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Dufford AJ, Patterson G, Kim P. Longitudinal neuroanatomical increases from early to one-year postpartum. Brain Struct Funct 2024:10.1007/s00429-024-02852-x. [PMID: 39299954 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-024-02852-x] [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: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 08/13/2024] [Indexed: 09/22/2024]
Abstract
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 the present 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 1-4 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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander J Dufford
- Center for Mental Health Innovation, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | | | - Pilyoung Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, 80210, USA.
- Department of Psychology, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea.
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Dufford A, Patterson G, Kim P. Longitudinal Neuroanatomical Increases from Early to One-Year Postpartum. RESEARCH SQUARE 2024:rs.3.rs-4432804. [PMID: 38883787 PMCID: PMC11178002 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4432804/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
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.
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Bortolini T, Laport MC, Latgé-Tovar S, Fischer R, Zahn R, de Oliveira-Souza R, Moll J. The extended neural architecture of human attachment: An fMRI coordinate-based meta-analysis of affiliative studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 159:105584. [PMID: 38367888 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105584] [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: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago Bortolini
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; IDOR - Pioneer Science Initiative, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Maria Clara Laport
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Sofia Latgé-Tovar
- Institute of Psychiatry, Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Ronald Fischer
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; IDOR - Pioneer Science Initiative, São Paulo, Brazil; School of Psychology, PO Box 600, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Roland Zahn
- Centre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Ricardo de Oliveira-Souza
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; The Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jorge Moll
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; IDOR - Pioneer Science Initiative, São Paulo, Brazil
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Powers S, Han X, Martinez J, Dufford AJ, Metz TD, Yeh T, Kim P. Cannabis use during pregnancy and hemodynamic responses to infant cues in pregnancy: an exploratory study. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1180947. [PMID: 37743996 PMCID: PMC10512021 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1180947] [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: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon Powers
- University of Denver, Psychology, Denver, CO, United States
| | - Xu Han
- University of Colorado, Computer Science, Boulder, CO, United States
| | | | - Alexander John Dufford
- Department of Medical Social Sciences and Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Torri D. Metz
- University of Utah Health, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Tom Yeh
- University of Colorado, Computer Science, Boulder, CO, United States
| | - Pilyoung Kim
- University of Denver, Psychology, Denver, CO, United States
- Department of Psychology, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea
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Hunt BW, Rayson H, Bannard C, De Pascalis L. In the mind of the beholder: The effects of familiarisation on the perception of atypical infant facial configurations. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0289057. [PMID: 37490434 PMCID: PMC10368272 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Infant facial attractiveness is an important facilitator for adult-infant caregiving behaviour. Disruption to typical infant facial configurations can, however, attenuate their perceived attractiveness, as rated by adult observers. Previous research has either focused on how ratings are affected by observer characteristics (e.g., male/female), or alterations to infant faces, either experimentally, or naturalistically induced, such as the presence of a cleft lip. Little research has however been conducted on the effects of observer experience on adult ratings of infant facial attractiveness. Such effects could inform clinical work and policies aimed at promoting positive perception of facial malformations. The present study thus explored the effects of familiarisation on how typical and atypical infant facial configurations are evaluated by adults. We recruited two groups of female participants and compared their subjective attractiveness ratings of infant faces (24 typical and 24 cleft-affected), at baseline, and at one-week post-test. Between the two assessments, one group (n = 41) underwent a week-long training phase, where they were familiarised with cleft lip/palate-related visual and informational stimuli, while the control group (n = 44) received no training. Significantly higher ratings were provided for faces of typically developing versus cleft-affected infants by both groups of participants at baseline. At post-test, this pattern of ratings was repeated in participants belonging to the control group, while familiarised participants showed an increase, compared to baseline, in their ratings of cleft-affected faces and no difference between their evaluation of the latter and that of typically developing faces. These findings extend our understanding of the observer's experience in the evaluation of infant faces, beyond the effects of the structural characteristics of the observed faces. Results also highlight familiarity as a potentially protective influence against the negative consequences of alterations to typical facial configurations, suggesting avenues for intervention in supporting adult caregivers in the context of neonatal facial malformations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin W Hunt
- Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Holly Rayson
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon 1, France
| | - Colin Bannard
- Department of Linguistics and English Language, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Leonardo De Pascalis
- Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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Bérubé A, Turgeon J, Blais C, Fiset D. Emotion Recognition in Adults With a History of Childhood Maltreatment: A Systematic Review. TRAUMA, VIOLENCE & ABUSE 2023; 24:278-294. [PMID: 34238064 PMCID: PMC9660286 DOI: 10.1177/15248380211029403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Child maltreatment has many well-documented lasting effects on children. Among its consequences, it affects children's recognition of emotions. More and more studies are recognizing the lasting effect that a history of maltreatment can have on emotion recognition. A systematic literature review was conducted to better understand this relationship. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol was used and four databases were searched, MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and FRANCIS, using three cross-referenced key words: child abuse, emotion recognition, and adults. The search process identified 23 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The review highlights the wide variety of measures used to assess child maltreatment as well as the different protocols used to measure emotion recognition. The results indicate that adults with a history of childhood maltreatment show a differentiated reaction to happiness, anger, and fear. Happiness is less detected, whereas negative emotions are recognized more rapidly and at a lower intensity compared to adults not exposed to such traumatic events. Emotion recognition is also related to greater brain activation for the maltreated group. However, the results are less consistent for adults who also have a diagnosis of mental health problems. The systematic review found that maltreatment affects the perception of emotions expressed on both adult and child faces. However, more research is needed to better understand how a history of maltreatment is related to adults' perception of children's emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annie Bérubé
- Department of Psychology and Psychoeducation, Université du Québec
en Outaouais, Gatineau, Québec, Canada
- Annie Bérubé, Department of Psychology and
Psychoeducation, Université du Québec en Outaouais, P.O. Box 1250, Station Hull,
Gatineau, Québec, Canada J8X 3X7.
