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Hale ME, Morrow KE, Xu J, Han ZR, Oshri A, Shaffer A, Caughy MO, Suveg C. RSA instability in mothers of preschoolers and adolescents is related to observations of supportive parenting behaviors. Dev Psychobiol 2024; 66:e22513. [PMID: 38837367 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA; a measure of respiratory modulation of vagal control of heart rate) is a dynamic process. For mothers, RSA functioning has been associated with depressive symptoms and coincides with supportive parenting. However, research has largely focused on RSA suppression (i.e., difference score from rest to stress task). The present study examined depressive symptoms and supportive parenting with RSA instability-a dynamic measure of the magnitude of RSA change across a task. In two samples of mothers (N = 210), one with preschoolers (Study 1: n = 108, Mage = 30.68 years, SD = 6.06, 47.0% Black, 43.0% White) and one with adolescents (Study 2: n = 102, Mage = 35.51, SD = 6.51, 75.2% Black), RSA instability was calculated during an interaction task. In both studies, instrumental supportive parenting behaviors were negatively related to RSA instability. Findings provide preliminary support for RSA instability as an indicator of physiological dysregulation for mothers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly E Hale
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Kayley E Morrow
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Jianjie Xu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, National Virtual Simulation Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhuo Rachel Han
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, National Virtual Simulation Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Assaf Oshri
- Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Anne Shaffer
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Margaret O Caughy
- Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Cynthia Suveg
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
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2
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D'Souza H, D'Souza D. Stop trying to carve Nature at its joints! The importance of a process-based developmental science for understanding neurodiversity. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2024; 66:233-268. [PMID: 39074923 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2024.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/31/2024]
Abstract
Nature is dynamic and interdependent. Yet we typically study and understand it as a hierarchy of independent static things (objects, factors, capacities, traits, attributes) with well-defined boundaries. Hence, since Plato, the dominant research practice has been to 'carve Nature at its joints' (Phaedrus 265e), rooted in the view that the world comes to us pre-divided - into static forms or essences - and that the goal of science is to simply discover (identify and classify) them. This things-based approach dominates developmental science, and especially the study of neurodevelopmental conditions. The goal of this paper is to amplify the marginalised process-based approach: that Nature has no joints. It is a hierarchy of interacting processes from which emerging functions (with fuzzy boundaries) softly assemble, become actively maintained, and dissipate over various timescales. We further argue (with a specific focus on children with Down syndrome) that the prevailing focus on identifying, isolating, and analysing things rather than understanding dynamic interdependent processes is obstructing progress in developmental science and particularly our understanding of neurodiversity. We explain how re-examining the very foundation of traditional Western thought is necessary to progress our research on neurodiversity, and we provide specific recommendations on how to steer developmental science towards the process-based approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hana D'Souza
- Centre for Human Developmental Science, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
| | - Dean D'Souza
- Centre for Human Developmental Science, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
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3
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daSilva EB, Wood A. How and Why People Synchronize: An Integrated Perspective. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2024:10888683241252036. [PMID: 38770754 DOI: 10.1177/10888683241252036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Academic AbstractInterpersonal synchrony, the alignment of behavior and/or physiology during interactions, is a pervasive phenomenon observed in diverse social contexts. Here we synthesize across contexts and behaviors to classify the different forms and functions of synchrony. We provide a concise framework for classifying the manifold forms of synchrony along six dimensions: periodicity, discreteness, spatial similarity, directionality, leader-follower dynamics, and observability. We also distill the various proposed functions of interpersonal synchrony into four interconnected functions: reducing complexity and improving understanding, accomplishing joint tasks, strengthening social connection, and influencing partners' behavior. These functions derive from first principles, emerge from each other, and are accomplished by some forms of synchrony more than others. Effective synchrony flexibly adapts to social goals and more synchrony is not always better. Our synthesis offers a shared framework and language for the field, allowing for better cross-context and cross-behavior comparisons, generating new hypotheses, and highlighting future research directions.
