Europe during the Holocaust and who, as Jews, were in imminent danger. The group who experienced stress during their prenatal development and early postnatal (PreP) period (n = 11) were compared with a group who experienced Holocaust-related stress later in their lives: in late childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood (ChA) (n = 21). The results of volumetry analysis showed significantly lower volumes of both hippocampi and the right amygdala in the PreP group. Seed-based connectivity analysis revealed increased connectivity from the seed in the right amygdala to the middle and posterior cingulate cortex, caudate, and inferior left frontal operculum in the PreP group. Psychological testing found higher levels of traumatic stress symptoms (TCS-40) and lower levels of well-being (SOS-10) in the PreP group than in the ChA group. The results of our study demonstrate that extreme stress experienced during prenatal and early postnatal life has a profound lifelong impact on the hippocampus and amygdala and on several psychological characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the European multi-centre study BeSeCu (Behaviour, Security, Culture), interviews were conducted in seven countries to explore survivors' emotional, behavioural, and cognitive responses during disasters. Interviews, either in groups or one-to-one, were convened according to type of event: collapse of a building; earthquake; fire; flood; and terror attack. The content analysis of interviews resulted in a theoretical framework, describing the course of the events, behavioural responses, and the emotional and cognitive processing of survivors. While the environmental cues and the ability to recognise what was happening varied in different disasters, survivors' responses tended to be more universal across events, and most often were adaptive and non-selfish. Several peri-traumatic factors related to current levels of post-traumatic stress were identified, while memory quantity did not differ as a function of event type or post-traumatic stress. Time since the event had a minor effect on recall. Based on the findings, several suggestions for emergency training are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]