| | - Jessica Turgeon
- Department of Psychology and Psychoeducation, Université du Québec
en Outaouais, Gatineau, Québec, Canada
| | - Caroline Blais
- Department of Psychology and Psychoeducation, Université du Québec
en Outaouais, Gatineau, Québec, Canada
| | - Daniel Fiset
- Department of Psychology and Psychoeducation, Université du Québec
en Outaouais, Gatineau, Québec, Canada
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Bjertrup A, Macoveanu J, Laurent H, Moszkowicz M, Finnegan MK, Egmose I, Fisher PM, Nielsen RE, Pagsberg AK, Kessing LV, Væver M, Miskowiak K. Reduced prefrontal cortex response to own vs. unknown emotional infant faces in mothers with bipolar disorder. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2022; 54:7-20. [PMID: 34706300 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2021.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Bjertrup
- Copenhagen Affective Disorders research Center (CADIC), Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Mental Health Services, Denmark; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Julian Macoveanu
- Copenhagen Affective Disorders research Center (CADIC), Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Mental Health Services, Denmark
| | | | - Mala Moszkowicz
- Child- and Adolescent Mental Health Center, Infant Psychiatric Unit, Mental Health Services, Denmark; Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Ida Egmose
- Center for Early Intervention and Family Studies, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - René Ernst Nielsen
- Aalborg University Hospital, Psychiatry, Aalborg, Denmark, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Denmark
| | - Anne Katrine Pagsberg
- Child- and Adolescent Mental Health Center, Infant Psychiatric Unit, Mental Health Services, Denmark; Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Lars Vedel Kessing
- Copenhagen Affective Disorders research Center (CADIC), Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Mental Health Services, Denmark; Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mette Væver
- Center for Early Intervention and Family Studies, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kamilla Miskowiak
- Copenhagen Affective Disorders research Center (CADIC), Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Mental Health Services, Denmark; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Yatziv T, Vancor EA, Bunderson M, Rutherford HJV. Maternal perinatal anxiety and neural responding to infant affective signals: Insights, challenges, and a road map for neuroimaging research. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 131:387-399. [PMID: 34563563 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Schuetze P, Godleski S, Sassaman J. Prenatal exposure to opioids: Associations between the caregiving environment and externalizing behaviors. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2021; 87:107019. [PMID: 34403741 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2021.107019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Maternal opioid use during pregnancy is a rapidly growing public health crisis and is associated with a range of adverse developmental outcomes including externalizing behaviors among exposed children. Recent work has highlighted the role of indirect pathways from prenatal opioid exposure to behavioral outcomes through aspects of the caregiving environment, including parenting. This review highlights maternal sensitivity and related aspects of the caregiving environment that may impact the development of externalizing behaviors among children with a history of prenatal exposure to opioids. We conclude by providing suggestions for future directions in research examining development among children with prenatal opioid exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela Schuetze
- Department of Psychology, Buffalo State College, The State University of New York, USA; The Pennsylvania State University, USA.
| | | | - Jenna Sassaman
- Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, The Pennsylvania State University, USA
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10
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Bjertrup A, Friis N, Væver M, Miskowiak K. Neurocognitive processing of infant stimuli in mothers and non-mothers: psychophysiological, cognitive and neuroimaging evidence. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:428-438. [PMID: 33420780 PMCID: PMC7990066 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Emerging evidence indicates that mothers and non-mothers show different neurocognitive responses to infant stimuli. This study investigated mothers' psychophysiological, cognitive and neuronal responses to emotional infant stimuli. A total of 35 mothers with 4-month-old infants and 18 control women without young children underwent computerized tests assessing neurocognitive processing of infant stimuli. Their eye gazes and eye fixations, galvanic skin responses (GSRs) and facial expressions towards infant emotional stimuli were recorded during the tasks. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during which they viewed pictures of an unknown infant and, for mothers, their own infants. Mothers gazed more and had increased GSR towards infant stimuli and displayed more positive facial expressions to infant laughter, and self-reported more positive ratings of infant vocalizations than control women. At a neural level, mothers showed greater neural response in insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and occipital brain regions within a predefined 'maternal neural network' while watching images of their own vs unknown infants. This specific neural response to own infants correlated with less negative ratings of own vs unknown infants' signals of distress. Differences between mothers and control women without young children could be interpreted as neurocognitive adaptation to motherhood in the mothers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Bjertrup
- Copenhagen Affective Disorders research Center (CADIC), Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1355 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nellie Friis
- Copenhagen Affective Disorders research Center (CADIC), Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1355 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mette Væver
- Center for Early Intervention and Family Studies, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1355 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kamilla Miskowiak
- Copenhagen Affective Disorders research Center (CADIC), Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1355 Copenhagen, Denmark
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11
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Denk-Florea CB, Gancz B, Gomoiu A, Ingram M, Moreton R, Pollick F. Understanding and supporting law enforcement professionals working with distressing material: Findings from a qualitative study. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0242808. [PMID: 33237979 PMCID: PMC7688122 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to extend previous research on the experiences and factors that impact law enforcement personnel when working with distressing materials such as child sexual abuse content. A sample of 22 law enforcement personnel working within one law enforcement organisation in England, United Kingdom participated in anonymous semi-structured interviews. Results were explored thematically and organised in the following headings: "Responses to the material", "Impact of working with distressing evidence", "Personal coping strategies" and "Risks and mitigating factors". Law enforcement professionals experienced heightened affective responses to personally relevant material, depictions of violence, victims' displays of emotions, norm violations and to various mediums. These responses dampened over time due to desensitisation. The stress experienced from exposure to the material sometimes led to psychological symptoms associated with Secondary Traumatic Stress. Job satisfaction, self-care activities, the coping strategies used when viewing evidence, detachment from work outside working hours, social support and reducing exposure to the material were found to mediate law enforcement professionals' resilience. Exposure to distressing material and the risks associated with this exposure were also influenced by specific organisational procedures implemented as a function of the funding available and workload. Recommendations for individual and organisational practices to foster resilience emerged from this research. These recommendations are relevant to all organisations where employees are required to view distressing content.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Amalia Gomoiu
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, The University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Ingram
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, The University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Reuben Moreton
- Qumodo, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
| | - Frank Pollick
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, The University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
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12
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Marshall CR, Hardy CJD, Russell LL, Bond RL, Sivasathiaseelan H, Greaves C, Moore KM, Agustus JL, van Leeuwen JEP, Wastling SJ, Rohrer JD, Kilner JM, Warren JD. The functional neuroanatomy of emotion processing in frontotemporal dementias. Brain 2020; 142:2873-2887. [PMID: 31321407 PMCID: PMC7959336 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awz204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2018] [Revised: 05/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Impaired processing of emotional signals is a core feature of frontotemporal dementia syndromes, but the underlying neural mechanisms have proved challenging to characterize and measure. Progress in this field may depend on detecting functional changes in the working brain, and disentangling components of emotion processing that include sensory decoding, emotion categorization and emotional contagion. We addressed this using functional MRI of naturalistic, dynamic facial emotion processing with concurrent indices of autonomic arousal, in a cohort of patients representing all major frontotemporal dementia syndromes relative to healthy age-matched individuals. Seventeen patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia [four female; mean (standard deviation) age 64.8 (6.8) years], 12 with semantic variant primary progressive aphasia [four female; 66.9 (7.0) years], nine with non-fluent variant primary progressive aphasia [five female; 67.4 (8.1) years] and 22 healthy controls [12 female; 68.6 (6.8) years] passively viewed videos of universal facial expressions during functional MRI acquisition, with simultaneous heart rate and pupillometric recordings; emotion identification accuracy was assessed in a post-scan behavioural task. Relative to healthy controls, patient groups showed significant impairments (analysis of variance models, all P < 0.05) of facial emotion identification (all syndromes) and cardiac (all syndromes) and pupillary (non-fluent variant only) reactivity. Group-level functional neuroanatomical changes were assessed using statistical parametric mapping, thresholded at P < 0.05 after correction for multiple comparisons over the whole brain or within pre-specified regions of interest. In response to viewing facial expressions, all participant groups showed comparable activation of primary visual cortex while patient groups showed differential hypo-activation of fusiform and posterior temporo-occipital junctional cortices. Bi-hemispheric, syndrome-specific activations predicting facial emotion identification performance were identified (behavioural variant, anterior insula and caudate; semantic variant, anterior temporal cortex; non-fluent variant, frontal operculum). The semantic and non-fluent variant groups additionally showed complex profiles of central parasympathetic and sympathetic autonomic involvement that overlapped signatures of emotional visual and categorization processing and extended (in the non-fluent group) to brainstem effector pathways. These findings open a window on the functional cerebral mechanisms underpinning complex socio-emotional phenotypes of frontotemporal dementia, with implications for novel physiological biomarker development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles R Marshall
