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Schwartz L, Levy J, Hayut O, Netzer O, Endevelt-Shapira Y, Feldman R. Generation WhatsApp: inter-brain synchrony during face-to-face and texting communication. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2672. [PMID: 38302582 PMCID: PMC10834538 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52587-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Texting has become one of the most prevalent ways to interact socially, particularly among youth; however, the effects of text messaging on social brain functioning are unknown. Guided by the biobehavioral synchrony frame, this pre-registered study utilized hyperscanning EEG to evaluate interbrain synchrony during face-to-face versus texting interactions. Participants included 65 mother-adolescent dyads observed during face-to-face conversation compared to texting from different rooms. Results indicate that both face-to-face and texting communication elicit significant neural synchrony compared to surrogate data, demonstrating for the first time brain-to-brain synchrony during texting. Direct comparison between the two interactions highlighted 8 fronto-temporal interbrain links that were significantly stronger in the face-to-face interaction compared to texting. Our findings suggest that partners co-create a fronto-temporal network of inter-brain connections during live social exchanges. The degree of improvement in the partners' right-frontal-right-frontal connectivity from texting to the live social interaction correlated with greater behavioral synchrony, suggesting that this well-researched neural connection may be specific to face-to-face communication. Our findings suggest that while technology-based communication allows humans to synchronize from afar, face-to-face interactions remain the superior mode of communication for interpersonal connection. We conclude by discussing the potential benefits and drawbacks of the pervasive use of texting, particularly among youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linoy Schwartz
- Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Jonathan Levy
- Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
- Department of Criminology and Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Olga Hayut
- Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Ofir Netzer
- Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Yaara Endevelt-Shapira
- Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel.
- Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, USA.
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2
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Pérez-Hernández M, García-Hernández JP, Hidalgo-Aguirre RM, Guevara MA, Robles-Aguirre FA, Hernández-González M. Electroencephalographic activity during direct breastfeeding and breast milk expression in primiparous mothers. Early Hum Dev 2024; 189:105945. [PMID: 38271767 DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2024.105945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Breastfeeding is recognized worldwide as the best option for infant feeding. Expressing breast milk is an alternative for mothers to provide their infants all the benefits of maternal milk. During breast milk expression, mothers receive a distinct kind of sensory stimulation, because there is no direct bodily or affective interaction with their infants, many women report feeling isolated, generating a love-hate relation with pumping, and even low levels of satisfaction while expressing breast milk. While it is well known that the prefrontal, parietal, and temporal cortices play important roles in the emotional and cognitive processing of maternal stimuli, knowledge about how these cortical areas function during breastfeeding is lacking. This study was designed to characterize EEG activity in the prefrontal and parietal cortices and the affective scores of primiparous breastfeeding mothers during two conditions of milk expression: breast milk expression and direct breastfeeding. Participants reported higher valence and arousal and a pleasant state during direct breastfeeding. In the direct breastfeeding condition, both prefrontal areas showed a higher absolute power (AP) of the slow bands, with a lower AP of the alpha band in the parietal cortex. A lower correlation between frontopolar and dorsolateral areas with a higher correlation between prefrontal and parietal cortices was obtained mainly in the right hemisphere. This EEG activity could be linked to an internal state of focused attention and, simultaneously, open monitoring of the environment that suggests an integration of the motive-emotional and cognitive processes necessary for adequate mother-baby interaction during direct breastfeeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Pérez-Hernández
- Centro Universitario del Norte, Universidad de Guadalajara, Carr. Federal No. 23, Km. 191, C.P. 46200 Colotlán, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - J P García-Hernández
- Universidad Tecnológica de México - UNITEC MÉXICO - Campus Guadalajara, Mexico; Centro Universitario de los Valles, Universidad de Guadalajara, Carretera Guadalajara - Ameca Km. 45.5, C.P. 46600 Ameca, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - R M Hidalgo-Aguirre
- Centro Universitario de los Valles, Universidad de Guadalajara, Carretera Guadalajara - Ameca Km. 45.5, C.P. 46600 Ameca, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - M A Guevara
