How Is Exposure to War-Related Events Associated with Difficulties in Attention, Reading, and Language Processing?
Authors: Sarit Roizman, Rola Farah, Noah Wenger, Mika Shapira Rootman, Rivka Tuval-Mashiach & Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus
We all know that war affects children’s emotions and behaviour, but does exposure to war-related events also influence how the brain functions? To address this question, we compared children aged 5-13 who were assessed before the war with children who were assessed during the war. They completed tasks measuring attention, language, and reading abilities, and we asked about their experiences during the war period. Using advanced brain imaging techniques, we also examined how different regions of the brain “communicate” with one another.
We found that greater exposure to war-related experiences—such as missile alerts, disruptions to daily routines, or feelings of insecurity, was associated with poorer performance on attention, reading, and language tasks. At the same time, we observed changes in communication patterns between different brain regions. Our findings remind us that the effects of war do not end when the sirens stop. They may continue to influence children’s learning, concentration, and overall development. We hope this research will help identify children who need additional support and contribute to the development of interventions that can help them regain an optimal developmental and learning trajectory.
Link to the full article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-56279-x
Authors: Sarit Roizman, Rola Farah, Noah Wenger, Mika Shapira Rootman, Rivka Tuval-Mashiach & Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus
Research group’s website: https://neuroimaging-center.technion.ac.il/
