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Fisher H, Solomonov N, Falkenström F, Shahar B, Shamay-Tsoory S, Zilcha-Mano S. Therapists' oxytocin response mediates the association between patients' negative emotions and psychotherapy outcomes. J Affect Disord 2023; 338:163-170. [PMID: 37295654 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Existing literature suggests that patients' experiences of emotions, especially negative emotions, predict outcomes in psychotherapies for major depressive disorder. However, the specific mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. Based on studies pointing to the role of oxytocin (OT) in attachment relationships, we proposed and tested a mediation model where the therapists' hormonal responses, as represented by increases in their OT levels, mediates the association between negative emotions and symptomatic change. METHOD OT saliva samples (pre- and post-session, N = 435) were collected on a fixed schedule over 16 sessions from the therapists of 62 patients receiving psychotherapy for major depression. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression was administered to the patients before the sessions, and the patients reported their in-session emotions after the sessions. RESULTS The findings support the proposed within-person mediation model: (a) higher levels of negative emotions in patients predicted greater increases in therapist OT levels pre- to post-session throughout treatment; (b) greater OT levels in therapists, in turn, predicted reduction in patients' depressive symptoms on the subsequent assessment; and (c) the therapists' OT levels significantly mediated the association between patients' negative emotions and reduction in their depressive symptoms. LIMITATIONS This design precluded establishing a time sequence between patients' negative emotions and therapists' OT; thus, causality could not be inferred. CONCLUSION These findings point to a possible biological mechanism underlying the effects of patients' experiences of negative emotions on treatment outcomes. The findings suggest that therapists' OT responses could potentially serve as a biomarker of an effective therapeutic processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hadar Fisher
- Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
| | - Nili Solomonov
- Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, Weill Medical College, New York, USA
| | | | - Ben Shahar
- School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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Karimova ED, Gulyaeva AS, Katermin NS. The degree of mu rhythm suppression in women is associated with presence of children as well as empathy and anxiety level. Soc Neurosci 2022; 17:382-396. [PMID: 35950700 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2022.2112753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
In experiments on observing and performing social gestures, the level of mu rhythm suppression is associated with the activity of the mirror neuron system (MNS), which is responsible for the perception and understanding of nonverbal signals in social communication. In turn, while MNS activity may be associated primarily with empathy, it is also associated with other psychological and demographic factors affecting the effectiveness of cortical neural networks.In this study, we verified the influence of empathy, state and trait anxiety levels, presence and number of children, age, and menstrual cycle phase on the mu-suppression level in 40 women. We used 32-channel EEG recorded during observation, and synchronous execution of various hand movements. The ICA infomax method was used for decomposing and selecting the left hemisphere component of the mu-rhythm.Mu-suppression was higher in women with one child, with higher levels of empathy, and with lower anxiety levels. It is possible that MNS activity is stronger in women during parental care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterina D Karimova
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of RAS (IHNA&NPh RAS), Moscow, Russia
| | - Alena S Gulyaeva
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of RAS (IHNA&NPh RAS), Moscow, Russia
| | - Nikita S Katermin
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of RAS (IHNA&NPh RAS), Moscow, Russia
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3
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Massey SH, Estabrook R, Lapping-Carr L, Newmark RL, Decety J, Wisner KL, Wakschlag LS. Are empathic processes mechanisms of pregnancy's protective effect on smoking? Identification of a novel target for preventive intervention. Soc Sci Med 2022; 305:115071. [PMID: 35660692 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2021] [Revised: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Spontaneous cessation and reduction in smoking by pregnant women suggest that concern about others, or empathy, could be a malleable target for intervention. We examined various empathy-related processes in relations to reported and biochemically assessed smoking during pregnancy. METHODS Participants were 154 pregnant women (M = 12.4 weeks gestation, SD = 4.6) who were smoking cigarettes immediately prior to pregnancy recognition (85 had quit and 69 were still smoking at enrollment). Empathy-related processes were measured with performance-based paradigms (affect sharing, empathic concern, and theory of mind) and a speech sample (expressed emotion). Smoking was assessed with timeline follow back interviews and urine cotinine assays. Using zero-inflated Poisson regression models, we tested direct and interactive effects of empathy-related processes with respect to biologically verified smoking cessation (zero portion); and mean cigarettes/day smoked after pregnancy recognition among persistent smokers (count portion). RESULTS Affect sharing was inversely related to post-recognition cigarettes/day (B(SE) = -0.17(0.07), 95%C.I. -0.30,-0.04, p = .011) and moderated the relationship between pre-recognition smoking and post-recognition smoking consistent with a buffering effect (B(SE) = -.17(0.05); 95%C.I. - 0.28,-0.06; p = .002). Other empathy related processes showed neither direct nor interactive effects on smoking outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Further research is recommended to clarify the role of empathy in pregnancy smoking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suena H Massey
