Maternal affect and quality of parenting experiences are related to amygdala response to infant faces

Neural correlates of distress and comfort in individuals with avoidant, anxious and secure attachment style: an fMRI study

Despite a growing literature, experiments directly related to attachment are still needed. We explored brain processes involved in two aspects of attachment, distress and comfort. Seventy-eight healthy adult males with different attachment styles (secure, avoidant, and anxious) viewed distress, comfort, complicity-joy and neutral images (picture database BAPS-Adult) in an fMRI block design. ROIs from the modules described in the functional Neuro-Anatomical Model of Attachment (Long et al. 2020) were studied. Secure participants used more co- and self-regulation strategies and exhibited a higher activation of the reward network in distress and comfort viewing, than insecure participants. Avoidant participants showed the lower brain activations. Their approach and reward modules were the least activated in distress and comfort. Anxious participants presented both higher activations of the approach and aversion modules during complicity-joy. In addition, comfort and complicity-joy were processed differently according to attachment styles and should be differentiated among positive stimuli to disentangle attachment processes.

The parental brain, perinatal mental illness, and treatment: A review of key structural and functional changes

The transition to parenthood is perhaps the only time in adult life when the brain changes to such a significant degree in such a short period, particularly in birthing parents. It is also a time when there is an increased risk of developing a mental illness, which may be due, in part, to the increased neuroplasticity. Thus, we must develop interventions and treatments that support parents and promote parental brain health. This review will highlight key findings from current research on how human brain structure and function are modified with 1) the transition to parenthood, 2) parenting stress and perinatal mental illness, and 3) treatments aimed at promoting perinatal mental health. The focus will be on birthing parents and mothers, but brain changes in non-birthing parents will also be discussed. Improvements in our understanding of the parental brain, in health and with illness, will promote the well-being of generations to come.

Longitudinal Neuroanatomical Increases from Early to One-Year Postpartum

Preclinical studies have provided causal evidence that the postpartum period involves regional neuroanatomical changes in 'maternal' brain regions to support the transition to offspring caregiving. Few studies, in humans, have examined neuroanatomical changes from early to one-year postpartum with longitudinal neuroimaging data and their association with postpartum mood changes. In this study, we examined longitudinal changes in surface morphometry (cortical thickness and surface area) in regions previously implicated in the transition to parenthood. We also examined longitudinal volumetric neuroanatomical changes in three subcortical regions of the maternal brain: the hippocampus, amygdala, and ventral diencephalon. Twenty-four participants underwent longitudinal structural magnetic resonance imaging at 2-4 weeks and 1 year postpartum. Cortical thickness increased from early to one-year postpartum in the left (p = .003, Bonferroni corrected) and right (p = .02, Bonferroni corrected) superior frontal gyrus. No significant increases (or decreases) were observed in these regions for surface area. Volumetric increases, across the postpartum period, were found in the left amygdala (p = .001, Bonferroni corrected) and right ventral diencephalon (p = .01, Bonferroni corrected). An exploratory analysis of depressive symptoms found reductions in depressive symptoms from early postpartum to one-year postpartum were associated with greater cortical thickness in the superior frontal gyrus for both the left (p = .02) and right (p = .02) hemispheres. The findings expand our evidence of the neuroanatomical changes that occur across the postpartum period in humans and motivate future studies to examine how mood changes across this period are associated with cortical thickness of the superior frontal gyrus.

Neural correlates of inhibitory control in the context of infant cry and paternal postpartum mental health

BACKGROUND

Inhibitory control, a form of self-regulation, may support sensitive parenting, but has been understudied in new fathers despite their pronounced risk for stress and mental health challenges.

METHODS

This study probed the neural correlates of inhibitory control and its associations to first-time fathers' postpartum mental health, focusing on depressive symptoms, state anxiety, and perceived stress. Six months after their child's birth, 38 fathers self-reported on their mood, anxiety, and stress, and performed a Go/No-Go fMRI task while listening to three sets of sounds (infant cry, pink noise, and silence).

RESULTS

Fathers' behavioral inhibition accuracy was consistent across the sound conditions, but their patterns of neural activation varied. Compared to the pink noise condition, fathers showed heightened engagement in prefrontal regulatory regions when self-regulating during the infant cry and silent conditions. When examining correct trials only, results in visual motor area and primary somatosensory cortex emerged only for infant cry and not for pink noise and silence. Moreover, fathers reporting higher levels of postpartum depression, state anxiety, and perceived stress showed greater activation in prefrontal regions when inhibiting during infant cry or silence.

CONCLUSION

This study is the first to underscore the complex interplay between the neural mechanisms related to inhibitory control and postpartum mental health and stress across varied auditory context, laying the groundwork for future research.

Neurobiological and Behavioral Underpinnings of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs): A Selective Narrative Review

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) profoundly impact maternal and infant health, affecting women worldwide during pregnancy and postpartum. This review synthesizes current research on the neurobiological effects of PMADs, particularly their influence on brain structure, function, and corresponding cognitive, behavioral, and mental health outcomes in mothers. A literature search across PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar yielded studies utilizing neuroimaging (MRI, fMRI) and cognitive assessments to explore brain changes in PMADs. The key findings indicate significant neurobiological alterations in PMADs, such as glutamatergic dysfunction, neuronal damage, and altered neural connectivity, particularly in postpartum depression (PPD). Functional MRI studies reveal distinct patterns of brain function alteration, including amygdala non-responsivity in PPD, differing from traditional major depressive disorder (MDD). These neurobiological changes are connected with cognitive impairments and behavioral modifications, impacting maternal caregiving. Understanding these alterations is fundamental for developing effective treatments. The findings emphasize the importance of focusing on maternal mental health, advocating for early detection, and personalized treatment strategies to improve maternal and child outcomes.

The extended neural architecture of human attachment: An fMRI coordinate-based meta-analysis of affiliative studies

Functional imaging studies and clinical evidence indicate that cortical areas relevant to social cognition are closely integrated with evolutionarily conserved basal forebrain structures and neighboring regions, enabling human attachment and affiliative emotions. The neural circuitry of human affiliation is continually being unraveled as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) becomes increasingly prevalent, with studies examining human brain responses to various attachment figures. However, previous fMRI meta-analyses on affiliative stimuli have encountered challenges, such as low statistical power and the absence of robustness measures. To address these issues, we conducted an exhaustive coordinate-based meta-analysis of 79 fMRI studies, focusing on personalized affiliative stimuli, including one's infants, family, romantic partners, and friends. We employed complementary coordinate-based analyses (Activation Likelihood Estimation and Signed Differential Mapping) and conducted a robustness analysis of the results. Findings revealed cluster convergence in cortical and subcortical structures related to reward and motivation, salience detection, social bonding, and cognition. Our study thoroughly explores the neural correlates underpinning affiliative responses, effectively overcoming the limitations noted in previous meta-analyses. It provides an extensive view of the neural substrates associated with affiliative stimuli, illuminating the intricate interaction between cortical and subcortical regions. Our findings significantly contribute to understanding the neurobiology of human affiliation, expanding the known human attachment circuitry beyond the traditional basal forebrain regions observed in other mammals to include uniquely human isocortical structures.

