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Endevelt-Shapira Y, Bosseler AN, Mizrahi JC, Meltzoff AN, Kuhl PK. Mother-infant social and language interactions at 3 months are associated with infants' productive language development in the third year of life. Infant Behav Dev 2024; 75:101929. [PMID: 38581728 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2024.101929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Revised: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
Previous studies underscore the importance of social interactions for child language development-particularly interactions characterized by maternal sensitivity, infant-directed speech (IDS), and conversational turn-taking (CT) in one-on-one contexts. Although infants engage in such interactions from the third month after birth, the prospective link between speech input and maternal sensitivity in the first half year of life and later language development has been understudied. We hypothesized that social interactions embodying maternal sensitivity, IDS and CTs in the first 3 months of life, are significantly associated with later language development and tested this using a longitudinal design. Using a sample of 40 3-month-old infants, we assessed maternal sensitivity during a structured mother-infant one-on-one (1:1) interaction based on a well-validated scoring system (the Coding Interactive Behavior system). Language input (IDS, CT) was assessed during naturally occurring interactions at home using the Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) system. Language outcome measures were obtained from 18 to 30 months of age using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory. Three novel findings emerged. First, maternal sensitivity at 3 months was significantly associated with infants' productive language scores at 18, 21, 24, 27, and 30 months of age. Second, LENA-recorded IDS during mother-infant 1:1 interaction in the home environment at 3 months of age was positively correlated with productive language scores at 24, 27, and 30 months of age. Third, mother-infant CTs during 1:1 interaction was significantly associated with infants' productive language scores at 27 and 30 months of age. We propose that infants' social attention to speech during this early period-enhanced by sensitive maternal one-on-one interactions and IDS-are potent factors in advancing language development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexis N Bosseler
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, USA
| | - Julia C Mizrahi
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, USA
| | - Andrew N Meltzoff
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Patricia K Kuhl
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, University of Washington, USA; Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, USA
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Konrad K, Gerloff C, Kohl SH, Mehler DMA, Mehlem L, Volbert EL, Komorek M, Henn AT, Boecker M, Weiss E, Reindl V. Interpersonal neural synchrony and mental disorders: unlocking potential pathways for clinical interventions. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1286130. [PMID: 38529267 PMCID: PMC10962391 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1286130] [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: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Interpersonal synchronization involves the alignment of behavioral, affective, physiological, and brain states during social interactions. It facilitates empathy, emotion regulation, and prosocial commitment. Mental disorders characterized by social interaction dysfunction, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), and Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), often exhibit atypical synchronization with others across multiple levels. With the introduction of the "second-person" neuroscience perspective, our understanding of interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) has improved, however, so far, it has hardly impacted the development of novel therapeutic interventions. Methods To evaluate the potential of INS-based treatments for mental disorders, we performed two systematic literature searches identifying studies that directly target INS through neurofeedback (12 publications; 9 independent studies) or brain stimulation techniques (7 studies), following PRISMA guidelines. In addition, we narratively review indirect INS manipulations through behavioral, biofeedback, or hormonal interventions. We discuss the potential of such treatments for ASD, RAD, and SAD and using a systematic database search assess the acceptability of neurofeedback (4 studies) and neurostimulation (4 studies) in patients with social dysfunction. Results Although behavioral approaches, such as engaging in eye contact or cooperative actions, have been shown to be associated with increased INS, little is known about potential long-term consequences of such interventions. Few proof-of-concept studies have utilized brain stimulation techniques, like transcranial direct current stimulation or INS-based neurofeedback, showing feasibility and preliminary evidence that such interventions can boost behavioral synchrony and social connectedness. Yet, optimal brain stimulation protocols and neurofeedback parameters are still undefined. For ASD, RAD, or SAD, so far no randomized controlled trial has proven the efficacy of direct INS-based intervention techniques, although in general brain stimulation and neurofeedback methods seem to be well accepted in these patient groups. Discussion Significant work remains to translate INS-based manipulations into effective treatments for social interaction disorders. Future research should focus on mechanistic insights into INS, technological advancements, and rigorous design standards. Furthermore, it will be key to compare interventions directly targeting INS to those targeting other modalities of synchrony as well as to define optimal target dyads and target synchrony states in clinical interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Konrad
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
- JARA Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
| | - Christian Gerloff
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
- JARA Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Cambridge Centre for Data-Driven Discovery, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Simon H. Kohl
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
- JARA Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
| | - David M. A. Mehler
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Institute for Translational Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Center (CUBRIC), Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Lena Mehlem
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Emily L. Volbert
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Maike Komorek
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Alina T. Henn
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Maren Boecker
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Eileen Weiss
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Vanessa Reindl
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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Njoroge WFM, Tieu T, Eckardt D, Himes M, Alexandre C, Hall W, Wisniewski K, Popoola A, Holloway K, Rodriguez Y, Kornfield S, Momplaisir F, Wang X, Gur R, Waller R. The impact of the pandemic on mothers and children, with a focus on syndemic effects on black families: the "Prenatal to Preschool" study protocol. Front Psychiatry 2024; 14:1281666. [PMID: 38260788 PMCID: PMC10801187 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1281666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Racism, a known social determinant of health, affects the mental health and well-being of pregnant and postpartum women and their children. Convincing evidence highlights the urgent need to better identify the mechanisms and the ways in which young children's development and mental health are adversely impacted by their mothers' experiences of racism. With the additional stressor of the COVID-19 pandemic, the criticality of improving knowledge of these domains has never been starker. The proposed project will address these questions and move the field forward to create targeted, culturally informed preventative interventions, thus achieving mental health equity for all children and families. Methods This prospective research is a cohort study that will longitudinally observe the outcomes of a cohort of mothers and their children recruited during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data will be parent/caregiver questionnaires assessing mental health, racism, support, and resilience at multiple time points with the first beginning at 24 months, clinical interviews with mothers, electronic medical records of mothers, and videotaped dyadic interactions at child age 24 and 48 months. A subset of Black participants will be asked to participate in qualitative interviews at child age 36 months. Results Analyze will be performed within and across Black and Non-Latino/a/e/x white (NLW) groups, and comparing mothers and fathers/secondary caregivers. Descriptive and multivariate analyzes will be run to better characterize how young children's development and mental health may be adversely impacted by their caregiver's experiences of racism. Discussion This prospective longitudinal mixed-methods study evaluates the simultaneous effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and racism on mothers and their developing children to characterize cross-racial differences, providing insight into risk and resilience factors in early development and the peripartum period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanjikũ F. M. Njoroge
- Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- PolicyLab, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Lifespan Brain Institute (LiBI), Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Tiffany Tieu
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- PolicyLab, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Devlin Eckardt
- Clinical Research Support Office, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Megan Himes
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Lifespan Brain Institute (LiBI), Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Christina Alexandre
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- PolicyLab, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Waynitra Hall
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- PolicyLab, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Kate Wisniewski
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- PolicyLab, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Ayomide Popoola
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- PolicyLab, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Kayla Holloway
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- PolicyLab, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Yuheiry Rodriguez
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Sara Kornfield
- Lifespan Brain Institute (LiBI), Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Penn Center for Women’s Behavioral Wellness, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Florence Momplaisir
- Perelman School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Xi Wang
- PolicyLab, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Raquel Gur
- Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Lifespan Brain Institute (LiBI), Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Rebecca Waller
- Lifespan Brain Institute (LiBI), Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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Abstract
Fathers have been an important source of child endurance and prosperity since the dawn of civilization, promoting adaptation to social rules, defining cultural meaning systems, teaching daily living skills, and providing the material background against which children developed; still, the recent reformulation in the role of the father requires theory-building. Paternal caregiving is rare in mammals, occurring in 3-5% of species, expresses in multiple formats, and involves flexible neurobiological accommodations to ecological conditions and active caregiving. Here, we discuss father contribution to resilience across development. Our model proposes three tenets of resilience - plasticity, sociality, and meaning - and discussion focuses on father-specific contributions to each tenet at different developmental stages; newborn, infant, preschooler, child, and adolescent. Father's style of high arousal, energetic physicality, guided participation in daily skills, joint adventure, and conflict resolution promotes children's flexible approach and social competence within intimate bonds and social groups. By expanding children's interests, sharpening cognitions, tuning affect regulation, encouraging exploration, and accompanying the search for identity, fathers support the sense of meaning, enhancing the human-specific dimension of resilience. We end by highlighting pitfalls to paternal contribution, including absence, abuse, rigidity, expectations, and gender typing, and the need to formulate novel theories to accommodate the "involved dad."