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad de Guadalajara, Francisco de Quevedo 180, Colonia Arcos-Vallarta, C.P. 44130 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - F A Robles-Aguirre
- Centro Universitario del Norte, Universidad de Guadalajara, Carr. Federal No. 23, Km. 191, C.P. 46200 Colotlán, Jalisco, Mexico
| | - M Hernández-González
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad de Guadalajara, Francisco de Quevedo 180, Colonia Arcos-Vallarta, C.P. 44130 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
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Schwartz L, Levy J, Endevelt-Shapira Y, Djalovski A, Hayut O, Dumas G, Feldman R. Technologically-assisted communication attenuates inter-brain synchrony. Neuroimage 2022; 264:119677. [PMID: 36244598 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The transition to technologically-assisted communication has permeated all facets of human social life; yet, its impact on the social brain is still unknown and the effects may be particularly intense during periods of developmental transitions. Applying a two-brain perspective, the current preregistered study utilized hyperscanning EEG to measure brain-to-brain synchrony in 62 mother-child pairs at the transition to adolescence (child age; M = 12.26, range 10-14) during live face-to-face interaction versus technologically-assisted remote communication. The live interaction elicited 9 significant cross-brain links between densely inter-connected frontal and temporal areas in the beta range [14-30 Hz]. Mother's right frontal region connected with the child's right and left frontal, temporal, and central regions, suggesting its regulatory role in organizing the two-brain dynamics. In contrast, the remote interaction elicited only 1 significant cross-brain-cross-hemisphere link, attenuating the robust right-to-right-brain connectivity during live social moments that communicates socio-affective signals. Furthermore, while the level of social behavior was comparable between the two interactions, brain-behavior associations emerged only during the live exchange. Mother-child right temporal-temporal synchrony linked with moments of shared gaze and the degree of child engagement and empathic behavior correlated with right frontal-frontal synchrony. Our findings indicate that human co-presence is underpinned by specific neurobiological processes that should be studied in depth. Much further research is needed to tease apart whether the "Zoom fatigue" experienced during technological communication may stem, in part, from overload on more limited inter-brain connections and to address the potential cost of social technology for brain maturation, particularly among youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linoy Schwartz
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Jonathan Levy
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel; Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Finland
| | | | - Amir Djalovski
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Olga Hayut
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Guillaume Dumas
- Precision Psychiatry and Social Physiology laboratory, CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Center for Developmental Social Neuroscience, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel; Child Study Center, Yale University, United States.
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4
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Ngoh G, Wu J, Potenza MN, Mayes LC, Rutherford HJV. Exploring resting frontal EEG and reflective functioning in maternal substance use. Infant Ment Health J 2022; 43:519-532. [PMID: 35699268 PMCID: PMC9827537 DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Maternal substance use is associated with altered neural activity and poor offspring outcomes, which may be facilitated by suboptimal caregiving in the form of impaired parental reflective functioning (PRF). To investigate these associations, the resting-state frontal electroencephalography (EEG) power of 48 substance-using mothers and 37 non-substance-using mothers were examined, specifying seven frequency bands: delta, theta, alpha, alpha1, alpha2, beta, and gamma. Substance-using mothers exhibited enhanced beta and gamma spectral power compared to non-substance-using mothers, potentially reflecting higher arousal states in substance-using mothers. There were no between-group differences in any component of PRF (i.e., levels of pre-mentalizing, certainty, and interest and curiosity). Whole-sample analyses revealed significant positive correlations between pre-mentalizing and delta spectral power. Taken together, these findings suggest potential neural correlates of maternal substance use and PRF, providing an important next step into examining associations between maternal substance use and poor child outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwendolyn Ngoh
- Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Jia Wu
- Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Marc N Potenza
- Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- The Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- The Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Wethersfield, Connecticut, USA
| | - Linda C Mayes
- Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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5