Maternal History of Childhood Maltreatment and Brain Responses to Infant Cues Across the Postpartum Period

Adults with histories of childhood maltreatment (CM) are more likely to display problematic parenting behaviors. The goal of this study was to examine changes in maternal brain activation to negative infant cues over the early postpartum period among new mothers with and without histories of CM, as this is a period of immense neuroplasticity in the maternal brain. CM was measured using the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) conducted at approximately 5 and 13 weeks postpartum measured brain responses to own and unfamiliar infant cues in primiparous women. Women with histories of CM displayed increasing activation in the anterior cingulate cortex, and greater increases in anterior cingulate cortex activation was associated with maternal reports of less regulatory capacity in their infants. Preliminary results suggest that new mothers with CM histories display greater brain responses to negative infant cues compared to new mothers without CM histories. Women with CM histories may benefit from additional supports during the transition to parenthood.

Can we more precisely classify exposure to antenatal depression and anxiety in multivariable prediction models of pregnancy and birth outcomes: a population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

Depression and anxiety are highly prevalent within the perinatal period and have been associated with myriad adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. In this study, we sought to investigate whether population-based data can be used to build complex, longitudinal mental health histories that improve our ability to predict adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes.

METHODS

Using population-based, administrative datasets, we examined individual-level mental health services use of all birth parents who delivered a live infant in British Columbia, Canada between April 1, 2000, and December 31, 2013, and who were registered with the provincial Medical Services Plan for over 100 days per year from 10-years preconception to 1-year postpartum. We operationalized variables to proxy severity, persistence, and frequency of depression/anxiety from preconception through pregnancy, then constructed predictive regression models for postpartum depression/anxiety and preterm birth.

RESULTS

Predictive modeling of postpartum depression/anxiety and preterm birth revealed better predictions and stronger performance with inclusion of a more detailed preconception mental health history. Incorporating dichotomous indicators for depression/anxiety across preconception markedly improved predictive power and model fit. Our detailed measures of mental health service use predicted postpartum depression/anxiety much better than preterm birth. Variables characterizing use of outpatient psychiatry care and outpatient visit frequency within the first five years preconception were most useful in predicting postpartum depression/anxiety and preterm birth, respectively.

CONCLUSION

We report a feasible method for developing and applying more nuanced definitions of depression/anxiety within population-based data. By accounting for differing profiles of mental health treatment, mental health history, and current mental health, we can better control for severity of underlying conditions and thus better understand more complex associations between antenatal mental health and adverse outcomes.

Cannabis use during pregnancy and hemodynamic responses to infant cues in pregnancy: an exploratory study

Introduction

Cannabis is one of the most commonly used substances during pregnancy and has the potential to negatively impact parent-infant relationships. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) response to infant cues during pregnancy has been associated with subsequent positive parenting behaviors. However, PFC activation is altered in individuals who use cannabis. As the potency of cannabis has changed over the years, little is known about the specific role of cannabis use on gestational parent brain responses to infant cues.

Materials and methods

Using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) in the second trimester of pregnancy, we measured hemodynamic responses to an infant cry task and an infant faces task among individuals who were using cannabis (N = 14) and compared them with those who were not using cannabis (N = 45). For the infant cry task, pregnant individuals listened to cry sounds and matched white noise. For the infant faces task, they viewed happy, sad, and neutral faces.

Results

There was no significant difference between the two groups after adjusting for multiple comparisons. Without adjusting for multiple comparisons, we found preliminary evidence for the differences in the dorsomedial PFC associated with heightened response to infant cry among individuals who use cannabis. The groups were also different in the dorsolateral PFC associated with decreased response to infant sad faces among individuals who use cannabis.

Discussion

Our preliminary data suggests that cannabis use during pregnancy was associated with brain activation in the regions involved in the emotional regulation and information processes. However, the results did not survive after adjustment for multiple comparisons, thus future research with larger sample sizes is needed to confirm potential differences in brain function among cannabis-using pregnant individuals.

The maternal brain is more flexible and responsive at rest: effective connectivity of the parental caregiving network in postpartum mothers

The field of neuroscience has largely overlooked the impact of motherhood on brain function outside the context of responses to infant stimuli. Here, we apply spectral dynamic causal modelling (spDCM) to resting-state fMRI data to investigate differences in brain function between a group of 40 first-time mothers at 1-year postpartum and 39 age- and education-matched women who have never been pregnant. Using spDCM, we investigate the directionality (top-down vs. bottom-up) and valence (inhibition vs excitation) of functional connections between six key left hemisphere brain regions implicated in motherhood: the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens. We show a selective modulation of inhibitory pathways related to differences between (1) mothers and non-mothers, (2) the interactions between group and cognitive performance and (3) group and social cognition, and (4) differences related to maternal caregiving behaviour. Across analyses, we show consistent disinhibition between cognitive and affective regions suggesting more efficient, flexible, and responsive behaviour, subserving cognitive performance, social cognition, and maternal caregiving. Together our results support the interpretation of these key regions as constituting a parental caregiving network. The nucleus accumbens and the parahippocampal gyrus emerging as 'hub' regions of this network, highlighting the global importance of the affective limbic network for maternal caregiving, social cognition, and cognitive performance in the postpartum period.

Aberrant resting-state regional activity in patients with postpartum depression

Background

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common disorder with corresponding cognitive impairments such as depressed mood, memory deficits, poor concentration, and declining executive functions, but little is known about its underlying neuropathology.

Method

A total of 28 patients with PPD and 29 healthy postpartum women were recruited. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans were performed in the fourth week after delivery. Individual local activity of PPD patients was observed by regional homogeneity (ReHo) during resting state, and the ReHo value was computed as Kendall's coecient of concordance (KCC) and analyzed for differences between voxel groups. Correlations between ReHo values and clinical variables were also analyzed.

Result

Compared with healthy postpartum women, patients with PPD exhibited significantly higher ReHo values in the left precuneus and right hippocampus. ReHo value was significantly lower in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and right insula. Furthermore, ReHo values within the dlPFC were negatively correlated with the Edinburgh PPD scale (EPDS) score. The functional connectivity (FC) of the right hippocampus to the left precuneus and left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) was stronger in patients with PPD than that in controls.

Conclusion

The present study provided evidence of aberrant regional functional activity and connectivity within brain regions in PPD, and it may contribute to further understanding of the neuropathology underlying PPD.

Empathy for others versus for one's child: Associations with mothers' brain activation during a social cognitive task and with their toddlers' functioning

Caregivers who are higher in dispositional empathy tend to have children with better developmental outcomes; however, few studies have considered the role of child-directed (i.e., "parental") empathy, which may be relevant for the caregiver-child relationship. We hypothesized that mothers' parental empathy during their child's infancy will be a stronger predictor of their child's social-emotional functioning as a toddler than will mothers' dispositional empathy. We further explored whether parental and dispositional empathy have shared or distinct patterns of neural activation during a social-cognitive movie-watching task. In 118 mother-infant dyads, greater parental empathy assessed when infants were 6 months old was associated with more social-emotional competencies and fewer problems in the children 1 year later, even after adjusting for dispositional empathy. In contrast, dispositional empathy was not associated with child functioning when controlling for parental empathy. In a subset of 20 mothers, insula activation was positively associated with specific facets of both dispositional and parental empathy, whereas right temporoparietal junction activation was associated only with parental empathy. Thus, dispositional and parental empathy appear to be dissociable by both brain and behavioral metrics. Parental empathy may be a viable target for interventions, especially for toddlers at risk for developing social-emotional difficulties.

