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When we are children, our brain learns to detect whether something or someone is safe or dangerous. This process happens automatically and is called neuroception. If the adults who care for us are reliable, attentive, and affectionate, our nervous system learns to interpret the world as a place where we can feel safe. But if we grow up in an environment with abuse, neglect, or high instability, the brain adapts by detecting danger all the time, even when it’s no longer present.
In people who have experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), this system can become hypersensitive: the body and mind remain on high alert, as if danger were constant. This is called altered neuroception, and it can make it harder to regulate emotions, concentrate, or trust others.
Brain imaging studies show that these experiences affect key regions such as:
The amygdala, which detects fear and danger, becomes overactive.
The prefrontal cortex, which helps us think clearly, make decisions, and calm our emotions, becomes less active.
The stress axis (HPA), which regulates stress hormones like cortisol, may become overactivated or damaged.
These changes not only affect how we feel or react—they can also leave physical marks on the brain, reduce the size of certain structures, and disrupt how our hormones and neurotransmitters function.
Over time, this can increase the risk of anxiety, depression, heart disease, and even difficulties in relationships.
However, the brain also has the ability to reorganize and heal when it receives the right support.
Understanding ACEs as something that affects the development of the nervous system, and not just as an emotional problema, opens the door to strategies that support healing through both the body and emotions.
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