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Reiss D, Ganiban JM, Leve LD, Neiderhiser JM, Shaw DS, Natsuaki MN. Parenting in the Context of the Child: Genetic and Social Processes. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev 2022; 87:7-188. [PMID: 37070594 PMCID: PMC10329459 DOI: 10.1111/mono.12460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 04/19/2023]
Abstract
The focus on the role of parenting in child development has a long-standing history. When measures of parenting precede changes in child development, researchers typically infer a causal role of parenting practices and attitudes on child development. However, this research is usually conducted with parents raising their own biological offspring. Such research designs cannot account for the effects of genes that are common to parents and children, nor for genetically influenced traits in children that influence how they are parented and how parenting affects them. The aim of this monograph is to provide a clearer view of parenting by synthesizing findings from the Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS). EGDS is a longitudinal study of adopted children, their birth parents, and their rearing parents studied across infancy and childhood. Families (N = 561) were recruited in the United States through adoption agencies between 2000 and 2010. Data collection began when adoptees were 9 months old (males = 57.2%; White 54.5%, Black 13.2%, Hispanic/Latinx 13.4%, Multiracial 17.8%, other 1.1%). The median child age at adoption placement was 2 days (M = 5.58, SD = 11.32). Adoptive parents were predominantly in their 30s, White, and coming from upper-middle- or upper-class backgrounds with high educational attainment (a mode at 4-year college or graduate degree). Most adoptive parents were heterosexual couples, and were married at the beginning of the project. The birth parent sample was more racially and ethnically diverse, but the majority (70%) were White. At the beginning of the study, most birth mothers and fathers were in their 20s, with a mode of educational attainment at high school degree, and few of them were married. We have been following these family members over time, assessing their genetic influences, prenatal environment, rearing environment, and child development. Controlling for effects of genes common to parents and children, we confirmed some previously reported associations between parenting, parent psychopathology, and marital adjustment in relation to child problematic and prosocial behavior. We also observed effects of children's heritable characteristics, characteristics thought to be transmitted from parent to child by genetic means, on their parents and how those effects contributed to subsequent child development. For example, we found that genetically influenced child impulsivity and social withdrawal both elicited harsh parenting, whereas a genetically influenced sunny disposition elicited parental warmth. We found numerous instances of children's genetically influenced characteristics that enhanced positive parental influences on child development or that protected them from harsh parenting. Integrating our findings, we propose a new, genetically informed process model of parenting. We posit that parents implicitly or explicitly detect genetically influenced liabilities and assets in their children. We also suggest future research into factors such as marital adjustment, that favor parents responding with appropriate protection or enhancement. Our findings illustrate a productive use of genetic information in prevention research: helping parents respond effectively to a profile of child strengths and challenges rather than using genetic information simply to identify some children unresponsive to current preventive interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Reiss
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine
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6
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Martínez-García M, Cardenas SI, Pawluski J, Carmona S, Saxbe DE. Recent Neuroscience Advances in Human Parenting. ADVANCES IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2022; 27:239-267. [PMID: 36169818 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-97762-7_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The transition to parenthood entails brain adaptations to the demands of caring for a newborn. This chapter reviews recent neuroscience findings on human parenting, focusing on neuroimaging studies. First, we describe the brain circuits underlying human maternal behavior, which comprise ancient subcortical circuits and more sophisticated cortical regions. Then, we present the short-term and long-term functional and structural brain adaptations that characterize the transition to motherhood, discuss the long-term effects of parenthood on the brain, and propose several underlying neural mechanisms. We also review neuroimaging findings in biological fathers and alloparents (such as other relatives or adoptive parents), who engage in parenting without directly experiencing pregnancy or childbirth. Finally, we describe perinatal mental illnesses and discuss the neural responses associated with such disorders. To date, studies indicate that parenthood is a period of enhanced brain plasticity within brain areas critical for cognitive and social processing and that both parenting experience and gestational-related factors can prime such plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Martínez-García
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain.