- Preventive Neurology Unit, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.,Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK.,Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Christopher J D Hardy
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Lucy L Russell
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Rebecca L Bond
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Harri Sivasathiaseelan
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Caroline Greaves
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Katrina M Moore
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Jennifer L Agustus
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Janneke E P van Leeuwen
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Stephen J Wastling
- Department of Neuroradiology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK
| | - Jonathan D Rohrer
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - James M Kilner
- Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Jason D Warren
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
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13
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Olsavsky AK, Stoddard J, Erhart A, Tribble R, Kim P. Neural processing of infant and adult face emotion and maternal exposure to childhood maltreatment. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2020; 14:997-1008. [PMID: 31680141 PMCID: PMC7058929 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsz069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2019] [Revised: 08/07/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Face processing in mothers is linked to mother–infant social communication, which is critical for parenting and in turn for child development. Neuroimaging studies of child maltreatment-exposed (CME) mothers are sparse compared to studies of mothers with postpartum depression, which have suggested blunted amygdala reactivity to infant stimuli. We expected to see a similar pattern in CME mothers. Based on broader studies in trauma-exposed populations, we anticipated increased amygdala reactivity to negative adult face stimuli in a comparison task in CME mothers given heightened evaluation of potential threat. We examined Neuroimaging studies of mothers with childhood maltreatment exposure (CME) (18–37 years old), who performed infant (N = 45) and/or adult (N = 46) face processing tasks. CME mothers exhibited blunted bilateral amygdala reactivity to infant faces. There was no between-group difference in amygdala reactivity to adult faces. In infant and adult face processing tasks regardless of CME, superior temporal gyrus activation was increased for negative-valence stimuli. Our preliminary findings suggest that childhood maltreatment alters maternal processing of infant social cues, a critical skill impacting infant socioemotional development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aviva K Olsavsky
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.,Pediatric Mental Health Institute, Children's Hospital Colorado
| | - Joel Stoddard
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.,Pediatric Mental Health Institute, Children's Hospital Colorado
| | | | | | - Pilyoung Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.,Department of Psychology, University of Denver
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14
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Ho SS, Muzik M, Rosenblum KL, Morelen D, Nakamura Y, Swain JE. Potential Neural Mediators of Mom Power Parenting Intervention Effects on Maternal Intersubjectivity and Stress Resilience. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:568824. [PMID: 33363481 PMCID: PMC7752922 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.568824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Shaun Ho
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Maria Muzik
- Departments of Psychiatry, Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Katherine L Rosenblum
- Departments of Psychiatry, Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Diana Morelen
- Department of Psychology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, United States
| | - Yoshio Nakamura
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Research Center, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - James E Swain
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
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15
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Lahousen T, Unterrainer HF, Kapfhammer HP. Psychobiology of Attachment and Trauma-Some General Remarks From a Clinical Perspective. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:914. [PMID: 31920761 PMCID: PMC6920243 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2019] [Accepted: 11/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Attachment refers to a psychobiological principle that is deeply rooted in evolutionary development; it is thought to contribute a major advantage in the survival of the social group. Within individual development it indicates a primary motivational system that guides the initial transactions between mother and baby and furthermore mediates affective attunement and regulation. Psychosocial learning, in close interaction with genetics and epigenetics, also develops a decisive foundation for further brain development of the infant. Finally, the attachment pattern established forms an enduring, relational context for later affective, cognitive, and social development of the child. As an unconsciously active matrix for future personal relationships it has a particular impact on the comprehensive psychological functions of empathy and mentalization. Early adverse and traumatic experiences or major emotional neglect may lead to different levels of security versus insecurity or disorientation-disorganization of the attachment pattern that corresponds to characteristic features of neurobiological regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa Lahousen
- University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Human Friedrich Unterrainer
- University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria
- Center for Integrative Addiction Research (CIAR), Grüner Kreis Society, Vienna, Austria
- Institute of Religious Studies, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Hans-Peter Kapfhammer
- University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria
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16
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Bjertrup AJ, Friis NK, Miskowiak KW. The maternal brain: Neural responses to infants in mothers with and without mood disorder. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 107:196-207. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Revised: 09/06/2019] [Accepted: 09/08/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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17
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Dudin A, Wonch KE, Davis AD, Steiner M, Fleming AS, Hall GB. Amygdala and affective responses to infant pictures: Comparing depressed and non-depressed mothers and non-mothers. J Neuroendocrinol 2019; 31:e12790. [PMID: 31489723 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2018] [Revised: 08/31/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aya Dudin
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Kathleen E Wonch
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
| | - Andrew D Davis
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour (PNB), McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Meir Steiner
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Women's Health Concerns Clinic, St Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Alison S Fleming
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
| | - Geoffrey B Hall
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour (PNB), McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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18
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Nguyen AJ, Hoyer E, Rajhans P, Strathearn L, Kim S. A tumultuous transition to motherhood: Altered brain and hormonal responses in mothers with postpartum depression. J Neuroendocrinol 2019; 31:e12794. [PMID: 31520440 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Revised: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 09/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda J Nguyen
- School of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Elisabeth Hoyer
- School of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Purva Rajhans
- Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Lane Strathearn
- Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Center for Disabilities and Development, University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Sohye Kim
- Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Center for Reproductive Psychiatry, Pavilion for Women, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
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19
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Rigo P, Kim P, Esposito G, Putnick DL, Venuti P, Bornstein MH. Specific maternal brain responses to their own child's face: An fMRI meta-analysis. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2019; 51:58-69. [PMID: 30872887 PMCID: PMC6411077 DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2018.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Paola Rigo
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Division of Psychology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Pilyoung Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, 2155 South Race Street, Denver, CO 80208-3500
