Abstract
Previous research suggests interindividual variability in the location of the genital representation field and use-associated structural variation of genital field thickness associated with normative sexual activity in adult women. Using a sensory-tactile fMRI paradigm, we individually mapped genital fields of 128 women with and without exposure to childhood sexual abuse. We assessed whether structural variation of the individual genital field is driven by exposure to childhood sexual abuse or sexual frequency in the past year. We show that exposure to childhood sexual abuse associated with reduced thickness of individually-mapped genital cortex. Earlier abuse onset predicted greater reductions of genital field thickness. There was no effect of sexual frequency in the past year on genital field thickness. Classic neuroplasticity research indicates amplifying effects of stimulation on sensory cortex. In contrast, our results show long-lasting damaging effects of inappropriate stimulation during early development, emphasizing the need to protect children from sexual adversity.
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Data availability
The raw neuroimaging datasets and behavioral data generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to our data privacy agreement and ethical restrictions that serve the right of our participants to remain anonymous and protect them from potential identification. Source data to support the findings of this study are available as a part of OSF preregistration54.
Code availability
Custom MATLAB Code (Version R2023b, MathWorks Inc.) for SPM12 and CAT 12, as well as custom code for R Project for Statistical Computing (RStudio 2023.12.0 Build 369) is available as a part of OSF preregistration54.
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Acknowledgements
Funded by NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft EXC 2049) collaboration grant to CH and MB and the Max Planck School of Cognition grant to CH and YK. Special thanks to Prof. Patrick Haggard, Dr. Laura Kuhle, Dr. Anna Konrad, Dr. Fiona O’Donovan, and Dr. Malvika Godara.
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C.H. and M.B.r. obtained funding; C.H. and J.D.H. conceptualized research; Y.K., S.S.c., A.K., S.S.p., and C.H. and implemented and performed research; M.B.a. and A.K. contributed to data analysis; Y.K. analyzed the data; Y.K. and C.H. wrote the paper. All authors edited the paper.
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Kovalchuk, Y., Schienbein, S., Knop, A.J.J. et al. Decreased thickness of the individually-mapped genital cortex after childhood sexual abuse exposure in adult women. Commun Biol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-09627-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-09627-6