Preconception mental health and the relationship between antenatal depression or anxiety and gestational diabetes mellitus: a population-based cohort study

Background

Antenatal depression and anxiety are highly prevalent conditions that have been associated with increased risk for myriad adverse outcomes. Current literature exploring the connection between antenatal mental health and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is limited, presenting conflicting evidence. We sought to evaluate the association between antenatal depression/anxiety (DEP-ANX) and GDM using population-based, administrative data, accounting for aspects of preconception mental health.

Methods

In this population-based retrospective cohort study, we included all singleton births in British Columbia, Canada from April 1, 2000, to December 31, 2014. We identified instances of DEP-ANX from outpatient and inpatient records that included relevant diagnostic codes and stratified our cohort by preconception DEP-ANX persistence. Logistic regression models were run to estimate odds of GDM given antenatal DEP-ANX. Models were adjusted for the birthing person’s socio-demographics and pregnancy characteristics. Using an expanded cohort, we ran conditional logistic regression models that matched birthing people to themselves (in a subsequent pregnancy) based on discordance of exposure and outcome.

Results

Out of the 228,144 births included in this study, 43,664 (19.1%) were to birthing people with antenatal health service use for DEP-ANX. There were 4,180 (9.6%) cases of GDM among those antenatal exposure to DEP-ANX compared to 15,102 (8.2%) among those without exposure (SMD 0.049). We observed an unadjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.19 (95% CI: 1.15 – 1.23) and fully adjusted OR of 1.15 (95% CI: 1.11 – 1.19) overall. Apparent risk for GDM given antenatal DEP-ANX was highest among the no DEP-ANX history stratum, with a fully adjusted OR of 1.24 (95% CI: 1.15 – 1.34). Associations estimated by matched sibling analysis were non-significant (fully adjusted OR 1.19 [95% CI: 0.86 – 1.63]).

Conclusions

Results from this population-based study suggest an association between antenatal DEP-ANX and GDM that varied based on mental health history. Our analysis could suggest that incident cases of DEP-ANX within pregnancy are more closely associated with GDM compared to recurring or chronic cases.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12884-022-05002-5.

Trait coping styles and the maternal neural and behavioral sensitivity to an infant

During the postpartum period, new mothers experience drastic changes in their body, brain, and life circumstances. Stress from the emotional and physical demands of caring for an infant is associated with negative mood and parenting outcomes. The use of active coping strategies can increase mothers’ resilience during the postpartum period. However, little is known about the association between coping styles and maternal brain responses to infant cues. In the current study, we examined the associations among trait coping style, maternal brain responses, and behavioral sensitivity in a socioeconomically diverse sample of first-time mothers (N = 59). The use of more active trait coping strategies compared to passive coping strategies was associated with increased brain responses to infant cry sounds in brain regions that are critically involved in motivation and emotion regulation—substantia nigra, anterior cingulate gyrus, and inferior frontal gyrus. Increased brain activations in the midbrain and anterior cingulate gyrus were further associated with higher levels of maternal sensitivity observed during interactions with the infant. Thus, the findings provide support for mothers’ use of more active coping styles to promote neural and behavioral resilience for a positive transition to parenthood.

Neural and Affective Responses to Prolonged Eye Contact with One's Own Adolescent Child and Unfamiliar Others

Eye contact is crucial for the formation and maintenance of social relationships, and plays a key role in facilitating a strong parent-child bond. However, the precise neural and affective mechanisms through which eye contact impacts on parent-child relationships remain elusive. We introduce a task to assess parents' neural and affective responses to prolonged direct and averted gaze coming from their own child, and an unfamiliar child and adult. While in the scanner, 79 parents (n = 44 mothers and n = 35 fathers) were presented with prolonged (16-38 s) videos of their own child, an unfamiliar child, an unfamiliar adult, and themselves (i.e., targets), facing the camera with a direct or an averted gaze. We measured BOLD-responses, tracked parents' eye movements during the videos, and asked them to report on their mood and feelings of connectedness with the targets after each video. Parents reported improved mood and increased feelings of connectedness after prolonged exposure to direct versus averted gaze and these effects were amplified for unfamiliar targets compared to their own child, due to high affect and connectedness ratings after videos of their own child. Neuroimaging results showed that the sight of one's own child was associated with increased activity in middle occipital gyrus, fusiform gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus relative to seeing an unfamiliar child or adult. While we found no robust evidence of specific neural correlates of eye contact (i.e., contrast direct > averted gaze), an exploratory parametric analysis showed that dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) activity increased linearly with duration of eye contact (collapsed across all "other" targets). Eye contact-related dmPFC activity correlated positively with increases in feelings of connectedness, suggesting that this region may drive feelings of connectedness during prolonged eye contact with others. These results underline the importance of prolonged eye contact for affiliative processes and provide first insights into its neural correlates. This may pave the way for new research in individuals or pairs in whom affiliative processes are disrupted.

The Neurobiological Basis of Love: A Meta-Analysis of Human Functional Neuroimaging Studies of Maternal and Passionate Love

Maternal and passionate love are both crucial for reproduction and involve attachment behaviors with high rewards. Neurobiological studies of attachment in animal and human neuroimaging studies have suggested that the coordination of oxytocinergic and vasopressinergic pathways, coupled with the dopaminergic reward system, contribute to the formation and maintenance of maternal and passionate love. In the present study, we carried out a quantitative meta-analysis of human neuroimaging to identify common and dissociable neural substrates associated with maternal and passionate love, using the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) approach. The ALE results showed significant activation of the brain regions in the left ventral tegmental area (VTA), right thalamus, left substantia nigra, and the left putamen for maternal love, but in the bilateral VTA for passionate love. The meta-analytic neuroimaging evidence suggests the greater involvement of cognitive–affective regulation in maternal attachment and the greater desire to combine liking and wanting in romantic love behaviors. The conjunction analysis highlights the functional convergence of the VTA across the two types of human love, indicating a shared neurobiological mechanism of maternal and passionate love with evolutionary roots. Our findings suggest that the processing of both maternal and passionate love involve the affective and motivational regulation associated with dopaminergic systems; our neuroimaging evidence supports the notion that maternal and passionate love share a common evolutionary origin and neurobiological basis in the human brain.