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
- Division of Psychology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Diane L. Putnick
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Paola Venuti
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Marc H. Bornstein
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Institute for Fiscal Studies, London, UK
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20
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Strathearn L, Mertens CE, Mayes L, Rutherford H, Rajhans P, Xu G, Potenza MN, Kim S. Pathways Relating the Neurobiology of Attachment to Drug Addiction. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:737. [PMID: 31780957 PMCID: PMC6857543 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Substance use disorders constitute a significant public health problem in North America and worldwide. Specifically, substance addictions in women during pregnancy or in the postpartum period have adverse effects not only on the mother, but also on mother-infant attachment and the child's subsequent development. Additionally, there is growing evidence suggesting that parental addiction may be transmitted intergenerationally, where the child of parents with addiction problems is more likely to experience addiction as an adult. The current review takes a developmental perspective and draws from animal and human studies to examine how compromised early experience, including insecure attachment, early abuse/neglect, and unresolved trauma, may influence the development of neurobiological pathways associated with addictions, ultimately increasing one's susceptibility to addictions later in life. We approach this from three different levels: molecular, neuroendocrine and behavioral; and examine the oxytocin affiliation system, dopamine reward system, and glucocorticoid stress response system in this regard. Increased understanding of these underlying mechanisms may help identify key targets for early prevention efforts and inform needed intervention strategies related to both insecure attachment and addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lane Strathearn
- Attachment and Neurodevelopment Laboratory, Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, United States.,Center for Disabilities and Development, University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Carol E Mertens
- Attachment and Neurodevelopment Laboratory, Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, United States.,Center for Disabilities and Development, University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Linda Mayes
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Helena Rutherford
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Purva Rajhans
- Attachment and Neurodevelopment Laboratory, Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, United States.,Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Guifeng Xu
- Attachment and Neurodevelopment Laboratory, Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, United States.,Center for Disabilities and Development, University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, Iowa City, IA, United States.,Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Marc N Potenza
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States.,Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and the National Connecticut Mental Health Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Sohye Kim
- Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States.,Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
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21
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Neukel C, Bertsch K, Fuchs A, Zietlow AL, Reck C, Moehler E, Brunner R, Bermpohl F, Herpertz SC. The maternal brain in women with a history of early-life maltreatment: an imagination-based fMRI study of conflictual versus pleasant interactions with children. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2018; 43:273-282. [PMID: 29947610 PMCID: PMC6019349 DOI: 10.1503/jpn.170026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2017] [Revised: 07/07/2017] [Accepted: 10/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Early-life maltreatment has severe consequences for the affected individual, and it has an impact on the next generation. To improve understanding of the intergenerational effects of abuse, we investigated the consequences of early-life maltreatment on maternal sensitivity and associated brain mechanisms during mother-child interactions. METHODS In total, 47 mothers (22 with a history of physical and/or sexual childhood abuse and 25 without, all without current mental disorders) took part in a standardized real-life interaction with their 7- to 11-year-old child (not abused) and a subsequent functional imaging script-driven imagery task. RESULTS Mothers with early-life maltreatment were less sensitive in real-life mother-child interactions, but while imagining conflictual interactions with their child, they showed increased activation in regions of the salience and emotion-processing network, such as the amygdala, insula and hippocampus. This activation pattern was in contrast to that of mothers without early-life maltreatment, who showed higher activations in those regions in response to pleasant mother-child interactions. Mothers with early-life maltreatment also showed reduced functional connectivity between regions of the salience and the mentalizing networks. LIMITATIONS Region-of-interest analyses, which were performed in addition to whole-brain analyses, were exploratory in nature, because they were not further controlled for multiple comparisons. CONCLUSION Results suggest that for mothers with early-life maltreatment, conflictual interactions with their child may be more salient and behaviourally relevant than pleasant interactions, and that their salience network is poorly modulated by the brain regions involved in mentalizing processes. This activation pattern offers new insights into the mechanisms behind the intergenerational effects of maltreatment and into options for reducing these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corinne Neukel
- From the Department of General Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Neukel, Zietlow, Reck, Herpertz); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Fuchs, Brunner); the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Germany (Reck); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, SHG Hospital, Kleinblittersdorf, Germany (Moehler); and the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany (Bermpohl)
| | - Katja Bertsch
- From the Department of General Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Neukel, Zietlow, Reck, Herpertz); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Fuchs, Brunner); the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Germany (Reck); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, SHG Hospital, Kleinblittersdorf, Germany (Moehler); and the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany (Bermpohl)
| | - Anna Fuchs
- From the Department of General Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Neukel, Zietlow, Reck, Herpertz); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Fuchs, Brunner); the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Germany (Reck); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, SHG Hospital, Kleinblittersdorf, Germany (Moehler); and the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany (Bermpohl)
| | - Anna-Lena Zietlow
- From the Department of General Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Neukel, Zietlow, Reck, Herpertz); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Fuchs, Brunner); the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Germany (Reck); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, SHG Hospital, Kleinblittersdorf, Germany (Moehler); and the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany (Bermpohl)
| | - Corinna Reck
- From the Department of General Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Neukel, Zietlow, Reck, Herpertz); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Fuchs, Brunner); the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Germany (Reck); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, SHG Hospital, Kleinblittersdorf, Germany (Moehler); and the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany (Bermpohl)
| | - Eva Moehler
- From the Department of General Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Neukel, Zietlow, Reck, Herpertz); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Fuchs, Brunner); the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Germany (Reck); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, SHG Hospital, Kleinblittersdorf, Germany (Moehler); and the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany (Bermpohl)
| | - Romuald Brunner
- From the Department of General Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Neukel, Zietlow, Reck, Herpertz); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Fuchs, Brunner); the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Germany (Reck); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, SHG Hospital, Kleinblittersdorf, Germany (Moehler); and the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany (Bermpohl)
| | - Felix Bermpohl
- From the Department of General Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Neukel, Zietlow, Reck, Herpertz); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Fuchs, Brunner); the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Germany (Reck); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, SHG Hospital, Kleinblittersdorf, Germany (Moehler); and the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany (Bermpohl)
| | - Sabine C Herpertz
- From the Department of General Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Neukel, Zietlow, Reck, Herpertz); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Fuchs, Brunner); the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Germany (Reck); the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, SHG Hospital, Kleinblittersdorf, Germany (Moehler); and the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medicine Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany (Bermpohl)
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22