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Madden-Rusnak A, Micheletti M, Dominguez A, de Barbaro K. Spontaneous infant crying modulates vagal activity in real time. Dev Psychobiol 2023; 65:e22428. [PMID: 37860903 PMCID: PMC10754064 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Porges' polyvagal theory (1991) proposes that the activity of the vagal nerve modulates moment-by-moment changes in adaptive behavior during stress. However, most work, including research with infants, has only examined vagal changes at low temporal resolutions, averaging 30+ s across phases of structured stressor paradigms. Thus, the true timescale of vagal regulation-and the extent to which it can be observed during unprompted crying-is unknown. The current study utilized a recently validated method to calculate respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) dynamically at a high resolution of 5 Hz (updated every 200 ms) in a home-based infant study. Using an event-related analysis, we calculated the relative change in RSA around the onset of naturally occurring unprompted instances of n = 41 infants' 180 crying events. As predicted, RSA significantly decreased after the onset of crying compared to non-crying chance changes in RSA. Decreasing trends in RSA were driven by infants with higher pre-cry RSA values, infants rated lower in Negative Affectivity, and those rated both high and low in Orienting by their mothers. Our results display the timescale of RSA in spontaneous and naturalistic episodes of infant crying and that these dynamic RSA patterns are aligned with real-time levels of RSA and also caregiver-reported temperament.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Madden-Rusnak
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Megan Micheletti
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Alexis Dominguez
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Kaya de Barbaro
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
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Gao MM, Vlisides-Henry RD, Kaliush PR, Thomas L, Butner J, Raby KL, Conradt E, Crowell SE. Dynamics of mother-infant parasympathetic regulation during face-to-face interaction: The role of maternal emotion dysregulation. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14248. [PMID: 36637055 PMCID: PMC10175143 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The dynamics of parent-infant physiology are essential for understanding how biological substrates of emotion regulation are organized during infancy. Although parent-infant physiological processes are dyadic in nature, research is limited in understanding how one person's physiological responses predict one's own and as well as the other person's responses in the subsequent moment. In this study, we examined mother-infant respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) dynamics during the Still-Face Paradigm (SFP) among 106 mothers (Mage = 29.54) and their 7-month-old infants (55 males). Given mothers' role in shaping dyadic interactions with their infant, we also tested how mothers' self-reported emotion dysregulation (measured via the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale) associated with these dynamics. Results showed that both mothers' and infants' RSA tended to return to their respective homeostatic points (i.e., exhibited return strength) during each SFP episode, indicating stability in RSA for mother-infant dyads. Significant shifts in mother and infant RSA return strength were observed across SFP episodes, highlighting the role of contextual demands on each individual's physiological dynamics. Mother-infant RSA dynamics varied as a function of maternal self-reported emotion dysregulation. Specifically, RSA levels of infants with more dysregulated mothers had a weaker tendency to return to homeostasis during the Reunion episode and were less affected by their mothers' RSA during the Still-Face and Reunion episodes of the SFP, suggesting a less effective coregulatory influence. Our findings have implications for the intergenerational transmission of emotion dysregulation via mother-infant physiological dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengyu Miranda Gao
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | | | - Parisa R Kaliush
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Leah Thomas
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Jonathan Butner
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - K Lee Raby
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Elisabeth Conradt
- Department of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Sheila E Crowell
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,Department of OB/GYN, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
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Coupling between prefrontal brain activity and respiratory sinus arrhythmia in infants and adults. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 58:101184. [PMID: 36495790 PMCID: PMC9730144 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-regulation is an essential aspect of healthy child development. Even though infants depend on their caregivers for co-regulation during the first years, they begin to gain regulatory abilities through social interactions as well as their own developing agency and inhibitory control. These early regulatory abilities continue to increase with the development of both the prefrontal cortex and the vagal system. Importantly, theoretical accounts have suggested that the prefrontal cortex and the vagal system are linked through forward and backward feedback loops via the limbic system. Decreased coupling within this link is suggested to be associated with psychopathology. The primary goal of this study was to examine whether intrapersonal coupling of prefrontal brain activity and respiratory sinus arrhythmia is evident in infancy. Using the simultaneous assessment of functional near-infrared spectroscopy and electrocardiography, we used Cross-Recurrence Quantification Analysis to assess the coupling of prefrontal brain activity and respiratory sinus arrhythmia in 69 4- to 6-month-old infants and their mothers during a passive viewing condition. However, we did not find significant coupling between the PFC and RSA in infants and adult caregivers. Future studies could examine social contexts associated with greater emotional reactivity to deepen our understanding of the pathways involved in self-regulation.