Early Childhood Caries Is Causally Attributed to Developing Psychomotor Deficiency in Pre-School Children: The Resultant Covariate and Confounder Analyses in a Longitudinal Cohort Study

Background: Causality has recently been suggested to associate early childhood caries with psychomotor deficiency in preschoolers, where their causal interactions via other risk determinants remain unclear. Methods: To analyze such causality, we randomly recruited 123 three-to-six-year-old children in a three-year longitudinal study, where the caries/dmft measures, age/gender, BMI, amended comprehensive scales for psychomotor development (CCDI-aspects), parental education/vocation, and diet were collected for assessment of their inter-relationships. Subsequently, t-tests, multiple/linear-regressions, and R2-analyses were utilized to compare the differences of variables between age/gender, BMI, and dmft vs. relationships among all variables and CCDI-aspects. Results: In the regression modeling, there were significant differences between gender vs. age (p < 0.05; not BMI) regarding established associations between caries and CCDI manifests for psychomotor deficiency. As for diet vs. socio-economic status, there were significant differences when caries/dmft were at lower- vs. higher-scales (<4 and 6−10), associated with expressive language and comprehension-concept (p~0.0214−0.0417) vs. gross-motor and self-help (p~0.0134−0.0486), respectively. Moreover, diet vs. socio-economic-status contributed significantly different CCDI-spectra via expressive language and comprehension-concept (adjusted-R2~0.0220−0.2463) vs. gross-motor and self-help (adjusted-R2~0.0645−0.0994), respectively, when the caries detected were at lower- vs. higher-scales (<4 and 6−10), in contrast to those depicted without both SES diet variables (adjusted-R2~0.0641−0.0849). Conclusion: These new findings confirm that early childhood caries is causally attributed to developing psychomotor deficiency in preschoolers, whereas biological gender/age, not BMI, may act as viable confounders during interactions, in contrast to diet and socio-economic status, via differential low−high scales of caries activity with significant interference, respectively. Collectively, ECC-psychomotor interactions may underpin some distinct biologic vs. socio-mental/psyche attributes towards different determinants for vulnerable children.

The Impact of Depression on Mothers' Neural Processing of Their Adolescents' Affective Behavior

Depression affects neural processing of emotional stimuli and could, therefore, impact parent–child interactions. However, the neural processes with which mothers with depression process their adolescents’ affective interpersonal signals and how this relates to mothers’ parenting behavior are poorly understood. Mothers with and without depression (N = 64 and N = 51, respectively; M_age = 40 years) from low-income families completed an interaction task with their adolescents (M_age = 12.8 years), which was coded for both individuals’ aggressive, dysphoric, positive and neutral affective behavior. While undergoing fMRI, mothers viewed video clips from this task of affective behavior from their own and an unfamiliar adolescent. Relative to non-depressed mothers, those with depression showed more aggressive and less positive affective behavior during the interaction task and more activation in the bilateral insula, superior temporal gyrus and striatum but less in the lateral prefrontal cortex while viewing aggressive and neutral affect. Findings were comparable for own and unfamiliar adolescents’ affect. Heightened limbic, striatal and sensory responses were associated with more aggressive and dysphoric parenting behavior during the interactions, while reduced lateral prefrontal activation was associated with less positive parenting behavior. These results highlight the importance of depressed mothers’ affective information processing for understanding mothers’ behavior during interactions with their adolescents.

Structural, functional, and metabolic signatures of postpartum depression: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious condition with debilitating consequences for the mother, offspring, and the whole family. The scope of negative outcomes of PPD highlights the need to specify effective diagnostics and treatment which might differ from major depressive disorder (MDD). In order to improve our clinical care, we need to better understand the underlying neuropathological mechanisms of PPD. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of published neuroimaging studies assessing functional, structural, and metabolic correlates of PPD.

METHODS

Relevant papers were identified using a search code for English-written studies in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases published by March 2022. Included were studies with structural magnetic resonance imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging, both resting-state and task-related, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, or positron emission tomography. The findings were analyzed to assess signatures in PPD-diagnosed women compared to healthy controls. The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022313794).

RESULTS

The total of 3,368 references were initially identified. After the removal of duplicates and non-applicable papers, the search yielded 74 full-text studies assessed for eligibility. Of them, 26 met the inclusion criteria and their findings were analyzed and synthesized. The results showed consistent functional, structural, and metabolic changes in the default mode network and the salient network in women with PPD. During emotion-related tasks, PPD was associated with changes in the corticolimbic system activity, especially the amygdala.

DISCUSSION

This review offers a comprehensive summary of neuroimaging signatures in PPD-diagnosed women. It indicates the brain regions and networks which show functional, structural, and metabolic changes. Our findings offer better understanding of the nature of PPD, which clearly copies some features of MDD, while differs in others.

Recent Neuroscience Advances in Human Parenting

The transition to parenthood entails brain adaptations to the demands of caring for a newborn. This chapter reviews recent neuroscience findings on human parenting, focusing on neuroimaging studies. First, we describe the brain circuits underlying human maternal behavior, which comprise ancient subcortical circuits and more sophisticated cortical regions. Then, we present the short-term and long-term functional and structural brain adaptations that characterize the transition to motherhood, discuss the long-term effects of parenthood on the brain, and propose several underlying neural mechanisms. We also review neuroimaging findings in biological fathers and alloparents (such as other relatives or adoptive parents), who engage in parenting without directly experiencing pregnancy or childbirth. Finally, we describe perinatal mental illnesses and discuss the neural responses associated with such disorders. To date, studies indicate that parenthood is a period of enhanced brain plasticity within brain areas critical for cognitive and social processing and that both parenting experience and gestational-related factors can prime such plasticity.

Reduced prefrontal cortex response to own vs. unknown emotional infant faces in mothers with bipolar disorder

Motherhood involves functional brain adaptations within a broad neural network purported to underlie sensitive caregiving behavior. Bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with aberrant brain response to emotional faces within a similar network, which may influence BD mothers' sensitivity to infant faces. This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study aimed to investigate whether mothers with BD display aberrant neural responses to own infant faces compared to healthy mothers. Twenty-six mothers with BD in remission and 35 healthy mothers underwent fMRI during which they viewed happy and distressed still facial photographs of their own and of unknown infants. After the scan, mothers viewed the pictures again on a computer screen and rated the intensity of infants' facial emotions and their own emotional response to infant face images. Mothers with BD displayed lower left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) response compared to healthy mothers to own vs. unknown infant faces specifically and abnormal positive functional connectivity between the left and right amygdala and prefrontal regions. BD mothers further displayed stronger deactivation of precuneus and occipital regions to all happy vs. distressed infant faces. After the scan, they rated their infants' distress and own response to their infants' distressed faces less negatively than healthy mothers. Blunted dlPFC response and aberrant fronto-limbic connectivity while viewing own infant faces and less negative ratings of own infants' distress in BD mothers may affect their responses to their own infants in real-life mother-infant interactions.

Understanding identification-based trust in the light of affiliative bonding: Meta-analytic neuroimaging evidence

Trust is vital for establishing social relationships and is a crucial precursor for affiliative bonds. Investigations explored the neuropsychological bases of trust separately (e.g., measured by the trust game) and affiliative bonding (e.g., measured by parental care, pair-bonding, or friendship). However, direct empirical support for the shared neural mechanisms between trust and affiliative bonding is missing. Here, we conducted a coordinate-based meta-analysis on functional magnetic resonance imaging studies on interpersonal trust and affiliative bonding using the activation likelihood estimation method. Our results demonstrated that decisions to trust strangers in repeated interactions (i.e., identification-based trust) engaged the ventral striatum (vSTR, part of the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway), likely signaling the reward anticipation. Further, both feedbacks in repeated interactions and affiliative bonding engaged the dorsal striatum (dSTR, part of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway), likely encoding learning dynamics. Our findings suggest that identification-based trust can be understood in the light of affiliative bonding, involving the mesocorticolimbic "reward" pathway (vSTR) and nigrostriatal "habit formation" pathway (dSTR) in building and sustaining social relationships.