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N Saint Clair Street, Suite 1000, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA; Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 633 N Saint Clair Street, 19th Floor, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
| | - Ryne Estabrook
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W Harrison Street, 1018D, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA
| | - Leiszle Lapping-Carr
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N Saint Clair Street, Suite 1000, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Rebecca L Newmark
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N Saint Clair Street, Suite 1000, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA; University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, 513 Parnassus Ave, Suite S-224, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, 5848 South University Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | - Katherine L Wisner
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N Saint Clair Street, Suite 1000, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Lauren S Wakschlag
- Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 633 N Saint Clair Street, 19th Floor, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA; Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 625 N. Michigan, Suite 2100, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
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4
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Ratliff EL, Kerr KL, Cosgrove KT, Simmons WK, Morris AS. The Role of Neurobiological Bases of Dyadic Emotion Regulation in the Development of Psychopathology: Cross-Brain Associations Between Parents and Children. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2022; 25:5-18. [PMID: 35113318 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-022-00380-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Daily interactions between parents and children play a large role in children's emotional development and mental health. Thus, it is important to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying this association within the context of these dyadic social interactions. We suggest that examining cross-brain associations, coordinated brain responses, among parents and children increases our understanding of patterns of social and emotion-related processes that occur during parent-child interactions, which may influence the development of child emotion regulation and psychopathology. Therefore, we extend the Parent-Child Emotion Regulation Dynamics Model (Morris et al., in: Cole and Hollenstein (eds) Dynamics of emotion regulation: A matter of time, Taylor & Francis, 2018) to include cross-brain associations involved in dyadic emotion regulation during parent-child social emotional interactions and discuss how this model can inform future research and its broader applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin L Ratliff
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Oklahoma State University - Tulsa, 700 N. Greenwood Ave, Tulsa, OK, 74106-0700, USA
| | - Kara L Kerr
- Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University - Stillwater, 118 Psychology Building, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA
| | - Kelly T Cosgrove
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, 6655 S. Yale Ave., Tulsa, OK, 74136, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Tulsa, 800 S. Tucker Dr., Tulsa, OK, 74104, USA
| | - W Kyle Simmons
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Center for Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, 1111 W. 17th St., Tulsa, OK, 74107, USA
| | - Amanda Sheffield Morris
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Oklahoma State University - Tulsa, 700 N. Greenwood Ave, Tulsa, OK, 74106-0700, USA. .,Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University - Stillwater, 118 Psychology Building, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA.
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5
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Zollman JW, Forbes EE, Cyranowski JM, Woods BK, Morgan JK. Mother-Adolescent Neural Concordance in Response to Distress is Related to Greater Mother-Adolescent Concordance of Perceived Adolescent Anxiety. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports 2021; 6:100207. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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Eslinger PJ, Anders S, Ballarini T, Boutros S, Krach S, Mayer AV, Moll J, Newton TL, Schroeter ML, de Oliveira-Souza R, Raber J, Sullivan GB, Swain JE, Lowe L, Zahn R. The neuroscience of social feelings: mechanisms of adaptive social functioning. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 128:592-620. [PMID: 34089764 PMCID: PMC8388127 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Revised: 01/31/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Social feelings have conceptual and empirical connections with affect and emotion. In this review, we discuss how they relate to cognition, emotion, behavior and well-being. We examine the functional neuroanatomy and neurobiology of social feelings and their role in adaptive social functioning. Existing neuroscience literature is reviewed to identify concepts, methods and challenges that might be addressed by social feelings research. Specific topic areas highlight the influence and modulation of social feelings on interpersonal affiliation, parent-child attachments, moral sentiments, interpersonal stressors, and emotional communication. Brain regions involved in social feelings were confirmed by meta-analysis using the Neurosynth platform for large-scale, automated synthesis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data. Words that relate specifically to social feelings were identfied as potential research variables. Topical inquiries into social media behaviors, loneliness, trauma, and social sensitivity, especially with recent physical distancing for guarding public and personal health, underscored the increasing importance of social feelings for affective and second person neuroscience research with implications for brain development, physical and mental health, and lifelong adaptive functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul J Eslinger
- Departments of Neurology, Neural & Behavioral Sciences, Pediatrics, and Radiology, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, USA.