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Feldman
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University,Israel
- Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, USA
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5
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Barr GA, Opendak M, Perry RE, Sarro E, Sullivan RM. Infant pain vs. pain with parental suppression: Immediate and enduring impact on brain, pain and affect. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0290871. [PMID: 37972112 PMCID: PMC10653509 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the short term, parental presence while a human infant is in pain buffers the immediate pain responses, although emerging evidence suggests repeated social buffering of pain may have untoward long-term effects. METHODS/FINDING To explore the short- and long-term impacts of social buffering of pain, we first measured the infant rat pup's [postnatal day (PN) 8, or 12] response to mild tail shock with the mother present compared to shock alone or no shock. Shock with the mother reduced pain-related behavioral activation and USVs of pups at both ages and reduced Fos expression in the periaqueductal gray, hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, and the amygdala at PN12 only. At PN12, shock with the mother compared to shock alone differentially regulated expression of several hundred genes related to G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and neural development, whereas PN8 pups showed a less robust and less coherent expression pattern. In a second set of experiments, pups were exposed to daily repeated Shock-mother pairings (or controls) at PN5-9 or PN10-14 (during and after pain sensitive period, respectively) and long-term outcome assessed in adults. Shock+mother pairing at PN5-9 reduced adult carrageenan-induced thermal hyperalgesia and reduced Fos expression, but PN10-14 pairings had minimal impact. The effect of infant treatment on adult affective behavior showed a complex treatment by age dependent effect. Adult social behavior was decreased following Shock+mother pairings at both PN5-9 and PN10-14, whereas shock alone had no effect. Adult fear responses to a predator odor were decreased only by PN10-14 treatment and the infant Shock alone and Shock+mother did not differ. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Overall, integrating these results into our understanding of long-term programming by repeated infant pain experiences, the data suggest that pain experienced within a social context impacts infant neurobehavioral responses and initiates an altered developmental trajectory of pain and affect processing that diverges from experiencing pain alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gordon A. Barr
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Maya Opendak
- Child Study Center, Center for Early Childhood Health & Development, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, United States of America
| | - Rosemarie E. Perry
- Child Study Center, Center for Early Childhood Health & Development, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, United States of America
| | - Emma Sarro
- Child Study Center, Center for Early Childhood Health & Development, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, United States of America
| | - Regina M. Sullivan
- Child Study Center, Center for Early Childhood Health & Development, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, United States of America
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6
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Hale ME, Morrow KE, George AM, Gayer A, Caughy MO, Suveg C. Maternal negative affect moderates behavioral and physiological synchrony in Latinx and Black mother-child dyads. Dev Psychobiol 2023; 65:e22394. [PMID: 37338257 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023]
Abstract
Positive behavioral synchrony (PBS) between mothers and children involves the bidirectional exchange of verbal and nonverbal communication. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) synchrony reflects the concordance between mother-child physiological states. Both PBS and RSA synchrony can be undermined by psychopathology symptoms. Latinx and Black families may experience contextual stressors that contribute to heightened symptoms of psychopathology, yet minimal research has examined relations between psychopathology symptoms with PBS and RSA synchrony in these families. The present study assessed associations between maternal depressive and child internalizing symptoms, mother and child negative affect (NA), and PBS and RSA synchrony in a sample of 100 Latina and Black mothers (Mage = 34.48 years, SD = 6.39 years) and their children (Mage = 6.83 years, SD = 1.50 years). Dyads engaged in a video-recorded stress task where RSA was collected continuously. Videos were later coded for PBS and mother and child NA. Mothers reported on their depressive and child's internalizing symptoms. Maternal NA was associated with weak PBS and negative RSA synchrony. Neither depressive and internalizing symptoms nor child NA were associated with PBS or RSA synchrony. Results highlight the potency of maternal NA on behavioral and physiological synchrony in Latinx and Black families.
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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
| | - Andrea M George
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
| | - Amy Gayer
- 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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7
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Li X, Chen H, Hu Y, Larsen RJ, Sutton BP, McElwain NL, Gao W. Functional neural network connectivity at 3 months predicts infant-mother dyadic flexibility during play at 6 months. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:8321-8332. [PMID: 37020357 PMCID: PMC10321085 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad117] [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: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Early functioning of neural networks likely underlies the flexible switching between internal and external orientation and may be key to the infant's ability to effectively engage in social interactions. To test this hypothesis, we examined the association between infants' neural networks at 3 months and infant-mother dyadic flexibility (denoting the structural variability of their interaction dynamics) at 3, 6, and 9 months. Participants included thirty-five infants (37% girls) and their mothers (87% White). At 3 months, infants participated in a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging session, and functional connectivity (FC) within the default mode (DMN) and salience (SN) networks, as well as DMN-SN internetwork FC, were derived using a seed-based approach. When infants were 3, 6, and 9 months, infant-mother dyads completed the Still-Face Paradigm where their individual engagement behaviors were observed and used to quantify dyadic flexibility using state space analysis. Results revealed that greater within-DMN FC, within-SN FC, and DMN-SN anticorrelation at 3 months predicted greater dyadic flexibility at 6 months, but not at 3 and 9 months. Findings suggest that early synchronization and interaction between neural networks underlying introspection and salience detection may support infants' flexible social interactions as they become increasingly active and engaged social partners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaomei Li
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 905 S. Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Haitao Chen
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Imaging, Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, 116 N. Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048, CA, United States
- David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Geffen Hall, 885 Tiverton Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
| | - Yannan Hu
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 905 S. Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Ryan J Larsen
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 N. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Bradley P Sutton
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 N. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1406 W. Green St, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Nancy L McElwain
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 905 S. Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 N. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Wei Gao
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Imaging, Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, 116 N. Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048, CA, United States
- David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Geffen Hall, 885 Tiverton Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
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8
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Ferrara NC, Opendak M. Amygdala circuit transitions supporting developmentally-appropriate social behavior. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2023; 201:107762. [PMID: 37116857 PMCID: PMC10204580 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107762] [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: 01/26/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023]
Abstract
Social behaviors dynamically change throughout the lifespan alongside the maturation of neural circuits. The basolateral region of the amygdala (BLA), in particular, undergoes substantial maturational changes from birth throughout adolescence that are characterized by changes in excitation, inhibition, and dopaminergic modulation. In this review, we detail the trajectory through which BLA circuits mature and are influenced by dopaminergic systems to guide transitions in social behavior in infancy and adolescence using data from rodents. In early life, social behavior is oriented towards approaching the attachment figure, with minimal BLA involvement. Around weaning age, dopaminergic innervation of the BLA introduces avoidance of novel peers into rat pups' behavioral repertoire. In adolescence, social behavior transitions towards peer-peer interactions with a high incidence of social play-related behaviors. This transition coincides with an increasing role of the BLA in the regulation of social behavior. Adolescent BLA maturation can be characterized by an increasing integration and function of local inhibitory GABAergic circuits and their engagement by the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Manipulation of these transitions using viral circuit dissection techniques and early adversity paradigms reveals the sensitivity of this system and its role in producing age-appropriate social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole C Ferrara
- Discipline of Physiology and Biophysics, Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA; Center for Neurobiology of Stress Resilience and Psychiatric Disorders, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Maya Opendak
- Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA; Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Johns Hopkins Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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9