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Kim S, Iyengar U, Mayes LC, Potenza MN, Rutherford HJV, Strathearn L. Mothers with substance addictions show reduced reward responses when viewing their own infant's face. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 38:5421-5439. [PMID: 28746733 PMCID: PMC5763911 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2016] [Revised: 06/13/2017] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal addiction constitutes a major public health problem affecting children, with high rates of abuse, neglect, and foster care placement. However, little is known about the ways in which substance addiction alters brain function related to maternal behavior. Prior studies have shown that infant face cues activate similar dopamine-associated brain reward regions to substances of abuse. Here, we report on a functional MRI study documenting that mothers with addictions demonstrate reduced activation of reward regions when shown reward-related cues of their own infants. Thirty-six mothers receiving inpatient treatment for substance addiction were scanned at 6 months postpartum, while viewing happy and sad face images of their own infant compared to those of a matched unknown infant. When viewing happy face images of their own infant, mothers with addictions showed a striking pattern of decreased activation in dopamine- and oxytocin-innervated brain regions, including the hypothalamus, ventral striatum, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex-regions in which increased activation has previously been observed in mothers without addictions. Our results are the first to demonstrate that mothers with addictions show reduced activation in key reward regions of the brain in response to their own infant's face cues. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5421-5439, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sohye Kim
- Department of Obstetrics and GynecologyBaylor College of MedicineHoustonTexasUnited States
- Department of Pediatrics and Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesBaylor College of MedicineHoustonTexasUnited States
- Center for Reproductive Psychiatry, Pavilion for Women, Texas Children's HospitalHoustonTexasUnited States
| | - Udita Iyengar
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Linda C. Mayes
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of MedicineNew HavenConnecticutUnited States
| | - Marc N. Potenza
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of MedicineNew HavenConnecticutUnited States
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASAColumbia)Yale University School of MedicineNew HavenConnecticutUnited States
- Connecticut Mental Health CenterNew HavenConnecticutUnited States
| | - Helena J. V. Rutherford
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of MedicineNew HavenConnecticutUnited States
| | - Lane Strathearn
- Department of Pediatrics and Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesBaylor College of MedicineHoustonTexasUnited States
- Stead Family Department of PediatricsUniversity of Iowa Carver College of MedicineIowa CityIowaUnited States
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Nakamura T, Matsui T, Utsumi A, Yamazaki M, Makita K, Harada T, Tanabe HC, Sadato N. The role of the amygdala in incongruity resolution: the case of humor comprehension. Soc Neurosci 2017; 13:553-565. [DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2017.1365760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tagiru Nakamura
- Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, 252-8520, Japan
| | - Tomoko Matsui
- Center for Research in International Education, Tokyo Gakugei University, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8501, Japan
| | - Akira Utsumi
- Department of Informatics, Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585, Japan
| | - Mika Yamazaki
- Department of Cerebral Research, Division of Cerebral Integration, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8585, Japan
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Eiheiji, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan
| | - Kai Makita
- Department of Cerebral Research, Division of Cerebral Integration, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8585, Japan
- Department of Physiological Sciences, School of Life Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Hayama, Kanagawa, 240-0193, Japan
- Center of KANSEI Innovation, Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan
| | - Tokiko Harada
- Department of Cerebral Research, Division of Cerebral Integration, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8585, Japan
- Center of KANSEI Innovation, Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan
| | - Hiroki C. Tanabe
- Department of Cerebral Research, Division of Cerebral Integration, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8585, Japan
- Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Norihiro Sadato
- Department of Cerebral Research, Division of Cerebral Integration, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8585, Japan
- Department of Physiological Sciences, School of Life Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Hayama, Kanagawa, 240-0193, Japan
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Kluczniok D, Hindi Attar C, Stein J, Poppinga S, Fydrich T, Jaite C, Kappel V, Brunner R, Herpertz SC, Boedeker K, Bermpohl F. Dissociating maternal responses to sad and happy facial expressions of their own child: An fMRI study. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0182476. [PMID: 28806742 PMCID: PMC5555664 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2016] [Accepted: 07/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Maternal sensitive behavior depends on recognizing one’s own child’s affective states. The present study investigated distinct and overlapping neural responses of mothers to sad and happy facial expressions of their own child (in comparison to facial expressions of an unfamiliar child). Methods We used functional MRI to measure dissociable and overlapping activation patterns in 27 healthy mothers in response to happy, neutral and sad facial expressions of their own school-aged child and a gender- and age-matched unfamiliar child. To investigate differential activation to sad compared to happy faces of one’s own child, we used interaction contrasts. During the scan, mothers had to indicate the affect of the presented face. After scanning, they were asked to rate the perceived emotional arousal and valence levels for each face using a 7-point Likert-scale (adapted SAM version). Results While viewing their own child’s sad faces, mothers showed activation in the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex whereas happy facial expressions of the own child elicited activation in the hippocampus. Conjoint activation in response to one’s own child happy and sad expressions was found in the insula and the superior temporal gyrus. Conclusions Maternal brain activations differed depending on the child’s affective state. Sad faces of the own child activated areas commonly associated with a threat detection network, whereas happy faces activated reward related brain areas. Overlapping activation was found in empathy related networks. These distinct neural activation patterns might facilitate sensitive maternal behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothea Kluczniok
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Catherine Hindi Attar
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jenny Stein
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sina Poppinga
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas Fydrich
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Charlotte Jaite
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Virchow, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Viola Kappel
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Virchow, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Romuald Brunner
- Department for General Psychiatry, Center of Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sabine C. Herpertz
- Section for Disorders of Personality Development, Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre of Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katja Boedeker
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Virchow, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Felix Bermpohl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Parent-child intervention decreases stress and increases maternal brain activity and connectivity during own baby-cry: An exploratory study. Dev Psychopathol 2017; 29:535-553. [PMID: 28401845 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579417000165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Parental responses to their children are crucially influenced by stress. However, brain-based mechanistic understanding of the adverse effects of parenting stress and benefits of therapeutic interventions is lacking. We studied maternal brain responses to salient child signals as a function of Mom Power (MP), an attachment-based parenting intervention established to decrease maternal distress. Twenty-nine mothers underwent two functional magnetic resonance imaging brain scans during a baby-cry task designed to solicit maternal responses to child's or self's distress signals. Between scans, mothers were pseudorandomly assigned to either MP (n = 14) or control (n = 15) with groups balanced for depression. Compared to control, MP decreased parenting stress and increased child-focused responses in social brain areas highlighted by the precuneus and its functional connectivity with subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, which are key components of reflective self-awareness and decision-making neurocircuitry. Furthermore, over 13 weeks, reduction in parenting stress was related to increasing child- versus self-focused baby-cry responses in amygdala-temporal pole functional connectivity, which may mediate maternal ability to take her child's perspective. Although replication in larger samples is needed, the results of this first parental-brain intervention study demonstrate robust stress-related brain circuits for maternal care that can be modulated by psychotherapy.
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Greater brain response to emotional expressions of their own children in mothers of preterm infants: an fMRI study. J Perinatol 2017; 37:716-722. [PMID: 28151495 DOI: 10.1038/jp.2017.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2016] [Revised: 11/18/2016] [Accepted: 01/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The birth of a preterm infant and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit hospitalization constitute a potentially traumatic experience for mothers. Although behavioral studies investigated the parenting stress in preterm mothers, no study focused on the underlying neural mechanisms. We examined the effect of preterm births in mothers, by comparing brain activation in mothers of preterm and full-term infants. STUDY DESIGN We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure the cerebral response of 10 first-time mothers of preterm infants (gestational age <32 weeks and/or birth weight <1500) and 11 mothers of full-term infants, viewing happy-, neutral- and distress-face images of their own infant, along with a matched unknown infant. RESULTS While viewing own infant's face preterm mothers showed increased activation in emotional processing area (i.e., inferior frontal gyrus) and social cognition (i.e., supramarginal gyrus) and affiliative behavior (i.e., insula). CONCLUSION Differential brain activation patterns in mothers appears to be a function of the atypical parenthood transition related to prematurity.