| | - Sofia I Cardenas
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jodi Pawluski
- Univ Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail), Rennes, France
| | - Susanna Carmona
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Darby E Saxbe
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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7
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Plank IS, Hindi Attar C, Kunas SL, Dziobek I, Bermpohl F. Increased activation in the bilateral anterior insulae in response to others in pain in mothers compared to non-mothers. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22757. [PMID: 34815443 PMCID: PMC8610985 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02162-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathy allows us to share emotions and encourages us to help others. It is especially important in the context of parenting where children's wellbeing is dependent on their parents' understanding and fulfilment of their needs. To date, little is known about differences in empathy responses of parents and non-parents. Using stimuli depicting adults and children in pain, this study focuses on the interaction of motherhood and neural responses in areas associated with empathy. Mothers showed higher activation to both adults and children in pain in the bilateral anterior insulae, key regions of empathy for pain. Additionally, mothers more strongly activated the inferior frontal, superior temporal and the medial superior frontal gyrus. Differences between adult and child stimuli were only found in occipital areas in both mothers and non-mothers. Our results suggest a stronger neural response to others in pain in mothers than non-mothers regardless of whether the person is a child or an adult. This could indicate a possible influence of motherhood on overall neural responses to others in pain rather than motherhood specifically shaping child-related responses. Alternatively, stronger responses to others in pain could increase the likelihood for women to be in a relationship and subsequently to have a child.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Sophia Plank
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences | CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Catherine Hindi Attar
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences | CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefanie L Kunas
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences | CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Isabel Dziobek
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Felix Bermpohl
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences | CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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8
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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: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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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9
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Aguirre RMH, González MH, Hernández MP, Gutiérrez CDCA, Guevara MÁ. Observing baby or sexual videos changes the functional synchronization between the prefrontal and parietal cortices in mothers in different postpartum periods. Soc Neurosci 2020; 15:489-504. [PMID: 32402224 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2020.1761447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
During the postpartum period (PP), mothers are more sensitive to sensory stimuli related to babies and less sensitive to those with sexual significance. The processing of emotional stimuli requires synchronization among different cerebral areas. This study characterized the cortical electroencephalographic (EEG) correlation in mothers from 1½ to 3 months (PP1), 4 to 5½ months (PP2) and over 6½ months, postpartum (PP3) while observing two videos: one of a baby (BV) and one with sexual content (SV). EEGs were recorded from the frontopolar, dorsolateral and parietal cortices. All three groups rated the BV as pleasant, but only PP3 reported higher sexual arousal with the SV. While watching the BV, PP1 showed a higher correlation among all cortical areas; PP2 manifested a decreased correlation between the prefrontal and parietal cortices, likely associated with the lower emotional modulation of the BV; and PP3 presented a higher synchronization among fewer cortical areas, probably related to longer maternal experience. These cortical synchronization patterns could represent adaptive mechanisms that enable the adequate processing of baby stimuli in new mothers. These data increase our knowledge of the cerebral processes associated with distinct sensitivities to the emotional stimuli that mothers experience during the PP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa María Hidalgo Aguirre
- Laboratorio de Neuropsicología, Centro Universitario de los Valles, Universidad de Guadalajara , Ameca, México.,Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad de Guadalajara , Guadalajara, México
| | | | - Marai Pérez Hernández
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias, Centro Universitario del Norte, Universidad de Guadalajara , Guadalajara, Mexico
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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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11