A soft baby carrier intervention enhances amygdala responses to infant crying in fathers: A randomized controlled trial

New fathers may grow into their parental role through active involvement in childcare. Spending time in physical contact with the child may promote an adaptive transition to fatherhood. In this randomized controlled trial, we tested the effects of a baby carrier intervention on fathers' hormonal and neural functioning. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined whether infant carrying affects neural reactivity to infant crying in first-time fathers, taking into account the role of the hormone oxytocin as a mediating mechanism and fathers' own childhood experiences as a potential moderating factor. Sixty first-time fathers (infant age M = 11.18 weeks, SD = 2.08) were randomly assigned to a baby carrier intervention group (n = 32 fathers) or a control group (n = 28 fathers). Fathers in the intervention group were instructed to use a baby carrier for three weeks, whereas fathers in the control group were instructed to use a baby seat. Before and after the intervention salivary oxytocin was measured and neural reactivity to infant crying was assessed using fMRI. Results showed that the infant carrier intervention increased amygdala reactivity to infant crying compared to the infant seat users. This effect was most pronounced in fathers with experiences of childhood abuse. The carrier intervention did not affect fathers' oxytocin levels. Our findings indicate that spending time in physical contact with the infant may promote attention to and accurate perception of infant signals, in particular in fathers with more adverse childhood experiences. Soft baby carriers may, therefore, facilitate an adaptive transition to fatherhood.

Maternal perinatal anxiety and neural responding to infant affective signals: Insights, challenges, and a road map for neuroimaging research

Anxiety symptoms are common among women during pregnancy and the postpartum period, potentially having detrimental effects on both mother and child's well-being. Perinatal maternal anxiety interferes with a core facet of adaptive caregiving: mothers' sensitive responsiveness to infant affective communicative 'cues.' This review summarizes the current research on the neural correlates of maternal processing of infant cues in the presence of perinatal anxiety, outlines its limitations, and offers next steps to advance future research. Functional neuroimaging studies examining the neural circuitry involved in, and electrophysiological studies examining the temporal dynamics of, processing infant cues during pregnancy and postpartum are reviewed. Studies have generally indicated mixed findings, although emerging themes suggest that anxiety may be implicated in several stages of processing infant cues- detection, interpretation, and reaction- contingent upon cue valence. Limitations include inconsistent designs, lack of differentiation between anxiety and depression symptoms, and limited consideration of parenting-specific (versus domain-general) anxiety. Future studies should incorporate longitudinal investigation of multiple levels of analysis spanning neural, cognitive, and observed aspects of sensitive caregiving.

The neuroscience of social feelings: mechanisms of adaptive social functioning

Social feelings have conceptual and empirical connections with affect and emotion. In this review, we discuss how they relate to cognition, emotion, behavior and well-being. We examine the functional neuroanatomy and neurobiology of social feelings and their role in adaptive social functioning. Existing neuroscience literature is reviewed to identify concepts, methods and challenges that might be addressed by social feelings research. Specific topic areas highlight the influence and modulation of social feelings on interpersonal affiliation, parent-child attachments, moral sentiments, interpersonal stressors, and emotional communication. Brain regions involved in social feelings were confirmed by meta-analysis using the Neurosynth platform for large-scale, automated synthesis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data. Words that relate specifically to social feelings were identfied as potential research variables. Topical inquiries into social media behaviors, loneliness, trauma, and social sensitivity, especially with recent physical distancing for guarding public and personal health, underscored the increasing importance of social feelings for affective and second person neuroscience research with implications for brain development, physical and mental health, and lifelong adaptive functioning.

Olfactory shifts linked to postpartum depression

Postpartum Depression (PPD) is the most common non-obstetric complications associated with childbearing, but currently has poor diagnostic regimes. Sensory symptoms of PPD are understudied, particularly with regard to the sense of olfaction. The present study addresses this research gap by assessing differences in olfactory abilities between 39 depressed mothers, who were within the perinatal period (i.e., during pregnancy and up to 1-year post pregnancy) and assessed with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and their case-matched healthy volunteers. The assessments include two olfactory testing sessions conducted 4-weeks apart, each comprising a standard odour detection threshold test (i.e., Snap & Sniff Olfactory Test System), and intensity and valence ratings for 3 “pleasant” and 3 “unpleasant” odorants. The results revealed no difference between patients (M = 5.6; SE = 0.3) and control group (M = 5.7; SE = 0.4) in terms of olfactory detection threshold. However, the patients group perceived the 3 “unpleasant” odours as significantly less pleasant (p < 0.05), and 2 odorants (1 “pleasant” and 1 “unpleasant”) as less intense. Additionally, these results did not appear to be significantly interacted with the individual’s perinatal stage. The present study is the first to evaluate associations between olfactory function and PPD. Findings from the study suggest that, while PPD has little effect on the early stages of olfactory processing, these conditions may have stronger influence on higher-order olfactory perception, including both hedonic and intensity perception. These novel findings add knowledge to sensory symptoms of PPD.

Neural signatures of parental empathic responses to imagined suffering of their adolescent child

Empathy is deemed indispensable for sensitive caregiving. Neuroimaging studies have identified canonical empathy networks consisting of regions supporting cognitive and affective aspects of empathy. However, not much is known about how these regions support empathy towards one's own offspring and how this neural activity relates to parental caregiving. We introduce a novel task to assess affective and neural responses to the suffering of one's own adolescent child. While in the scanner, 60 parents (n = 35 mothers, n = 25 fathers) were confronted with unpleasant situations involving their own child, an unfamiliar child, and themselves. Parents were asked to vividly imagine these situations and indicate their levels of distress. Parents reported higher levels of distress when imagining suffering for their own child relative to an unfamiliar child or themselves. Neuroimaging results showed increased activation within the cognitive empathy network (i.e., temporoparietal junction, dorsomedial- and ventromedial prefrontal cortex) when contrasting suffering of one's own child versus an unfamiliar child or the self. The task also engaged regions of the affective empathy network (i.e., anterior insula and anterior mid-cingulate cortex), which was however not modulated by whether suffering was for the self, one's own child, or an unfamiliar child. Parental care did not co-vary with activity in the empathy networks, but parents who were perceived as less caring exhibited increased activity in anterior prefrontal regions when imagining their own child suffering. These results provide new insights into neural processes supporting parental empathy, highlighting the importance of regions in the cognitive empathy network when confronted with the suffering of their own adolescent child, and suggest that additional (i.e., emotion regulation) networks may be relevant for parental caring behavior in daily life.

How stress can influence brain adaptations to motherhood

Research shows that a woman's brain and body undergo drastic changes to support her transition to parenthood during the perinatal period. The presence of this plasticity suggests that mothers' brains may be changed by their experiences. Exposure to severe stress may disrupt adaptive changes in the maternal brain and further impact the neural circuits of stress regulation and maternal motivation. Emerging literature of human mothers provides evidence that stressful experience, whether from the past or present environment, is associated with altered responses to infant cues in brain circuits that support maternal motivation, emotion regulation, and empathy. Interventions that reduce stress levels in mothers may reverse the negative impact of stress exposure on the maternal brain. Finally, outstanding questions regarding the timing, chronicity, types, and severity of stress exposure, as well as study design to identify the causal impact of stress, and the role of race/ethnicity are discussed.

