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Conradt E, Tronick E, Lester BM. Evidence for neurobehavioral risk phenotypes at birth. Pediatr Res 2024:10.1038/s41390-024-03353-7. [PMID: 38907044 DOI: 10.1038/s41390-024-03353-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024]
Abstract
Observations of newborn behavior provide clinicians and researchers with a first description of the neurobehavioral organization of the newborn that is largely independent of the postnatal environment. The Neonatal Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) was developed in 2004 to evaluate how prenatal exposure to substances such as cocaine is related to neurobehavioral outcomes. There are now 156 empirical articles published using the NNNS, which we review and summarize. Z-scores from published studies using the NNNS were compiled and aggregated supporting the replicability of three newborn neurobehavioral phenotypes: one typical and two that are predictive of later cognitive and behavioral delay; hyper- and hypo-dysregulated newborns. These phenotypes emerged from independent samples and research groups and were identified in a variety of populations, including infants with prenatal substance exposure, preterm infants, and healthy term infants. Our findings show that newborn neurobehavior can be measured in a reliable and valid manner and that certain behavioral phenotypes, identifiable at birth, can predict neurodevelopmental challenges. These findings have important clinical utility. Intervening early with infants exhibiting these risk phenotypes may prevent later neurodevelopmental delay. IMPACT: We reviewed all empirical studies published using the Neonatal Network Neurobehavioral Scale and found evidence for two replicable stress phenotypes that predict later behavioral outcomes. This study highlights the utility of the Neonatal Network Neurobehavioral Scale for early identification of newborn neurodevelopmental risk phenotypes. Early identification of neurodevelopmental risk, when neuroplasticity is high, may ultimately reduce the burden of subsequent neurobehavioral problems through early intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth Conradt
- Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Durham, NC, USA.
| | - Edward Tronick
- University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Barry M Lester
- Brown University Alpert Medical School; Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Providence, RI, USA
- Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Center for Children and Families, Department of Pediatrics, Providence, RI, USA
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Lugo-Candelas C, Talati A, Glickman C, Hernandez M, Scorza P, Monk C, Kubo A, Wei C, Sourander A, Duarte CS. Maternal Mental Health and Offspring Brain Development: An Umbrella Review of Prenatal Interventions. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 93:934-941. [PMID: 36754341 PMCID: PMC10512172 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.01.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The idea that risk for psychiatric disorders may be transmitted intergenerationally via prenatal programming places interest in the prenatal period as a critical moment during which intervention efforts may have a strong impact, yet studies testing whether prenatal interventions also protect offspring are limited. The present umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs) of randomized controlled trials aimed to synthesize the available evidence and highlight promising avenues for intervention. Overall, the literature provides mixed and limited evidence in support of prenatal interventions. Thirty SRMAs were included. Of the 23 SRMAs that reported on prenatal depression interventions, 16 found a significant effect (average standard mean difference = -0.45, SD = 0.25). Similarly, 13 of the 20 SRMAs that reported on anxiety outcomes documented significant reductions (average standard mean difference = -0.76, SD = 0.95 or -0.53/0.53 excluding one outlier). Only 4 SRMAs reported child outcomes, and only 2 (of 10) analyses showed significant effects of prenatal interventions (massage and telephone support on neonatal resuscitation [relative risk = 0.43] and neonatal intensive care unit admissions [relative risk = 0.91]). Notably missing, perhaps due to our strict inclusion criteria (inclusion of randomized controlled trials only), were interventions focusing on key facets of prenatal health (e.g., whole diet, sleep). Structural interventions (housing, access to health care, economic security) were not included, although initial success has been documented in non-SRMAs. Most notably, none of the SRMAs focused on offspring mental health or neurodevelopmental outcomes. Given the possibility that interventions deployed in this period will positively impact the next generation, randomized trials that focus on offspring outcomes are urgently needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Lugo-Candelas
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - Ardesheer Talati
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - Caila Glickman
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York
| | - Mariely Hernandez
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - Pamela Scorza
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - Catherine Monk
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - Ai Kubo
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, California
| | - Chiaying Wei
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York
| | - Andre Sourander
- Department of Child Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital, Turku University, Turku, Finland
| | - Cristiane S Duarte
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York.
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Conradt E, Camerota M, Maylott S, Lester BM. Annual Research Review: Prenatal opioid exposure - a two-generation approach to conceptualizing neurodevelopmental outcomes. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2023; 64:566-578. [PMID: 36751734 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
Opioid use during pregnancy impacts the health and well-being of two generations: the pregnant person and the child. The factors that increase risk for opioid use in the adult, as well as those that perpetuate risk for the caregiver and child, oftentimes replicate across generations and may be more likely to affect child neurodevelopment than the opioid exposure itself. In this article, we review the prenatal opioid exposure literature with the perspective that this is not a singular event but an intergenerational cascade of events. We highlight several mechanisms of transmission across generations: biological factors, including genetics and epigenetics and the gut-brain axis; parent-child mechanisms, such as prepregnancy experience of child maltreatment, quality of parenting, infant behaviors, neonatal opioid withdrawal diagnosis, and broader environmental contributors including poverty, violence exposure, stigma, and Child Protective Services involvement. We conclude by describing ways in which intergenerational transmission can be disrupted by early intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth Conradt
- Department of Psychiatry, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Marie Camerota
- Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Department of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Sarah Maylott
- Department of Psychiatry, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Barry M Lester
- Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Department of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Providence, RI, USA
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Lester BM, Davis JM. Disarray in the perinatal management of neonatal abstinence syndrome. Pediatr Res 2022; 91:727-728. [PMID: 34815528 DOI: 10.1038/s41390-021-01848-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Barry M Lester
- Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
| | - Jonathan M Davis
- Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Children's Hospital, The Tufts Clinical and Translational Research Institute, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
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