Risk factors occurring during pregnancy and birth in relation to brain functioning and child's anxiety

Becoming a mother entails anatomical changes in the ventral striatum of the human brain that facilitate its responsiveness to offspring cues

In mothers, offspring cues are associated with a powerful reinforcing value that motivates maternal care. Animal studies show that this is mediated by dopamine release into the nucleus accumbens, a core component of the brain's reward system located in the ventral striatum (VStr). The VStr is also known to respond to infant signals in human mothers. However, it is unknown whether pregnancy modifies the anatomy or functionality of this structure, and whether such modifications underlie its strong reactivity to offspring cues. Therefore, we analyzed structural and functional neuroimaging data from a unique pre-conception prospective cohort study involving first-time mothers investigated before and after their pregnancy as well as nulliparous control women scanned at similar time intervals. First, we delineated the anatomy of the VStr in each subject's neuroanatomical space and examined whether there are volumetric changes in this structure across sessions. Then, we tested if these changes could predict the mothers' brain responses to visual stimuli of their infants. We found decreases in the right VStr and a trend for left VStr reductions in the women who were pregnant between sessions compared to the women who were not. Furthermore, VStr volume reductions across pregnancy were associated with infant-related VStr responses in the postpartum period, with stronger volume decreases predicting stronger functional activation to offspring cues. These findings provide the first indications that the transition to motherhood renders anatomical adaptations in the VStr that promote the strong responsiveness of a mother's reward circuit to cues of her infant.

Early risk factors for psychopathology in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder: the role of obstetric complications and maternal comorbid anxiety

OBJECTIVE

Offspring of parents with bipolar disorder (BD) are at increased risk for developing a range of psychiatric disorders. Although genetic factors clearly confer risk to offspring, environmental factors also play a role in increasing vulnerability. Such environmental factors may occur at the initial stages of development in the form of obstetric complications (OCs). The current investigation examined the relationship between OCs and the development of psychopathology in offspring at risk for BD and the influence of parental psychopathology in this relationship.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 206 offspring of 119 parents with BD. Probit regression analyses examined associations between: (1) OC history and offspring psychopathology; and (2) maternal lifetime comorbid anxiety diagnoses and OCs in pregnancy/delivery with their offspring. Path analyses then tested whether OCs mediate the relationship between maternal comorbid anxiety disorders and offspring lifetime psychopathology.

RESULTS

Results indicated a specific association between OCs, particularly delivery complications, and increased risk for offspring anxiety disorders. Data also showed a significant relationship between maternal anxiety disorder comorbidity and OCs. Finally, path analyses suggested that delivery complications act as a mediator in the relationship between comorbid maternal anxiety disorder and offspring anxiety disorder.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings lend support to the importance of identifying and reducing anxiety in pregnant woman with BD. The identification of OCs as early vulnerability factors for psychopathology in offspring at familial risk may also lead to earlier detection and intervention in these offspring.

Early predictors of separation anxiety disorder: early stranger anxiety, parental pathology and prenatal factors

OBJECTIVE

The present study seeks to extend research on the etiology of separation anxiety disorder (SAD) in a German-speaking sample by examining differences between children with SAD and healthy comparisons, using a retrospective-reporting paradigm.

METHOD

The sample included 106 children with SAD and 44 healthy children between the ages of 4 and 14 years. Parents completed questionnaires and structured clinical interviews to assess parental pathology, pregnancy variables and strong early stranger anxiety.

RESULTS

Children with SAD were more likely than healthy children to have had a phase of stronger stranger anxiety in infancy. Further, early stranger anxiety remained a significant predictor of SAD after controlling for maternal depression. Meaningful effects were not found for the influence of parental age at birth or other pregnancy factors.

CONCLUSION

This study provides beginning evidence of the potential predictive value of strong stranger anxiety in distinguishing children with SAD from those with no disorder, above and beyond the influence of parental pathology.