| | - Silke Anders
- Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Tommaso Ballarini
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sydney Boutros
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Sören Krach
- Social Neuroscience Lab, Translational Psychiatry Unit, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Annalina V Mayer
- Social Neuroscience Lab, Translational Psychiatry Unit, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Jorge Moll
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Tamara L Newton
- University of Louisville, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Matthias L Schroeter
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ricardo de Oliveira-Souza
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), BR Hospital Universitario, Universidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jacob Raber
- Departments of Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurology, and Radiation Medicine, Division of Neuroscience, ONPRC, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Gavin B Sullivan
- International Psychoanalytic University, Berlin, Germany, Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry University, UK
| | - James E Swain
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Psychology and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | | | - Roland Zahn
- Centre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
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7
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Mazinani Z, Shakiba S, Pourshahbaz A, Vahedi M. Five Factor Narcissism and threat to fundamental needs following social exclusion engendered by the Cyberball game. Personality and Individual Differences 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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8
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Mascaro JS, Florian MP, Ash MJ, Palmer PK, Frazier T, Condon P, Raison C. Ways of Knowing Compassion: How Do We Come to Know, Understand, and Measure Compassion When We See It? Front Psychol 2020; 11:547241. [PMID: 33132956 PMCID: PMC7561712 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.547241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the last decade, empirical research on compassion has burgeoned in the biomedical, clinical, translational, and foundational sciences. Increasingly sophisticated understandings and measures of compassion continue to emerge from the abundance of multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary studies. Naturally, the diversity of research methods and theoretical frameworks employed presents a significant challenge to consensus and synthesis of this knowledge. To bring the empirical findings of separate and sometimes siloed disciplines into conversation with one another requires an examination of their disparate assumptions about what compassion is and how it can be known. Here, we present an integrated theoretical review of methodologies used in the empirical study of compassion. Our goal is to highlight the distinguishing features of each of these ways of knowing compassion, as well as the strengths and limitations of applying them to specific research questions. We hope this will provide useful tools for selecting methods that are tailored to explicit objectives (methods matching), taking advantage of methodological complementarity across disciplines (methods mixing), and incorporating the empirical study of compassion into fields in which it may be missing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer S. Mascaro
- Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | | | - Marcia J. Ash
- Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Patricia K. Palmer
- Department of Spiritual Health, Woodruff Health Sciences Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Tyralynn Frazier
- Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Paul Condon
- Department of Psychology, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR, United States
| | - Charles Raison
- School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, United States
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9
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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10
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Gómez-Carvajal AM, Santamaría-García H, García AM, Valderrama M, Mejia J, Santamaría-García J, Bernal M, Silva J, Ibáñez A, Baez S. The unique social sense of puerperium: Increased empathy and Schadenfreude in parents of newborns. Sci Rep 2020; 10:5760. [PMID: 32238840 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-62622-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Pregnancy and puerperium are typified by marked biobehavioral changes. These changes, which are traceable in both mothers and fathers, play an important role in parenthood and may modulate social cognition abilities. However, the latter effects remain notably unexplored in parents of newborns (PNs). To bridge this gap, we assessed empathy and social emotions (envy and Schadenfreude) in 55 PNs and 60 controls (childless healthy participants without a romantic relationship or sexual intercourse in the previous 48 hours). We used facial electromyography to detect physiological signatures of social emotion processing. Results revealed higher levels of affective empathy and Schadenfreude in PNs, the latter pattern being accompanied by increased activity of the corrugator suppercilii region. These effects were not explained by potential confounding variables (educational level, executive functioning, depression, stress levels, hours of sleep). Our novel findings suggest that PNs might show social cognition changes crucial for parental bonding and newborn care.