Neurobiology of peripartum mental illness

At least one in seven pregnant or recently postpartum women will experience a mental illness such as an anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, or substance use disorder. These mental illnesses have detrimental effects on the health of the mother, child, and family, but little is known about the hypothalamic and other neural correlates of maternal mental health concerns. The transition to parenthood alone is a time of remarkable neural plasticity, so it is perhaps not surprising that current research is showing that maternal mental illness has unique neural profiles. Furthermore, the neural systems affected by peripartum mental illness overlap and interact with the systems involved in maternal caregiving behaviors, and mother-infant interactions are, therefore, highly susceptible to disruption. This review discusses what we know about the unique neural changes occurring during peripartum mental illness and the role of the hypothalamus in these illnesses. With an improved understanding of the neural correlates of maternal mental health and disease, we will be better equipped to predict risk, develop effective treatments, and ultimately prevent suffering for millions of parents during this critical time in life.

Abnormal information flow in postpartum depression: A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

BACKGROUND

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common mental disorder among women. However, the brain information flow alteration in patients with PPD remains unclear. This study investigated the brain information flow characteristics of patients with PPD and their value for clinical evaluation by using support vector regression (SVR).

METHODS

Structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired from 21 patients with PPD and 23 age-, educational level-, body mass index-, and menstruation-matched healthy controls. The preferred information flow direction between local brain regions and the preferred information flow direction index within local brain regions based on non-parametric multiplicative regression granger causality analysis were calculated to determine the global and local brain functional characteristics of the patients with PPD. Pearson's correlation analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship of the information flow characteristics with clinical scales. A predictive model for the mental state of the patients with PPD was established using SVR based on information flow characteristics.

RESULTS

The information flow patterns in the amygdala, cingulum gyrus, insula, hippocampus, frontal lobe, parietal lobe, and occipital lobe changed significantly in the patients with PPD. The preferred information flow direction between the amygdala and the temporal and frontal lobes significantly correlated with clinical scales. Prediction analysis shows that the information flow patterns can be used to assess depression in patients with PPD.

LIMITATION

This exploratory study has a small sample size with no longitudinal research.

CONCLUSION

The change in information flow pattern in the amygdala may play an important role in the neuropathological mechanism of PPD and may provide promising markers for clinical evaluation.

Neurobiological changes during the peripartum period: implications for health and behavior

Pregnancy and the transition to parenthood is an important period marked by dramatic neurobiological and psychosocial changes that may have implications for the health of women and offspring. Although human and non-human animal research suggests that the brain undergoes alterations during the peripartum period, these changes are poorly understood. Here, we review existing research, particularly human neuroimaging and psychophysiological research, to examine changes in brain structure and function during the peripartum period and discuss potential implications for the health of women and offspring. First, we discuss the potential causes of these changes across pregnancy, including physiological and psychosocial factors. Next, we discuss the evidence for structural and functional changes in the brain during pregnancy and into the postpartum period, noting the need for research conducted prospectively across human pregnancy. Finally, we propose potential models of individual differences in peripartum neurobiological changes (i.e. hypo-response, typical response, hyper-response) and emphasize the need to consider trajectories of change in addition to pre-existing factors that may predict maternal adjustment to parenthood. We suggest that the consideration of individual differences in neurobiological trajectories across pregnancy may contribute to a better understanding of risk for negative health and behavior outcomes for women and offspring.

Assessment of the Consultation Rate with General Practitioners in the Initial Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic affected the functioning of healthcare systems (HSs) in a way that was difficult to foresee earlier. It quickened the introduction of e-medicine, and changed the manner and number of services provided in the open medical setting. Aim: To assess variations in the consultation rate of patients in primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in consecutive months of the pandemic. Method: Data collected from two PHCs located in Olsztyn (Poland) were analyzed retrospectively. Collectively, these two centers provide care for approximately 20,000 inhabitants and perform approximately 100,000 medical services annually. The analysis was based on data covering the period April-July of the years 2010-2020, consisting in total of 337,510 medical services records. Results: A large, statistically significant decrease in the consultation rate (consultation rate understood as the number of individuals seeking consultation in relation to the number of people under care in a given time period) was revealed in each age group in the initial phase of the pandemic. In consecutive months, the approximated consultation rate achieved mean long-term values. Conclusions. The largest reduction in the consultation rate was revealed in the youngest age group, with the smallest occurring in the oldest. In the group of patients older than 65 years of age, the consultation rate after 3 months of the pandemic was the same as before the outbreak. Variations in the consultation rate were independent of the epidemiological situation. During the study, we observed an increased level of the administrative and paperwork activities carried out by PHC physicians.

Youth Anxiety About Political News

This study assessed youth anxiety about political issues and associated characteristics. Caregivers (N = 374) were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk and reported on their child's anxiety about 15 voting issues covered in the media since the 2016 presidential election as well as their child's psychological functioning and their own trait anxiety. For the majority of voting issues, over 50% of caregivers indicated that their child experienced at least one related worry; worries about the environment and gun violence were most common. Youth empathy and intolerance of uncertainty were each positively associated with worry about political issues but did not predict such worry after accounting for the effect of youth trait anxiety. Youth with clinical levels of generalized anxiety experienced more severe worry about political issues than did youth with minimal/subthreshold anxiety. Future studies should identify strategies for mitigating the negative impact of political news on youth with anxiety disorders.

The peripartum human brain: Current understanding and future perspectives

The peripartum period offers a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of how dramatic fluctuations in endogenous ovarian hormones affect the human brain and behavior. This notwithstanding, peripartum depression remains an underdiagnosed and undertreated disorder. Here, we review recent neuroimaging findings with respect to the neuroplastic changes in the maternal brain during pregnancy and the postpartum period. We seek to provide an overview of multimodal neuroimaging designs of current peripartum depression models of hormone withdrawal, changes in monoaminergic signaling, and maladaptive neuroplasticity, which likely lead to the development of a condition that puts the lives of mother and infant at risk. We discuss the need to effectively integrate the available information on psychosocial and neurobiological risk factors contributing to individual vulnerability. Finally, we propose a systematic approach to neuroimaging the peripartum brain that acknowledges important co-morbidities and variation in disease onset.

Maternal brain in the process of maternal-infant bonding: Review of the literature

The mother-infant relationship is one of the most important bonds among all mammals and develops when a mother shows emotional and physical attention toward her infant. Studies suggest that maternal brain alterations, including structural and functional changes, may help mothers to form a strong bond with their infant. Investigation of mothers' unique response to her own infant, when smiling, crying or playing, could be the first step to uncover the neural bases of maternal-infant bonding. Studies are beginning to explore maternal brain changes underlying the process of mother-infant bonding. In this short review, we present an overview of the growing literature about maternal brain changes and neural responses to infant stimuli, which may underlie the process of forming the maternal-infant bond in healthy, non-clinical samples. Taken together, the maternal brain network consists mostly of areas related to salience/reward and emot processing, including the precuneus cortex, medial frontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, caudate and nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and insula. Recommendations for future research are also discussed.