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Abargil M, Irani M, Klein Selle N, Atzil S. Breastfeeding at Any Cost? Adverse Effects of Breastfeeding Pain on Mother-Infant Behavior. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12050636. [PMID: 37237450 DOI: 10.3390/biology12050636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Breast milk is considered the ideal infant nutrition, and medical organizations encourage breastfeeding worldwide. Moreover, breastfeeding is often perceived as a natural and spontaneous socio-biological process and one of the fundamental roles of new mothers. While breastfeeding is beneficial, little scientific consideration has been given to its potential psychological challenges. Here, we investigate the phenomenon of breastfeeding pain in mothers and its association with maternal and infant behavioral regulation. During the postpartum weeks, the mother-infant dyad can be considered one allostatic unit directed at infant regulation and development. We hypothesize that pain comprises an allostatic challenge for mothers and will thus impair the capacity for dyadic regulation. To test this, we recruited 71 mothers with varying levels of breastfeeding pain and videotaped them with their infants (2-35 weeks old) during spontaneous face-to-face interactions. We quantified the individual differences in dyadic regulation by behaviorally coding the second-by-second affective expressions for each mother and infant throughout their interactions. We tested the extent to which breastfeeding pain alters affect regulation during mother-infant interactions. We discovered that mothers with severe breastfeeding pain express less affective expressions and less infant-directed gaze during interactive moments of engagement and play than mothers with no or moderate pain. Moreover, infants of mothers experiencing pain during breastfeeding express less affective expressions and more mother-directed gaze while interacting with their mothers than infants of mothers who are not in pain. This demonstrates that the allostatic challenge of maternal pain interferes with the behavioral regulation of both mothers and infants. Since the mother-infant dyad is a codependent allostatic unit, the allostatic challenges of one partner can impact the dyad and thus potentially impact child development, bonding, and mother and infant well-being. The challenges of breastfeeding should be considered in addition to the nutritional advances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maayan Abargil
- The Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
| | - Merav Irani
- The Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
| | | | - Shir Atzil
- The Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
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10
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Burkhouse KL, Kujawa A. Annual Research Review: Emotion processing in offspring of mothers with depression diagnoses - a systematic review of neural and physiological research. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2023; 64:583-607. [PMID: 36511171 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Theories of the intergenerational transmission of depression emphasize alterations in emotion processing among offspring of depressed mothers as a key risk mechanism, raising questions about biological processes contributing to these alterations. The objective of this systematic annual research review was to examine and integrate studies of the associations between maternal depression diagnoses and offspring's emotion processing from birth through adolescence across biological measures including autonomic psychophysiology, electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), event-related potentials (ERP), and structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 standards. A systematic search was conducted in PsycInfo and PubMed in 2022 for studies that included, 1) mothers with and without DSM-defined depressive disorders assessed via a clinical or diagnostic interview, and 2) measures of offspring emotion processing assessed at the psychophysiological or neural level between birth and 18 years of age. RESULTS Findings from 64 studies indicated that young offspring of mothers with depression histories exhibit heightened corticolimbic activation to negative emotional stimuli, reduced left frontal brain activation, and reduced ERP and mesocorticolimbic responses to reward cues compared to offspring of never-depressed mothers. Further, activation of resting-state networks involved in affective processing differentiate offspring of depressed relative to nondepressed mothers. Some of these alterations were only apparent among youth of depressed mothers exposed to negative environmental contexts or exhibiting current emotional problems. Further, some of these patterns were observable in infancy, reflecting very early emerging vulnerabilities. CONCLUSIONS This systematic review provides evidence that maternal depression is associated with alterations in emotion processing across several biological units of analysis in offspring. We present a preliminary conceptual model of the role of deficient emotion processing in pathways from maternal depression to offspring psychopathology and discuss future research avenues addressing limitations of the existing research and clinical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie L Burkhouse
- The Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Autumn Kujawa
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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11
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Williamson AA, Johnson TJ, Tapia IE. Health disparities in pediatric sleep-disordered breathing. Paediatr Respir Rev 2023; 45:2-7. [PMID: 35277358 PMCID: PMC9329494 DOI: 10.1016/j.prrv.2022.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Sleep-disordered breathing reflects a continuum of overnight breathing difficulties, ranging from mild snoring to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Sleep-disordered breathing in childhood is associated with significant adverse outcomes in multiple domains of functioning. This review summarizes the evidence of well-described ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic disparities in pediatric sleep-disordered breathing, from its prevalence to its treatment-related outcomes. Research on potential socio-ecological contributors to these disparities is also reviewed. Critical future research directions include the development of interventions that address the modifiable social and environmental determinants of these health disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariel A Williamson
- Sleep Center, Division of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Tiffani J Johnson
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Ignacio E Tapia
- Sleep Center, Division of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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12
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De Felice S, Hamilton AFDC, Ponari M, Vigliocco G. Learning from others is good, with others is better: the role of social interaction in human acquisition of new knowledge. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210357. [PMID: 36571126 PMCID: PMC9791495 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning in humans is highly embedded in social interaction: since the very early stages of our lives, we form memories and acquire knowledge about the world from and with others. Yet, within cognitive science and neuroscience, human learning is mainly studied in isolation. The focus of past research in learning has been either exclusively on the learner or (less often) on the teacher, with the primary aim of determining developmental trajectories and/or effective teaching techniques. In fact, social interaction has rarely been explicitly taken as a variable of interest, despite being the medium through which learning occurs, especially in development, but also in adulthood. Here, we review behavioural and neuroimaging research on social human learning, specifically focusing on cognitive models of how we acquire semantic knowledge from and with others, and include both developmental as well as adult work. We then identify potential cognitive mechanisms that support social learning, and their neural correlates. The aim is to outline key new directions for experiments investigating how knowledge is acquired in its ecological niche, i.e. socially, within the framework of the two-person neuroscience approach. This article is part of the theme issue 'Concepts in interaction: social engagement and inner experiences'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara De Felice
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London (UCL), 17–19 Alexandra House Queen Square, London WC1N 3AZ, UK
| | - Antonia F. de C. Hamilton
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London (UCL), 17–19 Alexandra House Queen Square, London WC1N 3AZ, UK
| | - Marta Ponari
- School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NP, UK
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13
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Endevelt-Shapira Y, Feldman R. Mother-Infant Brain-to-Brain Synchrony Patterns Reflect Caregiving Profiles. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12020284. [PMID: 36829560 PMCID: PMC9953313 DOI: 10.3390/biology12020284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 02/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
Biobehavioral synchrony, the coordination of physiological and behavioral signals between mother and infant during social contact, tunes the child's brain to the social world. Probing this mechanism from a two-brain perspective, we examine the associations between patterns of mother-infant inter-brain synchrony and the two well-studied maternal behavioral orientations-sensitivity and intrusiveness-which have repeatedly been shown to predict positive and negative socio-emotional outcomes, respectively. Using dual-electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, we measure inter-brain connectivity between 60 mothers and their 5- to 12-month-old infants during face-to-face interaction. Thirty inter-brain connections show significantly higher correlations during the real mother-infant face-to-face interaction compared to surrogate data. Brain-behavior correlations indicate that higher maternal sensitivity linked with greater mother-infant neural synchrony, whereas higher maternal intrusiveness is associated with lower inter-brain coordination. Post hoc analysis reveals that the mother-right-frontal-infant-left-temporal connection is particularly sensitive to the mother's sensitive style, while the mother-left-frontal-infant-right-temporal connection indexes the intrusive style. Our results support the perspective that inter-brain synchrony is a mechanism by which mature brains externally regulate immature brains to social living and suggest that one pathway by which sensitivity and intrusiveness exert their long-term effect may relate to the provision of coordinated inputs to the social brain during its sensitive period of maturation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaara Endevelt-Shapira
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya 4610101, Israel
- Correspondence: (Y.E.-S.); (R.F.)