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11
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Laughlin C, Takahashi M. Mystical Love: The Universal Solvent. Anthropol Conscious 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/anoc.12120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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12
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13
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Zahn R, de Oliveira-Souza R, Moll J. Moral Motivation and the Basal Forebrain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:207-217. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Revised: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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14
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Kaźmierczak M, Pawlicka P. SER-PD – Polish adaptation of the My Emotions Scale for the assessment of parents’ emotional reactions to child’s crying. Current Issues in Personality Psychology 2019; 7:53-63. [DOI: 10.5114/cipp.2018.76188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BackgroundThe Polish adaptation of the My Emotions Scale measuring parental self-reported emotional reactions to a child’s crying is pre-sented. The scale measures parent-oriented (amusement, anxiety, frustration) and infant-oriented (sympathy and empathy) emo-tional reactions to a child’s crying, which has been defined as the most obvious early attachment behaviour.Participants and procedureA total of 495 parents of small children (including 376 mothers, no couples) took part in the study. Females were M = 27.79 (SD = 5.01) years old on average, whereas mean age of men was M = 31.71 (SD = 5.37) years. The majority of participants (74.90%) had one child. The average age of the assessed child was M = 9.17 months (SD = 4.43). Reliability and validity prop-erties of the scale are presented.ResultsThe results confirmed the five-factor model, which showed adequate fit indices. The SER-PD has adequate internal consistency. The criterion-related validity of the scale was established by correlating five dimensions of parental emotional reactions to the child’s crying with measures of dispositional empathy and contextually neutral emotional reactions.ConclusionsThe SER-PD gives the opportunity for broader analyses of the parental responsiveness construct. It is a useful tool to examine parent-child interactions easily and noninvasively, in large samples, and in situations where qualitative data might be difficult to obtain.
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15
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Noriuchi M, Kikuchi Y, Mori K, Kamio Y. The orbitofrontal cortex modulates parenting stress in the maternal brain. Sci Rep 2019; 9:1658. [PMID: 30733605 PMCID: PMC6367346 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-38402-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2018] [Accepted: 12/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Many mothers are adaptive, deploying successful coping strategies that mitigate the deleterious effects of parenting stress on caregiving, nevertheless, the neural mechanisms underlying these adaptive responses remain unclear. We utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain activity in 28 healthy mothers of typically developing, 2-to-3-year-old children in response to the feeding behavior of their own children versus that of other children. We then examined the correlation between maternal brain activation and subjective feelings of parenting stress. Brain regions associated with maternal motivation including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), ventral pallidum, periaqueductal gray (PAG), dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), and anterior insular cortex (AIC)—as well as those associated with the recognition of one’s own child’s state (e.g., cerebellum)—exhibited significant activation in response to their own children. While mothers with higher activation in the OFC showed less parenting stress related to one’s sense of competence in the parental role, mothers with higher co-activation of the OFC with both of the AIC and PAG/DRN, and with the cerebellum showed less parenting stress caused by child characteristics. Our findings suggest that well-balanced maternal brain mechanisms integrated by the OFC may provide effective adaptive responses in daily parenting scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madoka Noriuchi
- Department of Frontier Health Science, Division of Human Health Science, Graduate School of Tokyo Metropolitan University, 7-2-10 Higashi-ogu, Arakawa, Tokyo, 116-8551, Japan.
| | - Yoshiaki Kikuchi
- Department of Frontier Health Science, Division of Human Health Science, Graduate School of Tokyo Metropolitan University, 7-2-10 Higashi-ogu, Arakawa, Tokyo, 116-8551, Japan
| | - Kumiko Mori
- Department of Frontier Health Science, Division of Human Health Science, Graduate School of Tokyo Metropolitan University, 7-2-10 Higashi-ogu, Arakawa, Tokyo, 116-8551, Japan
| | - Yoko Kamio
- National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawahigashi, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8553, Japan.,Institute of Education and Human Development, Ochanomizu Univesrsity, 2-1-1 Otsuka, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 112-8610, Japan
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16
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Abstract