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Kim P, Capistrano CG, Erhart A, Gray-Schiff R, Xu N. Socioeconomic disadvantage, neural responses to infant emotions, and emotional availability among first-time new mothers. Behav Brain Res 2017; 325:188-196. [PMID: 28163097 PMCID: PMC5410181 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2016] [Revised: 01/29/2017] [Accepted: 02/01/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
During the early postpartum period, mothers exhibit increased amygdala responses to positive infant expressions, which are important for positive mother-infant relationships. Socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with altered amygdala response to emotional stimuli as well as more negative mother-infant relationships. However, little is known about the role of socioeconomic disadvantage in neural responses specifically to infants. Thus, we examined whether socioeconomic disadvantage (indexed by lower income-to-needs ratio) is associated with neural responses to infant emotions and parenting behaviors among new mothers. Using fMRI, neural responses to infants' emotional expressions (positive, negative, and neutral faces) were assessed among 39 low- and middle-income first-time mothers during 0-6 postpartum months. Lower income-to-needs ratio was associated with dampened amygdala responses to positive infant faces, but increased amygdala responses to negative infant faces. An indirect effect of socioeconomic disadvantage on emotional availability via amygdala activation suggests that socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with heightened neural sensitivity to infants' negative emotions, which is further associated with mothers' intrusiveness observed during interactions with their own infant. The findings suggest that low-income mothers may be more vulnerable to altered neural processing of infants' emotional expressions which may further influence mothers' emotional availability during interactions with their own infants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilyoung Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States.
| | | | - Andrew Erhart
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States
| | - Rachel Gray-Schiff
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States
| | - Nanxi Xu
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, United States
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28
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Kim S, Strathearn L. Trauma, Mothering, and Intergenerational Transmission: A Synthesis of Behavioral and Oxytocin Research. PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDY OF THE CHILD 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/00797308.2016.1277897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sohye Kim
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine
- Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine
- Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine
- Center for Reproductive Psychiatry, Pavilion for Women, Texas Children’s Hospital
| | - Lane Strathearn
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
- Center for Disabilities and Development, University of Iowa Children’s Hospital
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Nishitani S, Ikematsu K, Takamura T, Honda S, Yoshiura KI, Shinohara K. Genetic variants in oxytocin receptor and arginine-vasopressin receptor 1A are associated with the neural correlates of maternal and paternal affection towards their child. Horm Behav 2017; 87:47-56. [PMID: 27743766 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2016] [Revised: 07/19/2016] [Accepted: 09/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
There is extensive evidence in animal studies, particularly in vole species (Microtus), that oxytocin (OT) receptor and arginine-vasopressin (AVP) receptor 1a is critical for the regulation of maternal and paternal behavior, respectively. Human studies have gained insight into the relationship between both hormone receptor gene variants and behavior, but not between the variants and the underlying brain activity. To study this, we investigated the association between neural activation of the anterior prefrontal cortex (APFC) in mothers and fathers in response to their child smiling video stimuli to induce the positive affect related to attachment with their child, and genetic variants of OT receptor (OXTR) and AVP receptor 1A (AVPR1A). Overall, 43 mothers and 41 fathers participated, and each parent's child smiling was video recorded. Participants were then genotyped and underwent near-infrared spectroscopy to measure neural activation of the APFC while observing their own child smiling compared with an unfamiliar child. We found that the right inferior APFC was activated in response to child video stimuli in mothers and differential hemispheric activation of the inferior APFC in OXTR rs2254298-G/G mothers compared with -A carrier mothers, but not in fathers. Furthermore, we found a difference in the left inferior APFC activation between AVPR1A RS3-non-334 and -334 carrier fathers, but not mothers. Our results indicate a sex-dependent association between the genetic variants and the inferior APFC activations of maternal and paternal positive affect, analogous to the results reported in voles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shota Nishitani
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
| | - Kazuya Ikematsu
- Department of Forensic Pathology and Sciences, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
| | - Tsunehiko Takamura
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
| | - Sumihisa Honda
- Department of Nursing, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8520, Japan
| | - Koh-Ichiro Yoshiura
- Department of Human Genetics, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
| | - Kazuyuki Shinohara
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.
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30
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Korb S, Malsert J, Strathearn L, Vuilleumier P, Niedenthal P. Sniff and mimic - Intranasal oxytocin increases facial mimicry in a sample of men. Horm Behav 2016; 84:64-74. [PMID: 27283377 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2015] [Revised: 05/29/2016] [Accepted: 06/04/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has many potential social benefits. For example, intranasal administration of OT appears to trigger caregiving behavior and to improve the recognition of emotional facial expressions. But the mechanism for these effects is not yet clear. Recent findings relating OT to action imitation and to the visual processing of the eye region of faces point to mimicry as a mechanism through which OT improves processing of emotional expression. To test the hypothesis that increased levels of OT in the brain enhance facial mimicry, 60 healthy male participants were administered, in a double-blind between-subjects design, 24 international units (IUs) of OT or placebo (PLA) through nasal spray. Facial mimicry and emotion judgments were recorded in response to movie clips depicting changing facial expressions. As expected, facial mimicry was increased in the OT group, but effects were strongest for angry infant faces. These findings provide further evidence for the importance of OT in social cognitive skills, and suggest that facial mimicry mediates the effects of OT on improved emotion recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Korb
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, Campus Biotech, 9 Chemin des Mines, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, 1202 West Johnson street, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
| | - Jennifer Malsert
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, Campus Biotech, 9 Chemin des Mines, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, 40 bd du Pont d'Arve, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Lane Strathearn
- Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, 213F CDD Center for Disabilities and Development, 100 Hawkins Dr, Iowa City, IA 52246, USA.