Attention bias to infant faces in pregnant women predicts maternal sensitivity

While research has shown that attention bias to infant faces is linked to parenting, this work is largely cross-sectional and limited to the postpartum period. Because the transition to motherhood from pregnancy to birth constitutes a sensitive period in cortical reorganization linked to the quality of mother-infant interactions, evaluating attention processes in the maternal cortex prior to the experience of mother-infant face-to-face interactions is critical. To assess behavioural attention and neural responses to infant faces in pregnant mothers, behavioral and electrocortical indices were collected using a Go/No Go task, in which infant and adult faces served as distractors. Results showed that heightened processing of infant faces relative to adult faces (behavioral and electrocortical indices) was related to observations of greater maternal sensitivity. These findings show that prenatal maternal attention bias to and the perceived salience of infant faces serves as an individual cognitive hallmark of maternal sensitivity that acts independently of caregiving experience.

Altered Spontaneous Neural Activity in Peripartum Depression: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Abnormalities related to peripartum depression (PPD) have been detected in several brain regions through tasking-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In this study, we used the two markers of resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) to investigate changes in spontaneous neural activity of PPD and their correlation with depression severity. A total of 16 individuals with PPD were compared with 16 age- and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) by using rs-fMRI. Two-sample t-test was used to compare the fractional amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) values between groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine the correlation between the fALFF and ReHo of the abnormal brain region and the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores. The spontaneous neural activity of the PPD group significantly increased mainly in the left middle frontal gyrus, left precuneus, left inferior parietal lobule, and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and decreased mainly in the bilateral precentral gyrus and right inferior occipital gyrus compared with those of the HCs. The fALFF value of the left DLPFC was negatively correlated with the HAMD score in PPD. This rs-fMRI study suggests that changes in the spontaneous neural activity of these regions are related to emotional responses. PPD cases with low fALFF values in the left DLPFC have severe depression.

Adaptations in reward-related behaviors and mesolimbic dopamine function during motherhood and the postpartum period

Initiation and maintenance of maternal behavior is driven by a complex interaction between the physiology of parturition and offspring stimulation, causing functional changes in maternal brain and behavior. Maternal behaviors are among the most robust and rewarding motivated behaviors. Mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system alterations during pregnancy and the postpartum enable enhanced reward-related responses to offspring stimuli. Here, we review behavioral evidence demonstrating postpartum rodents exhibit a bias towards pups and pup-related stimuli in reward-related tasks. Next, we provide an overview of normative adaptations in the mesolimbic DA system induced by parturition and the postpartum, which likely mediate shifts in offspring valence. We also discuss a causal link between dopaminergic dysfunction and disrupted maternal behaviors, which are recapitulated in postpartum depression (PPD) and relevant rodent models. In sum, mesolimbic DA system activation drives infant-seeking behavior and strengthens the mother-infant bond, potentially representing a therapeutic target for reward-related deficits in PPD.

Advancing preventive interventions for pregnant women who are opioid using via the integration of addiction and mental health research

Purpose of Review

This review examines how research focused on treatment for opioid use in perinatal populations and preventive interventions for postpartum psychopathology have remained separate, despite significant overlap.

Recent Findings

Guidelines for best practice in caring for pregnant women with opioid use disorder suggest the use of medication-assisted treatment with additional comprehensive care, including behavioral and mental health interventions. However, intervention research often mutually excludes these two populations, with studies of behavioral interventions for opioid use excluding women with psychopathology and research on preventive interventions for postpartum psychopathology excluding women who are substance using.

Summary

There is a limited evidence-base to inform the selection of appropriate preventive interventions for pregnant women with opioid use disorder that can address opioid use and/or treatment adherence and concurrent mental health risks. We argue it is critical to integrate research on pregnant women who are opioid using and preventive perinatal mental health interventions to catalyze pivotal change in how we address the opioid epidemic within this growing population.

Potential Neural Mediators of Mom Power Parenting Intervention Effects on Maternal Intersubjectivity and Stress Resilience

Stress resilience in parenting depends on the parent's capacity to understand subjective experiences in self and child, namely intersubjectivity, which is intimately related to mimicking other's affective expressions (i. e., mirroring). Stress can worsen parenting by potentiating problems that can impair intersubjectivity, e.g., problems of "over-mentalizing" (misattribution of the child's behaviors) and "under-coupling" (inadequate child-oriented mirroring). Previously we have developed Mom Power (MP) parenting intervention to promote maternal intersubjectivity and reduce parenting stress. This study aimed to elucidate neural mechanisms underlying the effects of MP with a novel Child Face Mirroring Task (CFMT) in functional magnetic-resonance-imaging settings. In CFMT, the participants responded to own and other's child's facial pictures in three task conditions: (1) empathic mirroring (Join), (2) non-mirroring observing (Observe), and (3) voluntary responding (React). In each condition, each child's neutral, ambiguous, distressed, and joyful expressions were repeatedly displayed. We examined the CFMT-related neural responses in a sample of healthy mothers (n = 45) in Study 1, and MP effects on CFMT with a pre-intervention (T1) and post-intervention (T2) design in two groups, MP (n = 19) and Control (n = 17), in Study 2. We found that, from T1 to T2, MP (vs. Control) decreased parenting stress, decreased dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) during own-child-specific voluntary responding (React to Own vs. Other's Child), and increased activity in the frontoparietal cortices, midbrain, nucleus accumbens, and amygdala during own-child-specific empathic mirroring (Join vs. Observe of Own vs. Other's Child). We identified that MP effects on parenting stress were potentially mediated by T1-to-T2 changes in: (1) the left superior-temporal-gyrus differential responses in the contrast of Join vs. Observe of own (vs. other's) child, (2) the dmPFC-PAG (periaqueductal gray) differential functional connectivity in the same contrast, and (3) the left amygdala differential responses in the contrast of Join vs. Observe of own (vs. other's) child's joyful vs. distressed expressions. We discussed these results in support of the notion that MP reduces parenting stress via changing neural activities related to the problems of "over-mentalizing" and "under-coupling." Additionally, we discussed theoretical relationships between parenting stress and intersubjectivity in a novel dyadic active inference framework in a two-agent system to guide future research.

Correlates of prenatal and postnatal mother-to-infant bonding quality: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Mother-to-infant bonding is defined as the emotional tie experienced by a mother towards her child, which is considered to be important for the socio-emotional development of the child. Numerous studies on the correlates of both prenatal and postnatal mother-to-infant bonding quality have been published over the last decades. An up-to-date systematic review of these correlates is lacking, however.

OBJECTIVE

To systematically review correlates of prenatal and postnatal mother-to-infant bonding quality in the general population, in order to enable targeted interventions.

METHODS

MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and PsychINFO were searched through May 2018. Reference checks were performed. Case-control, cross-sectional or longitudinal cohort studies written in English, German, Swedish, Spanish, Norwegian, French or Dutch defining mother-to-infant bonding quality as stipulated in the protocol (PROSPERO CRD42016040183) were included. Two investigators independently reviewed abstracts, full-text articles and extracted data. Methodological quality was assessed using the National Institute of Health Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-sectional studies and was rated accordingly as poor, fair or good. Clinical and methodological heterogeneity were examined.