Parenting is emotionally evocative, and parental emotions have implications for parenting behavior. We used experience sampling methodology to capture mothers' experiences and emotions in the context of real-world, day-to-day parenting challenges. Mothers (N = 55) of 14- to 24-month-olds participated in 4 phone interviews per day for 6 days in which they reported on their momentary emotions, motivational states (i.e., desire to approach/engage and avoid/disengage), and behaviors (i.e., actual engagement and disengagement). Aims involved examination of (a) whether asking mothers to report on motivational states, in addition to reporting on their actual behaviors, would result in information that could inform the study of emotion regulation; (b) how mothers' self-reported motivational states and behaviors were associated with reports of emotions during parenting challenges; and (c) whether it would be possible to identify patterns of co-occurring motivational states and behaviors that may reflect emotion regulation processes. Results indicated that specific emotions were more consistently associated with reports of motivational states than behavior. Multilevel latent class analysis of motivational state and behavior variables identified 4 distinct classes, some of which indicated maintenance of motivational state, whereas others suggested modulation. The relation of self-reported specific emotions with motivational states and patterns of emotion regulation were also examined, and findings for irritation/anger and concern/worry underscore the importance of studying parental emotions in context. The findings are discussed within the context of the growing literature on parental emotion, including how this body of work has the potential to inform prevention and intervention strategies for high-risk families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Douglas M Teti
- Department of Human Development & Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University
| | - Pamela M Cole
- Department of Psychology and Department of Human Development & Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University
| | - Nilam Ram
- Department of Human Development & Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University
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Abstract
Implicit in the long-standing disagreements about whether humans’ fundamental nature is predominantly caring or callous is an assumption of uniformity. This article reviews evidence that instead supports inherent variation in caring motivation and behavior. The continuum between prosocial and antisocial extremes reflects variation in the structure and function of neurohormonal systems originally adapted to motivate parental care and since repurposed to support generalized forms of care. Extreme social behaviors such as extraordinary acts of altruism and aggression can often be best understood as reflecting variation in the neural systems that support care. A review of comparative, developmental, and neurobiological research finds consistent evidence that variations in caring motivations and behavior reflect individual differences in sensitivity to cues that signal vulnerability and distress and in the tendency to generalize care outward from socially close to distant others. The often complex relationships between caring motivation and various forms of altruism and aggression are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail A. Marsh
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
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Patil I, Zanon M, Novembre G, Zangrando N, Chittaro L, Silani G. Neuroanatomical basis of concern-based altruism in virtual environment. Neuropsychologia 2018; 116:34-43. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2016] [Revised: 02/09/2017] [Accepted: 02/21/2017] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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Massey SH, Mroczek DK, Burns JL, Clark CAC, Espy KA, Wakschlag LS. Positive parenting behaviors in women who spontaneously quit smoking during pregnancy: Clues to putative targets for preventive interventions. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2018; 67:18-24. [PMID: 29501649 PMCID: PMC5970967 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2018.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2017] [Revised: 02/22/2018] [Accepted: 02/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND While the majority of pregnant smokers do not respond to intervention, little is known about how a subset of pregnant smokers known as spontaneous quitters achieve sustained biologically-confirmed abstinence through delivery in the absence of intervention. We explore a developmental framework to address this question by viewing spontaneous quitting as an adaptive parenting behavior, facilitated by abilities necessary for sensitive parenting, or responsiveness. Utilizing existing data, we examined responsiveness from parenting assessments in women who exhibited a variety of smoking patterns during pregnancy, including spontaneous quitting. METHODS Participants were N = 305 pregnant women assessed for smoking prospectively and biochemically at 16 weeks, 28 weeks, delivery, and 4 weeks postpartum, then reassessed with their children 5 years later with directly-observed home- and lab-based measures of parenting. We used linear regression analysis to compare spontaneous quitters with women who exhibited other prenatal smoking patterns on parenting responsiveness, controlling for potential confounders. RESULTS In home-based observations, spontaneous quitters (n = 22) exhibited greater responsiveness with their children relative to intermittent pregnancy smokers [n = 70; β = 0.258, p = .022]; persistent pregnancy smokers [n = 66; β = 0.228, p = .040]; former smokers (quit before pregnancy) [n = 78; β = 266, p = .028]; and never smokers [n = 69; β = 0.312, p = .009]. Hypothesized differences were not observed in lab-based and self-report measures. CONCLUSIONS Putative protective characteristics in spontaneous quitters were captured in mother-child interactions at home, but not in lab-based and maternal report measures of responsiveness. Specification of these characteristics using prospective designs that oversample for spontaneous quitters is recommended to enable translation to preventive interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suena H Massey
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N Saint Clair, Suite 1000, Chicago, IL 60611, USA; Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, 633 N Saint Clair, 19th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611, USA; Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 633 N Saint Clair, 19th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
| | - Daniel K Mroczek
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 633 N Saint Clair, 19th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
| | - James L Burns
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 633 N Saint Clair, 19th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
| | - Caron A C Clark
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, 241 Teachers College Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0308, USA.