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Pratt M, Zeev-Wolf M, Goldstein A, Feldman R. Exposure to early and persistent maternal depression impairs the neural basis of attachment in preadolescence. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2019; 93:21-30. [PMID: 30876985 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2019.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2018] [Revised: 01/05/2019] [Accepted: 03/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Maternal depression increases child vulnerability to psychopathology, loneliness, and social maladjustment; yet, its long-term effects on the social brain are unknown. In this prospective longitudinal study we examined the impact of early and persistent maternal depression on the neural basis of attachment in preadolescence. A community cohort was followed in two groups; children exposed to maternal depression from birth to 6 years and healthy controls. At 9 months and 6 years, mother-child interactions were coded for maternal sensitivity and affect synchrony and salivary oxytocin levels were assessed at 6 years. At preadolescence (11-13 years), children underwent magnetoencephalography (MEG) while exposed to own versus unfamiliar mother-child interaction. Own interaction elicited greater response in beta- and gamma-band oscillations across a wide cluster in temporal and insular cortices, including the Superior Temporal Sulcus, Superior Temporal Gyrus, Inferior Temporal Gyrus, and insula. Beta activations were predicted by maternal sensitivity across early childhood and gamma by affect synchrony. Oxytocin was related to beta response to social cues. Maternal depression impacted child's brain response in two ways. First, maternal depression significantly increased the prevalence of child affective disorder and such children showed no neural differentiation between attachment and non-attachment stimuli. Second, maternal depression decreased maternal sensitivity, affect synchrony, and child oxytocin across early childhood and these were longitudinally associated with aberrant neural response to attachment-specific and social-general cues in preadolescence. Our findings are the first to describe mechanisms by which maternal depression impairs the neural basis of attachment at the transition to adolescence and advocate the need for relationship-focused early interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maayan Pratt
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdsiciplinary Center, Herzila, Israel; Department of Psychology and Gonda Brain Science Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Maor Zeev-Wolf
- Department of Education, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
| | - Abraham Goldstein
- Department of Psychology and Gonda Brain Science Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdsiciplinary Center, Herzila, Israel; Yale University, Child Study Center, USA.
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12
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Pratt M, Goldstein A, Feldman R. Child brain exhibits a multi-rhythmic response to attachment cues. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 13:957-966. [PMID: 30085308 PMCID: PMC6137312 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2018] [Revised: 05/22/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Research on the human parental brain implicated brain networks involved in simulation, mentalization and emotion processing and indicated that stimuli of own parent-child interaction elicit greater integration among networks supporting attachment. Here, we examined children's neural activation while viewing own parent-child interactions and asked whether similar networks activate when children are exposed to attachment stimuli. Sixty-five 11-year-old children underwent magnetoencephalography (MEG) while observing own vs unfamiliar mother-child interaction. Own mother-child interactions elicited a greater neural response across distributed brain areas including alpha suppression in posterior regions, theta enhancement in the fusiform gyrus and beta- and gamma-band oscillations across a wide cluster in the right temporal cortex, comprising the superior temporal sulcus/superior temporal gyrus and insula. Theta and gamma activations were associated with the degree of mother-child social synchrony in the home ecology. Findings from this exploratory study are the first to show activations in children that are similar to previous findings in parents and comparable associations between social synchrony and gamma oscillations in temporal regions. Results indicate that attachment stimuli elicit a strong neural response in children that spreads across a wide range of oscillations, underscoring the considerable neural resources allocated to this fundamental, survival-related cue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maayan Pratt
- Department of Psychology , Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Abraham Goldstein
- Department of Psychology , Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
- The Gonda Brain Sciences Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Intradisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel
- Child Study Center, Yale University
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Young KS, Parsons CE, Stein A, Vuust P, Craske MG, Kringelbach ML. The neural basis of responsive caregiving behaviour: Investigating temporal dynamics within the parental brain. Behav Brain Res 2017; 325:105-116. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2016] [Revised: 09/01/2016] [Accepted: 09/05/2016] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
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Pérez-Hernández M, Hernández-González M, Hidalgo-Aguirre R, Amezcua-Gutiérrez C, Guevara M. Listening to a baby crying induces higher electroencephalographic synchronization among prefrontal, temporal and parietal cortices in adoptive mothers. Infant Behav Dev 2017; 47:1-12. [DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2017.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2016] [Revised: 01/16/2017] [Accepted: 02/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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