MAIN RESULTS

131 studies were included. Quality was fair for 20 studies, and poor for 111 studies. Among 123 correlates identified, 3 were consistently associated with mother-to-infant bonding quality: 1) duration of gestation at assessment was positively associated with prenatal bonding quality, 2) depressive symptoms were negatively associated with postnatal mother-to-infant bonding quality, and 3) mother-to-infant bonding quality earlier in pregnancy or postpartum was positively associated with mother-to-infant bonding quality later in time.

CONCLUSION

Our review suggests that professionals involved in maternal health care should consider monitoring mother-to-infant bonding already during pregnancy. Future research should evaluate whether interventions aimed at depressive symptoms help to promote mother-to-infant bonding quality. More high-quality research on correlates for which inconsistent results were found is needed.

Amygdala and affective responses to infant pictures: Comparing depressed and non-depressed mothers and non-mothers

In many mammalian species, new mothers show heightened positive responsiveness to infants and their cues when they give birth. As is evident from non-human and human studies, the amygdala is a brain region implicated in both the maternal and affective neural circuitry, and is involved in processing socioemotionally salient stimuli. In humans, infants are socially salient stimuli to women, and mothers in particular. Neuroimaging studies investigating the maternal response to infant cues have identified infant-related amygdala function as an important factor in maternal anxiety/depression, in the quality of mothering and in individual differences in the motivation to mother. The present study investigated the effects of maternal status and depression on the subjective affective response and amygdala responsiveness to unfamiliar infants using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Smiling infant pictures were used in a 2 × 2 design comparing four groups of women: mothers and non-mothers, with and without depression (total of 101 women: postpartum depression [PPD] = 32, non-PPD = 25, major depression [MDD] = 15, non-MDD = 29). We undertook an anatomically defined region of interest analysis of the amygdala response for a priori defined group comparisons. We found that mothers rated infants more positively than non-mothers and non-mothers rated non-infant stimuli (scenery) more positively than mothers. In the amygdala, we found that depression elevated response to smiling unfamiliar infants in mothers but had no effect in non-mothers. Within the depressed groups, mothers (PPD) showed an elevated amygdala response to unfamiliar smiling infants compared to depressed non-mothers. Hence, our results indicate that women with PPD show an enhanced amygdala response to affectively positive infant pictures but not to affectively positive (but non-salient) pictures of scenery. Women with depression outside of the postpartum period show no change in amygdala responsiveness to either stimulus categories.

A tumultuous transition to motherhood: Altered brain and hormonal responses in mothers with postpartum depression

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common but complex condition that is poorly understood and multifactorial in aetiology. It is a condition that can compromise the mother's care for her infant, which may pose challenges to the formation of the mother-infant bond and the infant's overall development. Past research has looked at abnormalities in the brain circuitry and hormonal profiles of mothers with PPD compared to non-depressed mothers. However, abnormalities in PPD that may specifically affect the mother's care of her infant have not been clearly assessed. Thus, the present review aims to synthesise studies of altered brain and hormonal responses in mothers with PPD in relation to their care of their infant. First, we review maternal brain responses and their relation to PPD symptomatology, focusing on the salience/fear network, reward/attachment network and default mode network. Next, we discuss oxytocin and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hormones in the context of maternal behaviour and PPD. Finally, we synthesise these findings and propose how future studies may benefit from the combined study of both neural and hormonal activity to better understand the underlying neurobiology of maternal care in PPD.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in the Nucleus Accumbens Mediates Individual Differences in Behavioral Responses to a Natural, Social Reward

BDNF-oxytocin interactions in the brain are implicated in mammalian maternal behavior. We found that BDNF gene expression is increased in the hippocampus of rat mothers that show increased pup licking/grooming (high LG mothers) compared to low LG mothers. High LG mothers also showed increased BDNF protein levels in the nucleus accumbens (nAcc). Immunoneutralization of BDNF in the nAcc eliminated the differences in pup LG between high and low LG mothers. Oxytocin antagonist in the ventral hippocampus significantly decreased the frequency of maternal LG behavior. Oxytocin antagonist significantly prevented the oxytocin-induced BDNF gene expression in primary hippocampal cell cultures. We suggest that oxytocin-induced regulation of BDNF in the nAcc provides a neuroendocrine basis for both individual differences in maternal behavior and resilience to the stress of reproduction in female mammals.

Parental influences on neural mechanisms underlying emotion regulation

Emotional intelligence allows for the recognition and regulation of emotions in the self and others, making it critical for healthy social and emotional development. Research has shown that the parent-child relationship and family environment are influential in the development of emotion regulation, one key component of emotional intelligence. However, the neurobiological processes underlying this relationship have yet to be fully explored. This review examines perspectives from several disciplines to further understand the influence of parent-child interactions on the neurocircuitry shaping emotion regulation. Our proposed model demonstrates how parent-child interactions and parents' emotion regulation neurocircuitry may influence the development of children's own emotion regulation neurocircuitry, with a specific focus on associations among prefrontal regions, the anterior insula, and the amygdala.

Severity of anxiety moderates the association between neural circuits and maternal behaviors in the postpartum period

Neuroimaging research has suggested that activity in the amygdala, center of the socioemotional network, and functional connectivity between the amygdala and cortical regions are associated with caregiving behaviors in postpartum mothers. Anxiety is common in the early postpartum period, with severity ranging from healthy maternal preoccupation to clinical disorder. However, little is known about the influence of anxiety on the neural correlates of early caregiving. We examined these relationships in a community cohort of 75 postpartum women (ages 18-22; predominantly low-SES, minority race) who listened to infant cry sounds while undergoing an fMRI assessment. Maternal self-reported symptoms of anxiety were mostly within the subclinical range. Positive and negative caregiving behaviors during filmed face-to-face mother-infant interactions were coded by independent observers. The results from whole-brain analyses showed that anxiety severity moderated the brain-maternal behavior relationships. Specifically, our results showed that the higher a mother's anxiety, the stronger the association between positive caregiving (i.e., maternal warmth and involvement) and amygdala-right posterior superior temporal sulcus (amygdala-RpSTS) functional connectivity. These results remained significant when we controlled for symptoms of depression and contextual variables. These findings suggest that functional connectivity between the amygdala and a social perception region (RpSTS) plays a particularly important role for anxious mothers in facilitating their positive parenting. These findings extend our understanding of the specific neural circuits that support positive maternal caregiving in the context of maternal anxiety, and they may help inform the future design of personalized and effective interventions.

Examining the relationship between perinatal depression and neurodevelopment in infants and children through structural and functional neuroimaging research

Depression is the most common perinatal psychiatric disorder, but little is known about how it may impact offspring neurodevelopment, as well as the mechanisms by which it may confer transgenerational psychiatric risk. This review presents imaging studies conducted to evaluate the relationship between perinatal depression (PND) and infant and child neurodevelopment. Altered structural and functional connectivity is implicated in children exposed to PND and anxiety. Overall, there are changes in connectivity between amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. Studies suggest decreased hippocampal growth in the first 6 months after birth, decreased cortical thickness in children, and increased amygdala volumes, that are more pronounced in female offspring. Future research is needed to understand the impact of PND on development so that early interventions which promote mother-infant bonding and cognitive development may improve developmental outcomes in children exposed to PND, reducing later risk of psychopathology.