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya 4610101, Israel
- Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Correspondence: (Y.E.-S.); (R.F.)
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14
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Packard K, Opendak M. Rodent models of early adversity: Impacts on developing social behavior circuitry and clinical implications. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:918862. [PMID: 35990728 PMCID: PMC9385963 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.918862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Flexible and context-appropriate social functioning is key for survival across species. This flexibility also renders social behavior highly plastic, particularly during early development when attachment to caregiver can provide a template for future social processing. As a result, early caregiving adversity can have unique and lasting impacts on social behavior and even confer vulnerability to psychiatric disorders. However, the neural circuit mechanisms translating experience to outcome remain poorly understood. Here, we consider social behavior scaffolding through the lens of reward and threat processing. We begin by surveying several complementary rodent models of early adversity, which together have highlighted impacts on neural circuits processing social cues. We next explore these circuits underlying perturbed social functioning with focus on dopamine (DA) and its role in regions implicated in social and threat processing such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC), basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the lateral habenula (LHb). Finally, we turn to human populations once more to examine how altered DA signaling and LHb dysfunction may play a role in social anhedonia, a common feature in diagnoses such as schizophrenia and major depressive disorder (MDD). We argue that this translational focus is critical for identifying specific features of adversity that confer heightened vulnerability for clinical outcomes involving social cue processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Packard
- Department of Neuroscience, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Maya Opendak
- Department of Neuroscience, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- *Correspondence: Maya Opendak
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15
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Cognitive processing of emotional information during menstrual phases in women with and without postpartum depression: differential sensitivity to changes in gonadal steroids. Arch Womens Ment Health 2022; 25:753-762. [PMID: 35532792 DOI: 10.1007/s00737-022-01235-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Gonadal steroids (GSs) have been repeatedly shown to play a central role in the onset of postpartum depression (PPD). The underlying mechanisms, however, are only partially understood. We investigated the relationship between cognitive processing of emotional information and naturally occurring hormonal fluctuations in women with and without previous PPD. Euthymic, parous women, with a history (hPPD, n=32) and without a history (nhPPD, n=43) of PPD, were assessed during late-follicular and late-luteal phases. Participants were administered cognitive tasks assessing attention (dot-probe; emotional Stroop), evaluation (self-referential encoding) and incidental recall, and self-report measures. Menstrual-phase-specific differences were found between late-follicular vs. late-luteal phases among hPPD only, with depression-associated patterns observed in the late-luteal phase on the self-referential encoding and incidental recall task and emotional Stroop task, but not on the dot-probe task. No main effect for menstrual phase was found on any of the tasks or questionnaires, apart from the brooding component of rumination. Women with hPPD demonstrate a differential bias in cognitive processing of emotional information that is menstrual phase dependent, and did not correspond to similar difference in mood symptoms. These biases may reflect sensitivity to gonadal steroid fluctuations that are associated with PPD.
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16
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Turk E, Endevelt-Shapira Y, Feldman R, van den Heuvel MI, Levy J. Brains in Sync: Practical Guideline for Parent-Infant EEG During Natural Interaction. Front Psychol 2022; 13:833112. [PMID: 35572249 PMCID: PMC9093685 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.833112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Parent-infant EEG is a novel hyperscanning paradigm to measure social interaction simultaneously in the brains of parents and infants. The number of studies using parent-infant dual-EEG as a theoretical framework to measure brain-to-brain synchrony during interaction is rapidly growing, while the methodology for measuring synchrony is not yet uniform. While adult dual-EEG methodology is quickly improving, open databases, tutorials, and methodological validations for dual-EEG with infants are largely missing. In this practical guide, we provide a step-by-step manual on how to implement and run parent-infant EEG paradigms in a neurodevelopmental laboratory in naturalistic settings (e.g., free interactions). Next, we highlight insights on the variety of choices that can be made during (pre)processing dual-EEG data, including recommendations on interpersonal neural coupling metrics and interpretations of the results. Moreover, we provide an exemplar dataset of two mother-infant dyads during free interactions ("free play") that may serve as practice material. Instead of providing a critical note, we would like to move the field of parent-infant EEG forward and be transparent about the challenges that come along with the exciting opportunity to study the development of our social brain within the naturalistic context of dual-EEG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise Turk
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands
| | - Yaara Endevelt-Shapira
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | | | - Jonathan Levy
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel.,Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
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17
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Turk E, Vroomen J, Fonken Y, Levy J, van den Heuvel MI. In sync with your child: The potential of parent-child electroencephalography in developmental research. Dev Psychobiol 2022; 64:e22221. [PMID: 35312051 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Healthy interaction between parent and child is foundational for the child's socioemotional development. Recently, an innovative paradigm shift in electroencephalography (EEG) research has enabled the simultaneous measurement of neural activity in caregiver and child. This dual-EEG or hyperscanning approach, termed parent-child dual-EEG, combines the strength of both behavioral observations and EEG methods. In this review, we aim to inform on the potential of dual-EEG in parents and children (0-6 years) for developmental researchers. We first provide a general overview of the dual-EEG technique and continue by reviewing the first empirical work on the emerging field of parent-child dual-EEG, discussing the limited but fascinating findings on parent-child brain-to-behavior and brain-to-brain synchrony. We then continue by providing an overview of dual-EEG analysis techniques, including the technical challenges and solutions one may encounter. We finish by discussing the potential of parent-child dual-EEG for the future of developmental research. The analysis of multiple EEG data is technical and challenging, but when performed well, parent-child EEG may transform the way we understand how caregiver and child connect on a neurobiological level. Importantly, studying objective physiological measures of parent-child interactions could lead to the identification of novel brain-to-brain synchrony markers of interaction quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise Turk
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
| | - Jean Vroomen
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
| | - Yvonne Fonken
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
| | - Jonathan Levy
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC), Herzliya, Israel.,Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Aalto, Finland
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18
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Zeev-Wolf M, Dor-Ziderman Y, Pratt M, Goldstein A, Feldman R. Investigating default mode network connectivity disruption in children of mothers with depression. Br J Psychiatry 2022; 220:130-139. [PMID: 35049492 DOI: 10.1192/bjp.2021.164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Exposure to maternal major depressive disorder (MDD) bears long-term negative consequences for children's well-being; to date, no research has examined how exposure at different stages of development differentially affects brain functioning. AIMS Utilising a unique cohort followed from birth to preadolescence, we examined the effects of early versus later maternal MDD on default mode network (DMN) connectivity. METHOD Maternal depression was assessed at birth and ages 6 months, 9 months, 6 years and 10 years, to form three groups: children of mothers with consistent depression from birth to 6 years of age, which resolved by 10 years of age; children of mothers without depression; and children of mothers who were diagnosed with MDD in late childhood. In preadolescence, we used magnetoencephalography and focused on theta rhythms, which characterise the developing brain. RESULTS Maternal MDD was associated with disrupted DMN connectivity in an exposure-specific manner. Early maternal MDD decreased child connectivity, presenting a profile typical of early trauma or chronic adversity. In contrast, later maternal MDD was linked with tighter connectivity, a pattern characteristic of adult depression. Aberrant DMN connectivity was predicted by intrusive mothering in infancy and lower mother-child reciprocity and child empathy in late childhood, highlighting the role of deficient caregiving and compromised socio-emotional competencies in DMN dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS The findings pinpoint the distinct effects of early versus later maternal MDD on the DMN, a core network sustaining self-related processes. Results emphasise that research on the influence of early adversity on the developing brain should consider the developmental stage in which the adversity occured.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maor Zeev-Wolf