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Geneva, 1 rue Michel-Servet, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Paula Niedenthal
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, 1202 West Johnson street, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
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Labek K, Viviani R, Gizewski ER, Verius M, Buchheim A. Neural Correlates of the Appraisal of Attachment Scenes in Healthy Controls and Social Cognition-An fMRI Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:345. [PMID: 27458363 PMCID: PMC4932100 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2016] [Accepted: 06/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The human attachment system is activated in situations of danger such as potential separation, threats of loss of a significant other and potential insecurity on the availability of the attachment figure. To date, however, a precise characterization of the neural correlates of the attachment system in healthy individuals is lacking. This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study aims at characterizing the distinctive neural substrates activated by the exposure to attachment vs. non-attachment scenes. Healthy participants (N = 25) were presented scenes from the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP), a validated set of standardized attachment-related pictures extended by a control picture stimulus set consisting of scenes without attachment-related content. When compared to the control neutral pictures, attachment scenes activated the inferior parietal lobes (IPLs), the middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and the anterior medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). These areas are associated with reasoning about mental representations, semantic memory of social knowledge, and social cognition. This neural activation pattern confirms the distinctive quality of this stimulus set, and suggests its use as a potential neuroimaging probe to assess social cognition/mentalizing related to attachment in healthy and clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Labek
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Innsbruck Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Roberto Viviani
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of InnsbruckInnsbruck, Austria; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, University of UlmUlm, Germany
| | - Elke R Gizewski
- Department of Neuroradiology, Medical University InnsbruckInnsbruck, Austria; Neuroimaging Research Core Facility, Innsbruck Medical UniversityInnsbruck, Austria
| | - Michael Verius
- Department of Neuroradiology, Medical University InnsbruckInnsbruck, Austria; Neuroimaging Research Core Facility, Innsbruck Medical UniversityInnsbruck, Austria
| | - Anna Buchheim
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Innsbruck Innsbruck, Austria
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Lenzi D, Trentini C, Macaluso E, Graziano S, Speranza AM, Pantano P, Ammaniti M. Mothers with depressive symptoms display differential brain activations when empathizing with infant faces. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2016; 249:1-11. [PMID: 27000301 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2016.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2015] [Revised: 12/24/2015] [Accepted: 01/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Maternal care during the first year of life provides the foundation for the infant's emotional and cognitive development. Depressive symptoms in mothers can undermine their early dyadic interaction, which may lead to various psychopathological disorders with long-term consequences. During this period, the mother-child interaction is exclusively preverbal and is based on the mother's ability to understand her infant's needs and feelings (i.e., empathy) and on reciprocal imitation of facial expressions that promote a social dialog that influences the development of the infant self. To study the effects of maternal depressive symptoms on neural circuits underlying these processes, we studied 16 healthy mothers (H) and 14 mothers with depressive symptoms (D), as assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance during observation/empathizing (OE) and imitation (IM) of the faces of both their own child and of that of an unknown child aged between 6 and 12 months. During OE, D deactivated the orbital and medial prefrontal cortex to a greater extent (compared with H), thus pointing to an increased internally focused cognitive style during rest. Moreover, D, in respect to H, displayed a greater reactivity of the right amygdala, which may be an expression of emotional dysregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Delia Lenzi
- Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
| | - Cristina Trentini
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
| | | | - Sonia Graziano
- Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Speranza
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; Centro Interdipartimentale Daniele Bovet, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
| | - Patrizia Pantano
- Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Isernia, Italy
| | - Massimo Ammaniti
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; Centro Interdipartimentale Daniele Bovet, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
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Wonch KE, de Medeiros CB, Barrett JA, Dudin A, Cunningham WA, Hall GB, Steiner M, Fleming AS. Postpartum depression and brain response to infants: Differential amygdala response and connectivity. Soc Neurosci 2016; 11:600-17. [DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2015.1131193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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34
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Kim P, Strathearn L, Swain JE. The maternal brain and its plasticity in humans. Horm Behav 2016; 77:113-23. [PMID: 26268151 PMCID: PMC4724473 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 179] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2015] [Revised: 08/03/2015] [Accepted: 08/07/2015] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
This article is part of a Special Issue "Parental Care". Early mother-infant relationships play important roles in infants' optimal development. New mothers undergo neurobiological changes that support developing mother-infant relationships regardless of great individual differences in those relationships. In this article, we review the neural plasticity in human mothers' brains based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. First, we review the neural circuits that are involved in establishing and maintaining mother-infant relationships. Second, we discuss early postpartum factors (e.g., birth and feeding methods, hormones, and parental sensitivity) that are associated with individual differences in maternal brain neuroplasticity. Third, we discuss abnormal changes in the maternal brain related to psychopathology (i.e., postpartum depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse) and potential brain remodeling associated with interventions. Last, we highlight potentially important future research directions to better understand normative changes in the maternal brain and risks for abnormal changes that may disrupt early mother-infant relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilyoung Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, 2155 South Race Street, Denver, CO 80208-3500, United States.
| | - Lane Strathearn
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa, Center for Disabilities and Development, 100 Hawkins Drive 213F CDD, Iowa City, IA 52246-1011, United States.
| | - James E Swain
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychology and Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, 4250 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2700, United States.
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35
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Moser DA, Paoloni-Giacobino A, Stenz L, Adouan W, Manini A, Suardi F, Cordero MI, Vital M, Sancho Rossignol A, Rusconi-Serpa S, Ansermet F, Dayer AG, Schechter DS. BDNF Methylation and Maternal Brain Activity in a Violence-Related Sample. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0143427. [PMID: 26649946 PMCID: PMC4674054 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2015] [Accepted: 11/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
It is known that increased circulating glucocorticoids in the wake of excessive, chronic, repetitive stress increases anxiety and impairs Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) signaling. Recent studies of BDNF gene methylation in relation to maternal care have linked high BDNF methylation levels in the blood of adults to lower quality of received maternal care measured via self-report. Yet the specific mechanisms by which these phenomena occur remain to be established. The present study examines the link between methylation of the BDNF gene promoter region and patterns of neural activity that are associated with maternal response to stressful versus non-stressful child stimuli within a sample that includes mothers with interpersonal violence-related PTSD (IPV-PTSD). 46 mothers underwent fMRI. The contrast of neural activity when watching children—including their own—was then correlated to BDNF methylation. Consistent with the existing literature, the present study found that maternal BDNF methylation was associated with higher levels of maternal anxiety and greater childhood exposure to domestic violence. fMRI results showed a positive correlation of BDNF methylation with maternal brain activity in the anterior cingulate (ACC), and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), regions generally credited with a regulatory function toward brain areas that are generating emotions. Furthermore we found a negative correlation of BDNF methylation with the activity of the right hippocampus. Since our stimuli focus on stressful parenting conditions, these data suggest that the correlation between vmPFC/ACC activity and BDNF methylation may be linked to mothers who are at a disadvantage with respect to emotion regulation when facing stressful parenting situations. Overall, this study provides evidence that epigenetic signatures of stress-related genes can be linked to functional brain regions regulating parenting stress, thus advancing our understanding of mothers at risk for stress-related psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominik A. Moser
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Ariane Paoloni-Giacobino
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Ludwig Stenz
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Wafae Adouan
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Aurélia Manini
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Francesca Suardi
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Maria I. Cordero
- Faculty of Health, Psychology and Social care, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Marylene Vital
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Ana Sancho Rossignol
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sandra Rusconi-Serpa
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - François Ansermet