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Gao MM, Speck B, Ostlund B, Neff D, Shakiba N, Vlisides-Henry RD, Kaliush PR, Molina NC, Thomas L, Raby KL, Crowell SE, Conradt E. Developmental foundations of physiological dynamics among mother-infant dyads: The role of newborn neurobehavior. Child Dev 2022; 93:1090-1105. [PMID: 35404480 PMCID: PMC10069953 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
This study tested whether newborn attention and arousal provide a foundation for the dynamics of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in mother-infant dyads. Participants were 106 mothers (Mage = 29.54) and their 7-month-old infants (55 males and 58 White and non-Hispanic). Newborn attention and arousal were measured shortly after birth using the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale. Higher newborn arousal predicted a slower return of infant RSA to baseline. Additionally, greater newborn attention predicted mothers' slower return to baseline RSA following the still-face paradigm, and this effect only held for mothers whose infants had lower newborn arousal. These findings suggest that newborn neurobehavior, measured within days of birth, may contribute to later mother-infant physiological processes while recovering from stress.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bailey Speck
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Brendan Ostlund
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Dylan Neff
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Nila Shakiba
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Parisa R Kaliush
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | | | - Leah Thomas
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - K Lee Raby
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Sheila E Crowell
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,Department of OB/GYN, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Elisabeth Conradt
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,Department of OB/GYN, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
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Nguyen T, Abney DH, Salamander D, Bertenthal BI, Hoehl S. Proximity and touch are associated with neural but not physiological synchrony in naturalistic mother-infant interactions. Neuroimage 2021; 244:118599. [PMID: 34547452 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Caregiver touch plays a vital role in infants' growth and development, but its role as a communicative signal in human parent-infant interactions is surprisingly poorly understood. Here, we assessed whether touch and proximity in caregiver-infant dyads are related to neural and physiological synchrony. We simultaneously measured brain activity and respiratory sinus arrhythmia of 4-6-month-old infants and their mothers (N=69 dyads) in distal and proximal joint watching conditions as well as in an interactive face-to-face condition. Neural synchrony was higher during the proximal than during the distal joint watching conditions, and even higher during the face-to-face interaction. Physiological synchrony was highest during the face-to-face interaction and lower in both joint watching conditions, irrespective of proximity. Maternal affectionate touch during the face-to-face interaction was positively related to neural but not physiological synchrony. This is the first evidence that touch mediates mutual attunement of brain activities, but not cardio-respiratory rhythms in caregiver-infant dyads during naturalistic interactions. Our results also suggest that neural synchrony serves as a biological pathway of how social touch plays into infant development and how this pathway could be utilized to support infant learning and social bonding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trinh Nguyen
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, Vienna 1010, Austria.
| | - Drew H Abney
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 125 Baldwin St., Athens, GA 30602, United States.
| | - Dina Salamander
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, Vienna 1010, Austria.
| | - Bennett I Bertenthal
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, 1101 E. 10th St., Bloomington, IN 47405, United States.
| | - Stefanie Hoehl
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, Vienna 1010, Austria.
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Reeb-Sutherland B, Williams LR, Gartstein MA, Fox NA. Methodological advances in the characterization and understanding of caregiver-infant interactions. Infant Behav Dev 2021; 66:101668. [PMID: 34814006 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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10
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Hu Y, McElwain NL, Berry D. Mother-child mutually responsive orientation and real-time physiological coordination. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:e22200. [PMID: 34674236 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
From a biobehavioral framework, mother-child physiological and behavioral coordination are interdependent processes that contribute to children's socioemotional development. Little is known, however, about the temporal pattern of real-time physiological coordination or its associations with global levels of mother-child behavioral coordination. We addressed these gaps using data from 110 mothers and their preschool-aged children (56 girls, Mage = 53.63 months, SD = 7.74) across two play tasks (i.e., puzzle, pretend play). Using indices of maternal and child parasympathetic response (i.e., changes in respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) across 15-s epochs, we tested the extent to which within-dyad physiological coordination was contingent on mutually responsive orientation (MRO; a global composite of behavioral coordination and shared positive affect assessed via observer ratings across each play task). Results from a series of two-level coupled autoregressive models indicated that MRO moderated mother-lead RSA coordination, and this pattern emerged across both play tasks. Controlling for stability of within-person RSA changes, increases in maternal RSA at time t - 1 predicted increases in children's RSA at time t, but only for dyads averaging higher MRO during play. No interactions of MRO emerged for child-lead RSA coordination. Findings highlight the importance of dyadic behavioral processes for mother-child physiological coordination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yannan Hu
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Nancy L McElwain
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA.,The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Daniel Berry
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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Abney DH, daSilva EB, Bertenthal BI. Associations between infant-mother physiological synchrony and 4- and 6-month-old infants' emotion regulation. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:e22161. [PMID: 34292581 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Revised: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
In this study we assessed whether physiological synchrony between infants and mothers contributes to infants' emotion regulation following a mild social stressor. Infants between 4 and 6 months of age and their mothers were tested in the face-to-face-still-face paradigm and were assessed for behavioral and physiological self-regulation during and following the stressor. Physiological synchrony was calculated from a continuous measure of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) enabling us to cross-correlate the infants' and mothers' RSA responses. Without considering physiological synchrony, the evidence suggested that infants' distress followed the prototypical pattern of increasing during the Still Face episode and then decreasing during the reunion episode. Once physiological synchrony was added to the model, we observed that infants' emotion regulation improved if mother-infant synchrony was positive, but not if it was negative. This result was qualified further by whether or not infants suppressed their RSA response during the Still Face episode. In sum, these findings highlight how individual differences in infants' physiological responses contribute significantly to their self-regulation abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Drew H Abney
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Elizabeth B daSilva
- Division of Science, Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus, Columbus, Indiana, USA
| | - Bennett I Bertenthal
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
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