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Israel; and Department of Education and Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
| | - Yair Dor-Ziderman
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Israel; and Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel
| | - Maayan Pratt
- Department of Education and Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel; and Department of Psychology and Gonda Brain Science Center, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
| | - Abraham Goldstein
- Department of Psychology and Gonda Brain Science Center, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Israel; and Child Study Center, Yale University, Connecticut, USA
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Parent-Child Synchrony After Early Childhood: A Systematic Review. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2022; 25:529-551. [PMID: 35133524 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-022-00383-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Parent-child synchrony, or the coordination of biological and behavioral processes between parent and child, is thought to promote healthy relationships and support youth adjustment. Although extensive work has been conducted on parent-child synchrony during infancy and early childhood, less is known about synchrony in middle childhood and adolescence and the contextual factors that impact synchrony, particularly physiological synchrony. This is a systematic and qualitative review of 37 studies of behavioral and physiological synchrony in parent-child interactions after early childhood (parents with youth ages 5-18). Behavioral and physiological synchrony were typically identified in youth and their parents beyond early childhood and related to positive outcomes; however, research on father-child synchrony is rarer with mixed findings. Multiple factors are associated with synchrony, including parent and youth psychological symptoms and disorders, parenting factors, such as over-controlling parenting, and parent characteristics, such as interparental aggression and conflict. Few studies have examined behavioral and physiological synchrony simultaneously and longitudinally, limiting our ability to understand the relationship between types of synchrony and later adjustment. Available studies suggest that the context, such as presence of psychopathology or exposure to trauma, influences whether synchrony is associated with positive or negative outcomes. This review highlights the need for additional research to understand the relationship between types of synchrony and the long-term effects and contextual factors that impact youth outcomes.
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20
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Hu S, Packard K, Opendak M. Social Regulation of Negative Valence Systems During Development. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 15:828685. [PMID: 35126064 PMCID: PMC8811468 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.828685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to sense, perceive, and respond appropriately to aversive cues is critical for survival. Conversely, dysfunction in any of these pathway components can lead to heightened avoidance of neutral or rewarding cues, such as social partners. The underlying circuitry mediating both negative valence processing and social behavior is particularly sensitive to early life experience, but mechanisms linking experience to pathology remain elusive. Previous research in humans, rodents, and non-human primates has highlighted the unique neurobiology of the developing infant and the role of the caregiver in mediating the infant’s negative valence circuitry, and the importance of this early social relationship for scaffolding lasting social behavior. In this review, we summarize the current literature on the development of negative valence circuits in the infant and their social regulation by the caregiver following both typical and adversity-rearing. We focus on clinically-relevant research using infant rodents which highlights the amygdala and its interface with the mesolimbic dopamine system through innervation from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) as a locus of dysfunction following early-life adversity. We then describe how these circuits are recruited to perturb life-long social behavior following adversity and propose additional therapeutic targets in these circuits with an eye toward developing age-appropriate interventions.
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21
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Abraham E, Wang Y, Svob C, Semanek D, Gameroff MJ, Shankman SA, Weissman MM, Talati A, Posner J. Organization of the social cognition network predicts future depression and interpersonal impairment: a prospective family-based study. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:531-542. [PMID: 34162998 PMCID: PMC8674240 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01065-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Deficits in social cognition and functioning are common in major depressive disorder (MDD). Still, no study into the pathophysiology of MDD has examined the social cognition-related neural pathways through which familial risk for MDD leads to depression and interpersonal impairments. Using resting-state fMRI, we applied a graph theoretical analysis to quantify the influence of nodes within the fronto-temporo-parietal cortical social cognition network in 108 generation 2 and generation 3 offspring at high and low-risk for MDD, defined by the presence or absence, respectively, of moderate to severe MDD in generation 1. New MDD episodes, future depressive symptoms, and interpersonal impairments were tested for associations with social cognition nodal influence, using regression analyses applied in a generalized estimating equations approach. Increased familial risk was associated with reduced nodal influence within the network, and this predicted new depressive episodes, worsening depressive symptomatology, and interpersonal impairments, 5-8 years later. Findings remained significant after controlling for current depressive/anxiety symptoms and current/lifetime MDD and anxiety disorders. Path-analysis models indicate that increased familial risk impacted offspring's brain function in two ways. First, high familial risk was indirectly associated with future depression, both new MDD episodes and symptomatology, via reduced nodal influence of the right posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG). Second, high familial risk was indirectly associated with future interpersonal impairments via reduced nodal influence of right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Finally, reduced nodal influence was associated with high familial risk in (1) those who had never had MDD at the time of scanning and (2) a subsample (n = 52) rescanned 8 years later. Together, findings reveal a potential pathway for the intergenerational transmission of vulnerability via the aberrant social cognition network organization and suggest using the connectome of neural network related to social cognition to identify intervention and prevention targets for those particularly at risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eyal Abraham
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
- Divisions of Translational Epidemiology and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Yun Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA
- Child Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Connie Svob
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA
- Divisions of Translational Epidemiology and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - David Semanek
- Child Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Marc J Gameroff
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA
- Divisions of Translational Epidemiology and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Stewart A Shankman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA
| | - Myrna M Weissman
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA
- Divisions of Translational Epidemiology and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ardesheer Talati
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA
- Divisions of Translational Epidemiology and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jonathan Posner
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
- Child Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
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Ulmer-Yaniv A, Waidergoren S, Shaked A, Salomon R, Feldman R. Neural Representation of the Parent-Child Attachment from Infancy to Adulthood. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 17:609-624. [PMID: 34893911 PMCID: PMC9250301 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Attachment theory is built on the assumption of consistency; the mother–infant bond is thought to underpin the life-long representations individuals construct of attachment relationships. Still, consistency in the individual’s neural response to attachment-related stimuli representing his or her entire relational history has not been investigated. Mothers and children were followed across two decades and videotaped in infancy (3–6 months), childhood (9–12 years) and young adulthood (18–24 years). In adulthood, participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while exposed to videos of own mother–child interactions (Self) vs unfamiliar interactions (Other). Self-stimuli elicited greater activations across preregistered nodes of the human attachment network, including thalamus-to-brainstem, amygdala, hippocampus, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), insula and temporal cortex. Critically, self-stimuli were age-invariant in most regions of interest despite large variability in social behavior, and Bayesian analysis showed strong evidence for lack of age-related differences. Psycho–physiological interaction analysis indicated that self-stimuli elicited tighter connectivity between ACC and anterior insula, consolidating an interface associating information from exteroceptive and interceptive sources to sustain attachment representations. Child social engagement behavior was individually stable from infancy to adulthood and linked with greater ACC and insula response to self-stimuli. Findings demonstrate overlap in circuits sustaining parental and child attachment and accord with perspectives on the continuity of attachment across human development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adi Ulmer-Yaniv