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Alexandre G. Dayer
- Faculty of Health, Psychology and Social care, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel S. Schechter
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
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Hipwell AE, Guo C, Phillips ML, Swain JE, Moses-Kolko EL. Right Frontoinsular Cortex and Subcortical Activity to Infant Cry Is Associated with Maternal Mental State Talk. J Neurosci 2015; 35:12725-32. [PMID: 26377462 PMCID: PMC4571605 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1286-15.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2015] [Revised: 07/02/2015] [Accepted: 08/06/2015] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The study objective was to examine neural correlates of a specific component of human caregiving: maternal mental state talk, reflecting a mother's proclivity to attribute mental states and intentionality to her infant. Using a potent, ecologically relevant stimulus of infant cry during fMRI, we tested hypotheses that postpartum neural response to the cry of "own" versus a standard "other" infant in the right frontoinsular cortex (RFIC) and subcortical limbic network would be associated with independent observations of maternal mental state talk. The sample comprised 76 urban-living, low socioeconomic mothers (82% African American) and their 4-month-old infants. Before the fMRI scan, mothers were filmed in face-to-face interaction with their infant, and maternal behaviors were coded by trained researchers unaware of all other information about the participants. The results showed higher functional activity in the RFIC to own versus other infant cry at the group level. In addition, RFIC and bilateral subcortical neural activity (e.g., thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, putamen) was associated positively with maternal mental state talk but not with more global aspects of observed caregiving. These findings held when accounting for perceptual and contextual covariates, such as maternal felt distress, urge to help, depression severity, and recognition of own infant cry. Our results highlight the need to focus on specific components of caregiving to advance understanding of the maternal brain. Future work will examine the predictive utility of this neural marker for mother-child function. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The current study advances extant literature examining the neural underpinning of early parenting behavior. The findings highlight the special functional importance of the right frontoinsular cortex-thalamic-limbic network in a mother's proclivity to engage in mental state talk with her preverbal infant, a circumscribed aspect of maternal caregiving purported to be a prerequisite of sensitive and responsive caregiving. These associations existed specifically for maternal mentalizing behavior and were not evident for more generic aspects of caregiving in this urban sample of 76 postpartum mothers. Finally, the findings were robust even when controlling for potential demographic, perceptual, and contextual confounds, supporting the notion that these regions constitute an innate, specialized maternal mentalizing network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison E Hipwell
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213,
| | - Chaohui Guo
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213,
| | - Mary L Phillips
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
| | - James E Swain
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 and Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
| | - Eydie L Moses-Kolko
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
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37
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Luo L, Ma X, Zheng X, Zhao W, Xu L, Becker B, Kendrick KM. Neural systems and hormones mediating attraction to infant and child faces. Front Psychol 2015; 6:970. [PMID: 26236256 PMCID: PMC4505392 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2015] [Accepted: 06/28/2015] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
We find infant faces highly attractive as a result of specific features which Konrad Lorenz termed “Kindchenschema” or “baby schema,” and this is considered to be an important adaptive trait for promoting protective and caregiving behaviors in adults, thereby increasing the chances of infant survival. This review first examines the behavioral support for this effect and physical and behavioral factors which can influence it. It then provides details of the increasing number of neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies investigating the neural circuitry underlying this baby schema effect in parents and non-parents of both sexes. Next it considers potential hormonal contributions to the baby schema effect in both sexes and the neural effects associated with reduced responses to infant cues in post-partum depression, anxiety and drug taking. Overall the findings reviewed reveal a very extensive neural circuitry involved in our perception of cuteness in infant faces, with enhanced activation compared to adult faces being found in brain regions involved in face perception, attention, emotion, empathy, memory, reward and attachment, theory of mind and also control of motor responses. Both mothers and fathers also show evidence for enhanced responses in these same neural systems when viewing their own as opposed to another child. Furthermore, responses to infant cues in many of these neural systems are reduced in mothers with post-partum depression or anxiety or have taken addictive drugs throughout pregnancy. In general reproductively active women tend to rate infant faces as cuter than men, which may reflect both heightened attention to relevant cues and a stronger activation in their brain reward circuitry. Perception of infant cuteness may also be influenced by reproductive hormones with the hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin being most strongly associated to date with increased attention and attraction to infant cues in both sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lizhu Luo
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaole Ma
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaoxiao Zheng
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China Chengdu, China
| | - Weihua Zhao
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China Chengdu, China
| | - Lei Xu
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China Chengdu, China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China Chengdu, China
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China Chengdu, China
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Lonstein JS, Lévy F, Fleming AS. Common and divergent psychobiological mechanisms underlying maternal behaviors in non-human and human mammals. Horm Behav 2015; 73:156-85. [PMID: 26122301 PMCID: PMC4546863 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2015] [Revised: 06/11/2015] [Accepted: 06/12/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Maternal interactions with young occupy most of the reproductive period for female mammals and are absolutely essential for offspring survival and development. The hormonal, sensory, reward-related, emotional, cognitive and neurobiological regulators of maternal caregiving behaviors have been well studied in numerous subprimate mammalian species, and some of the importance of this body of work is thought to be its relevance for understanding similar controls in humans. We here review many of the important biopsychological influences on maternal behaviors in the two best studied non-human animals, laboratory rats and sheep, and directly examine how the conceptual framework established by some of the major discoveries in these animal "models" do or do not hold for our understanding of human mothering. We also explore some of the limits for extrapolating from non-human animals to humans. We conclude that there are many similarities between non-human and human mothers in the biological and psychological factors influencing their early maternal behavior and that many of the differences are due to species-characteristic features related to the role of hormones, the relative importance of each sensory system, flexibility in what behaviors are exhibited, the presence or absence of language, and the complexity of cortical function influencing caregiving behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph S Lonstein
- Neuroscience Program, 108 Giltner Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Department of Psychology, 108 Giltner Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
| | - Frédéric Lévy
- Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, INRA-CNRS-Université de Tours IFCE, Nouzilly 37380, France.
| | - Alison S Fleming
- Fraser Mustard Institute for Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.
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39
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Chang SWC, Isoda M. Toward a better understanding of social learning, social deciding, and other-regarding preferences. Front Neurosci 2014; 8:362. [PMID: 25414637 PMCID: PMC4222143 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2014] [Accepted: 10/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Steve W. C. Chang
- Department of Psychology, Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of MedicineNew Haven, CT, USA
- *Correspondence:
| | - Masaki Isoda
- Department of Physiology, Kansai Medical University School of MedicineHirakata, Osaka, Japan
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40
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Abstract
While the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder has been extensively researched, much less attention has been paid to the neural mechanisms underlying more covert but pervasive types of trauma (e.g., those involving disrupted relationships and insecure attachment). Here, we report on a neurobiological study documenting that mothers' attachment-related trauma, when unresolved, undermines her optimal brain response to her infant's distress. We examined the amygdala blood oxygenation level-dependent response in 42 first-time mothers as they underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning, viewing happy- and sad-face images of their own infant, along with those of a matched unknown infant. Whereas mothers with no trauma demonstrated greater amygdala responses to the sad faces of their own infant as compared to their happy faces, mothers who were classified as having unresolved trauma in the Adult Attachment Interview (Dynamic Maturational Model) displayed blunted amygdala responses when cued by their own infants' sadness as compared to happiness. Unknown infant faces did not elicit differential amygdala responses between the mother groups. The blunting of the amygdala response in traumatized mothers is discussed as a neural indication of mothers' possible disengagement from infant distress, which may be part of a process linking maternal unresolved trauma and disrupted maternal caregiving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sohye Kim
- a Department of Pediatrics , Baylor College of Medicine , Houston , TX , USA
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