Further support comes from studies showing an association among childhood sexual abuse, cognitive deficits, and increased behavioral disinhibition.20,35,91 In the present study, individuals exposed to early trauma also displayed higher rates of impulsivity as measured by the BIS and Zuckerman’s SSS. Interestingly, statistically significant differences in impulsivity and sensation seeking were most pronounced in those who had experienced sexual assault. When these measures of impulsivity were considered in the association of early sexual trauma and trajectories of frontal no-go theta power, effects of early sexual trauma were no longer statistically significant. There are at least 2 possible explanations for this. Impulsivity could mediate the relation of early sexual trauma and frontal no-go theta development. Alternatively, impulsivity could be a shared risk factor for early trauma exposure and atypical neurodevelopment. Thus, participants in this study who had experienced sexual assault before 10 years showed atypical trajectories of frontal no-go theta power (possibly delayed frontal cortical maturation and synaptic pruning in neural circuits involved in response inhibition) and heightened levels of impulsivity and sensation seeking (ie, behavioral disinhibition). There also is the