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Herzliya 4610101, Israel
- Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Shani Waidergoren
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Herzliya 4610101, Israel
| | - Ariel Shaked
- Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Roy Salomon
- Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Correspondence should be addressed to Ruth Feldman Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, 8 Ha'Universita st., Herzliya 4610101, Israel. E-mail:
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Opendak M, Raineki C, Perry RE, Rincón-Cortés M, Song SC, Zanca RM, Wood E, Packard K, Hu S, Woo J, Martinez K, Vinod KY, Brown RW, Deehan GA, Froemke RC, Serrano PA, Wilson DA, Sullivan RM. Bidirectional control of infant rat social behavior via dopaminergic innervation of the basolateral amygdala. Neuron 2021; 109:4018-4035.e7. [PMID: 34706218 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.09.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Social interaction deficits seen in psychiatric disorders emerge in early-life and are most closely linked to aberrant neural circuit function. Due to technical limitations, we have limited understanding of how typical versus pathological social behavior circuits develop. Using a suite of invasive procedures in awake, behaving infant rats, including optogenetics, microdialysis, and microinfusions, we dissected the circuits controlling the gradual increase in social behavior deficits following two complementary procedures-naturalistic harsh maternal care and repeated shock alone or with an anesthetized mother. Whether the mother was the source of the adversity (naturalistic Scarcity-Adversity) or merely present during the adversity (repeated shock with mom), both conditions elevated basolateral amygdala (BLA) dopamine, which was necessary and sufficient in initiating social behavior pathology. This did not occur when pups experienced adversity alone. These data highlight the unique impact of social adversity as causal in producing mesolimbic dopamine circuit dysfunction and aberrant social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Opendak
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
| | - Charlis Raineki
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - Rosemarie E Perry
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10012, USA
| | - Millie Rincón-Cortés
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA 15260, USA
| | - Soomin C Song
- Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Neuroscience Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Roseanna M Zanca
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Department of Psychology, CUNY Hunter College, New York, 10016, USA; The Graduate Center of CUNY, New York, 10016, USA
| | - Emma Wood
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA
| | - Katherine Packard
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA
| | - Shannon Hu
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA
| | - Joyce Woo
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA
| | - Krissian Martinez
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - K Yaragudri Vinod
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Analytical Psychopharmacology, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA
| | - Russell W Brown
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA
| | - Gerald A Deehan
- Department of Psychology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA
| | - Robert C Froemke
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Neuroscience Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Otolaryngology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Peter A Serrano
- Department of Psychology, CUNY Hunter College, New York, 10016, USA; The Graduate Center of CUNY, New York, 10016, USA
| | - Donald A Wilson
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Regina M Sullivan
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
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Ilyka D, Johnson MH, Lloyd-Fox S. Infant social interactions and brain development: A systematic review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 130:448-469. [PMID: 34506843 PMCID: PMC8522805 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Associations between caregiver-infant behaviours during social interactions and brain development outcomes were investigated. Caregivers' and infants' behaviours in interactions related to children’s structural, functional and connectivity measures. Concurrent associations between behavioural and brain measures were apparent as early as three months postnatally. Long-term associations between behaviours in early interactions and brain development outcomes were observed decades later. Individual differences in early interactions and associated brain development is an important avenue for further research.
From birth, interactions with others are an integral part of a person’s daily life. In infancy, social exchanges are thought to be critical for optimal brain development. This systematic review explores this association by drawing together infant studies that relate adult-infant behaviours – coded from their social interactions - to children’s brain measures collected during a neuroimaging session in infancy, childhood, adolescence or adulthood. In total, we identified 55 studies that explored associations between infants’ social interactions and neural measures. These studies show that several aspects of caregiver-infant behaviours are associated with, or predict, a variety of neural responses in infants, children and adolescents. The presence of both concurrent and long-term associations - some of which are first observed just a few months postnatally and extend into adulthood - open an important research avenue and motivate further longitudinal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dianna Ilyka
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
| | - Mark H Johnson
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah Lloyd-Fox
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
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25
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Packard K, Opendak M, Soper CD, Sardar H, Sullivan RM. Infant Attachment and Social Modification of Stress Neurobiology. Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 15:718198. [PMID: 34483852 PMCID: PMC8415781 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.718198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Decades of research have informed our understanding of how stress impacts the brain to perturb behavior. However, stress during development has received specific attention as this occurs during a sensitive period for scaffolding lifelong socio-emotional behavior. In this review, we focus the developmental neurobiology of stress-related pathology during infancy and focus on one of the many important variables that can switch outcomes from adaptive to maladaptive outcome: caregiver presence during infants' exposure to chronic stress. While this review relies heavily on rodent neuroscience research, we frequently connect this work with the human behavioral and brain literature to facilitate translation. Bowlby's Attachment Theory is used as a guiding framework in order to understand how early care quality impacts caregiver regulation of the infant to produce lasting outcomes on mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Packard
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
| | - Maya Opendak
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Caroline Davis Soper
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Haniyyah Sardar
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Regina M. Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
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26
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Carollo A, Lim M, Aryadoust V, Esposito G. Interpersonal Synchrony in the Context of Caregiver-Child Interactions: A Document Co-citation Analysis. Front Psychol 2021; 12:701824. [PMID: 34393940 PMCID: PMC8355520 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.701824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interactions accompany individuals throughout their whole lives. When examining the underlying mechanisms of social processes, dynamics of synchrony, coordination or attunement emerge between individuals at multiple levels. To identify the impactful publications that studied such mechanisms and establishing the trends that dynamically originated the available literature, the current study adopted a scientometric approach. A sample of 543 documents dated from 1971 to 2021 was derived from Scopus. Subsequently, a document co-citation analysis was conducted on 29,183 cited references to examine the patterns of co-citation among the documents. The resulting network consisted of 1,759 documents connected to each other by 5,011 links. Within the network, five major clusters were identified. The analysis of the content of the three major clusters-namely, "Behavioral synchrony," "Towards bio-behavioral synchrony," and "Neural attunement"-suggests an interest in studying attunement in social interactions at multiple levels of analysis, from behavioral to neural, by passing through the level of physiological coordination. Furthermore, although initial studies on synchrony focused mostly on parent-child interactions, new hyperscanning paradigms are allowing researchers to explore the role of biobehavioral synchrony in all social processes in a real-time and ecological fashion. Future potential pathways of research were also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Carollo
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Mengyu Lim
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Vahid Aryadoust
- National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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27
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Leibbrand C, Rivara F, Rowhani-Rahbar A. Gun Violence Exposure and Experiences of Depression Among Mothers. PREVENTION SCIENCE : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR PREVENTION RESEARCH 2021; 22:523-533. [PMID: 33439439 PMCID: PMC7805261 DOI: 10.1007/s11121-020-01202-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Gun violence is a uniquely prevalent issue in the USA that disproportionately affects disadvantaged families already at risk of health disparities. Despite the traumatic nature of witnessing gun violence, we have little knowledge of whether exposure to local gun violence is associated with higher risks of depression among mothers, whose symptoms of depression are likely to have spillover effects for kin. We examined the association between exposure to gun violence in mothers' neighborhoods and their experiences of depression using longitudinal Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study data (n = 4587) in tandem with lagged outcome and fixed effect models. We find that mothers who witness at least one shooting in their neighborhoods or local communities exhibit more symptoms of depression and are 32-60% more likely to meet criteria for depression than mothers who do not witness a shooting. We also find that witnessing a shooting is associated with increases in parental aggravation, which is partially mediated by maternal depression. Given this and other previously documented spillover effects of mothers' mental health on children and family members, these findings have important implications for mothers' wellbeing and their kin. Further, we observe substantial racial and socioeconomic disparities in exposure to gun violence, suggesting that gun violence may heighten health disparities and drawing attention to the importance of providing mental health resources in communities that are most affected by gun violence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Leibbrand
- Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, 218 Raitt Hall, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
| | - Frederick Rivara
- Firearm Injury & Policy Research Program, Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Ali Rowhani-Rahbar
- Firearm Injury & Policy Research Program, Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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28
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Abstract
A birth-to-adulthood study tested the effects of maternal–newborn contact and synchronous caregiving on the social processing brain in human adults. For two decades, we followed preterm and full-term neonates, who received or lacked initial maternal bodily contact, repeatedly observing mother–child social synchrony. We measured the brain basis of affect-specific empathy in young adulthood to pinpoint regions sensitive to others’ distinct emotions. Maternal–newborn contact enhanced social synchrony across development, which, in turn, predicted amygdalar and insular sensitivity to emotion-specific empathy. Findings demonstrate the long-term effects of maternal caregiving in humans, similar to their role in other mammals, particularly in tuning core regions implicated in salience detection, simulation, and interoception that sustain empathy and human attachment. Mammalian young are born with immature brain and rely on the mother’s body and caregiving behavior for maturation of neurobiological systems that sustain adult sociality. While research in animal models indicated the long-term effects of maternal contact and caregiving on the adult brain, little is known about the effects of maternal–newborn contact and parenting behavior on social brain functioning in human adults. We followed human neonates, including premature infants who initially lacked or received maternal–newborn skin-to-skin contact and full-term controls, from birth to adulthood, repeatedly observing mother–child social synchrony at key developmental nodes. We tested the brain basis of affect-specific empathy in young adulthood and utilized multivariate techniques to distinguish brain regions sensitive to others’ distinct emotions from those globally activated by the empathy task. The amygdala, insula, temporal pole (TP), and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) showed high sensitivity to others’ distinct emotions. Provision of maternal–newborn contact enhanced social synchrony across development from infancy and up until adulthood. The experience of synchrony, in turn, predicted the brain’s sensitivity to emotion-specific empathy in the amygdala and insula, core structures of the social brain. Social synchrony linked with greater empathic understanding in adolescence, which was longitudinally associated with higher neural sensitivity to emotion-specific empathy in TP and VMPFC. Findings demonstrate the centrality of synchronous caregiving, by which infants practice the detection and sharing of others’ affective states, for tuning the human social brain, particularly in regions implicated in salience detection, interoception, and mentalization that underpin affect sharing and human attachment.
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29
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Sullivan RM, Opendak M. Neurobiology of Infant Fear and Anxiety: Impacts of Delayed Amygdala Development and Attachment Figure Quality. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 89:641-650. [PMID: 33109337 PMCID: PMC7914291 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.08.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Revised: 08/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental illness and are more likely to emerge during childhood compared with most other psychiatric disorders. While research on children is the gold standard for understanding the behavioral expression of anxiety and its neural circuitry, the ethical and technical limitations in exploring neural underpinnings limit our understanding of the child's developing brain. Instead, we must rely on animal models to build strong methodological bridges for bidirectional translation to child development research. Using the caregiver-infant context, we review the rodent literature on early-life fear development to characterize developmental transitions in amygdala function underlying age-specific behavioral transitions. We then describe how this system can be perturbed by early-life adversity, including reduced efficacy of the caregiver as a safe haven. We suggest that greater integration of clinically informed animal research enhances bidirectional translation to permit new approaches to therapeutics for children with early onset anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Regina M. Sullivan
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, New York, NY USA,Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Maya Opendak
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, New York, NY USA,Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY USA
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30
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Shimon-Raz O, Salomon R, Bloch M, Aisenberg Romano G, Yeshurun Y, Ulmer Yaniv A, Zagoory-Sharon O, Feldman R. Mother brain is wired for social moments. eLife 2021; 10:e59436. [PMID: 33764299 PMCID: PMC8026217 DOI: 10.7554/elife.59436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Reorganization of the maternal brain upon childbirth triggers the species-typical maternal social behavior. These brief social moments carry profound effects on the infant's brain and likely have a distinct signature in the maternal brain. Utilizing a double-blind, within-subject oxytocin/placebo administration crossover design, mothers' brain was imaged twice using fMRI while observing three naturalistic maternal-infant contexts in the home ecology; 'unavailable', 'unresponsive', and 'social', when mothers engaged in synchronous peek-a-boo play. The social condition elicited greater neural response across the human caregiving network, including amygdala, VTA, hippocampus, insula, ACC, and temporal cortex. Oxytocin impacted neural response primarily to the social condition and attenuated differences between social and non-social stimuli. Greater temporal consistency emerged in the 'social' condition across the two imaging sessions, particularly in insula, amygdala, and TP. Findings describe how mother's brain varies by caregiving experiences and gives salience to moments of social synchrony that support infant development and brain maturation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ortal Shimon-Raz
- IDC Herzliya, Bar Ilan UniversityRamat GanIsrael
- Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan UniversityRamat GanIsrael
| | - Roy Salomon
- Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan UniversityRamat GanIsrael
| | - Miki Bloch
- Department of Psychiatry, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical CenterTel AvivIsrael
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv UniversityTel AvivIsrael
| | - Gabi Aisenberg Romano
- Department of Psychiatry, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical CenterTel AvivIsrael
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv UniversityTel AvivIsrael
| | - Yaara Yeshurun
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv UniversityTel AvivIsrael
| | - Adi Ulmer Yaniv
- IDC Herzliya, Bar Ilan UniversityRamat GanIsrael
- Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan UniversityRamat GanIsrael
| | | | - Ruth Feldman
- IDC Herzliya, Bar Ilan UniversityRamat GanIsrael
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Levy J, Lankinen K, Hakonen M, Feldman R. The integration of social and neural synchrony: a case for ecologically valid research using MEG neuroimaging. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:143-152. [PMID: 32382751 PMCID: PMC7812634 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Revised: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The recent decade has seen a shift from artificial and environmentally deprived experiments in neuroscience to real-life studies on multiple brains in interaction, coordination and synchrony. In these new interpersonal synchrony experiments, there has been a growing trend to employ naturalistic social interactions to evaluate mechanisms underlying synchronous neuronal communication. Here, we emphasize the importance of integrating the assessment of neural synchrony with measurement of nonverbal behavioral synchrony as expressed in various social contexts: relaxed social interactions, planning a joint pleasurable activity, conflict discussion, invocation of trauma, or support giving and assess the integration of neural and behavioral synchrony across developmental stages and psychopathological conditions. We also showcase the advantages of magnetoencephalography neuroimaging as a promising tool for studying interactive neural synchrony and consider the challenge of ecological validity at the expense of experimental rigor. We review recent evidence of rhythmic information flow between brains in interaction and conclude with addressing state-of-the-art developments that may contribute to advance research on brain-to-brain coordination to the next level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Levy
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
- Interdisciplinary Center, Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Herzliya 46150, Israel
| | - Kaisu Lankinen
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Maria Hakonen
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
- Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Interdisciplinary Center, Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Herzliya 46150, Israel
- Yale University, Child Study Center, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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Abstract
The recent shift from psychopathology to resilience and from diagnosis to functioning requires the construction of transdiagnostic markers of adaptation. This review describes a model of resilience that is based on the neurobiology of affiliation and the initial condition of mammals that mature in the context of the mother's body and social behavior. The model proposes three tenets of resilience-plasticity, sociality, and meaning-and argues that coordinated social behavior stands at the core sustaining resilience. Two lines in the maturation of coordinated social behavior are charted, across animal evolution and throughout human development, culminating in the mature human reciprocity of empathy, mutuality, and perspective-taking. Cumulative evidence across ages and clinical conditions and based on our behavioral coding system demonstrates that social reciprocity, defined by plasticity at the individual, dyadic, and group levels, denotes resilience, whereas the two poles of disengagement/avoidance and intrusion/rigidity characterize specific psychopathologies, each with a distinct behavioral signature. Attention to developmentally sensitive markers and to the dimension of meaning in human sociality may open new, behavior-based pathways to resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Feldman
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Herzliya 4601010, Israel; .,Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA
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Parenting as a Mediator of Associations between Depression in Mothers and Children’s Functioning: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2020; 23:427-460. [DOI: 10.1007/s10567-020-00322-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Abstract
Resilience - a key topic in clinical science and practice - still lacks a clear conceptualization that integrates its evolutionary and human-specific features, refrains from exclusive focus on fear physiology, incorporates a developmental approach, and, most importantly, is not based on the negation (i.e., absence of symptoms following trauma). Building on the initial condition of mammals, whose brain matures in the context of the mother's body and caregiving behavior, we argue that systems and processes that participate in tuning the brain to the social ecology and adapting to its hardships mark the construct of resilience. These include the oxytocin system, the affiliative brain, and biobehavioral synchrony, all characterized by great flexibility across phylogenesis and ontogenesis. Three core features of resilience are outlined: plasticity, sociality and meaning. Mechanisms of sociality by which coordinated action supports diversity, endurance and adaptation are described across animal evolution. Humans' biobehavioral synchrony matures from maternal attuned behavior in the postpartum to adult-adult relationships of empathy, perspective-taking and intimacy, and extends from the mother-child relationship to other affiliative bonds throughout life, charting a fundamental trajectory in the development of resilience. Findings from three high-risk cohorts, each tapping a distinct disruption to maternal-infant bonding (prematurity, maternal depression, and early life stress/trauma), and followed from birth to adolescence/young adulthood, demonstrate how components of the neurobiology of affiliation confer resilience and uniquely shape the social brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Feldman
- Interdisciplinary CenterHerzliyaIsrael,Yale Child Study CenterUniversity of YaleNew HavenCTUSA
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Nguyen T, Bánki A, Markova G, Hoehl S. Studying parent-child interaction with hyperscanning. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2020; 254:1-24. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2020.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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Emotion, Social Relationships, and Physical Health: Concepts, Methods, and Evidence for an Integrative Perspective. Psychosom Med 2019; 81:681-693. [PMID: 31415000 DOI: 10.1097/psy.0000000000000739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Emotional characteristics and processes are robust predictors of the development and course of major medical illnesses and premature mortality, as are a variety of indicators of the presence and quality of personal relationships. Despite clear evidence of close interconnection between these two domains of risk and protection, affective characteristics and relationships have largely been studied separately as influences on health. After a recent conference on integrative perspectives on emotions, relationships and health co-sponsored by the American Psychosomatic Society and the Society for Affective Science, the present review builds on prior calls for integration, related theory, and current research to outline what is known about the interconnection of these domains as it specifically relates to their overlapping influences on health. Areas of interest include the following: their interconnected roles over the course of development, which may inform current efforts to understand the influence of early life events on adult health; the parallel positive and negative factors in both domains that could have distinct influences on health; the role of emotion regulation in relationship contexts; and measurement, design, and analysis approaches to capture the dyadic and dynamic aspects of these interconnected influences on health. We conclude with a discussion of an emerging research agenda that includes the following: common biological foundations of affective and relationship processes, the cultural embeddedness of affective and relationship processes, the potential contribution of affective-relational processes to health disparities, and implications for intervention research.
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37
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The neural development of empathy is sensitive to caregiving and early trauma. Nat Commun 2019; 10:1905. [PMID: 31015471 PMCID: PMC6478745 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09927-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2019] [Accepted: 04/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Empathy is a core human social ability shaped by biological dispositions and caregiving experiences; yet the mechanisms sustaining maturation of the neural basis of empathy are unknown. Here, we followed eighty-four children, including 42 exposed to chronic war-related adversity, across the first decade of life, and assessed parenting, child temperament, and anxiety disorders as contributors to the neural development of empathy. At preadolescence, participants underwent magenetoencephalography while observing others’ distress. Preadolescents show a widely-distributed response in structures implicating the overlap of affective (automatic) and cognitive (higher-order) empathy, which is predicted by mother-child synchrony across childhood. Only temperamentally reactive young children growing in chronic adversity, particularly those who later develop anxiety disorders, display additional engagement of neural nodes possibly reflecting hyper-mentalizing and ruminations over the distressing stimuli. These findings demonstrate how caregiving patterns fostering interpersonal resonance, reactive temperament, and chronic adversity combine across early development to shape the human empathic brain. People’s early experiences and dispositions influence their ability to show and feel empathy. Here, using a sample of children exposed to war-related trauma, the authors examine how parenting, temperament, anxiety, and adversity affect the maturation of neural responses associated with empathy.
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