| | - Kimberly A Espy
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, 1503 E University Blvd., P.O. Box 210068, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, 1503 E University Blvd., P.O. Box 210068, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
| | - Lauren S Wakschlag
- Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, 633 N Saint Clair, 19th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611, USA; Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 633 N Saint Clair, 19th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611, USA; Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, 2040 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
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Swain JE, Ho SS. Parental response to baby cry involves brain circuits for negative emotion Distancing-Embracing. Behav Brain Sci 2017; 40:e375. [PMID: 29342801 DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X17001832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The "art form" of parent-infant bonding critically involves baby conveying negative emotions - literally compelling parents to respond and provide care. Current research on the brain basis of parenting is combining brain imaging with social, cognitive, and behavioral analyses to understand how parental brain circuits regulate thoughts and behavior in mental health, risk, and resilience. Understanding the parental brain may contribute to solving the long-standing paradox of self-sought hedonic exposure to negative emotions in art reception.
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Bornstein MH, Putnick DL, Rigo P, Esposito G, Swain JE, Suwalsky JTD, Su X, Du X, Zhang K, Cote LR, De Pisapia N, Venuti P. Neurobiology of culturally common maternal responses to infant cry. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:E9465-E9473. [PMID: 29078366 PMCID: PMC5692572 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1712022114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
This report coordinates assessments of five types of behavioral responses in new mothers to their own infants' cries with neurobiological responses in new mothers to their own infants' cries and in experienced mothers and inexperienced nonmothers to infant cries and other emotional and control sounds. We found that 684 new primipara mothers in 11 countries (Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, France, Kenya, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and the United States) preferentially responded to their infants' vocalizing distress by picking up and holding and by talking to their infants, as opposed to displaying affection, distracting, or nurturing. Complementary functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analyses of brain responses to their own infants' cries in 43 new primipara US mothers revealed enhanced activity in concordant brain territories linked to the intention to move and to speak, to process auditory stimulation, and to caregive [supplementary motor area (SMA), inferior frontal regions, superior temporal regions, midbrain, and striatum]. Further, fMRI brain responses to infant cries in 50 Chinese and Italian mothers replicated, extended, and, through parcellation, refined the results. Brains of inexperienced nonmothers activated differently. Culturally common responses to own infant cry coupled with corresponding fMRI findings to own infant and to generic infant cries identified specific, common, and automatic caregiving reactions in mothers to infant vocal expressions of distress and point to their putative neurobiological bases. Candidate behaviors embedded in the nervous systems of human caregivers lie at the intersection of evolutionary biology and developmental cultural psychology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc H Bornstein
- Child and Family Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892;
| | - Diane L Putnick
- Child and Family Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Paola Rigo
- Child and Family Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, I-38068 Trento, Italy
- Division of Psychology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, I-38068 Trento, Italy
- Division of Psychology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798
| | - James E Swain
- Stony Brook University Hospital Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY 11794
| | - Joan T D Suwalsky
- Child and Family Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Xueyun Su
- East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Xiaoxia Du
- East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Kaihua Zhang
- East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Linda R Cote
- Department of Psychology, Marymount University, Arlington, VA 22207
| | - Nicola De Pisapia
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, I-38068 Trento, Italy
| | - Paola Venuti
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, I-38068 Trento, Italy
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Massey SH, Decety J, Wisner KL, Wakschlag LS. Specification of Change Mechanisms in Pregnant Smokers for Malleable Target Identification: A Novel Approach to a Tenacious Public Health Problem. Front Public Health 2017; 5:239. [PMID: 28975128 PMCID: PMC5610685 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2017.00239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSDP) continues to be a leading modifiable risk factor for perinatal complications and a range of neurodevelopmental and cardio-metabolic outcomes across the lifespan. Despite 40 years of intervention research less than one in five pregnant smokers who receive an intervention quit by delivery. Within this context, recognition of pregnancy is commonly associated with abrupt suspension or reduction of smoking in the absence of intervention, yet has not been investigated as a volitional target. The goal of this article is to provide the empirical foundation for a novel direction of research aimed at identifying malleable targets for intervention through the specification of behavior change mechanisms specific to pregnant women. To do so, we: (1) summarize progress on MSDP in the United States generated from conventional empirical approaches to health behavior change; (2) discuss the phenomenon of spontaneous change in the absence of intervention among pregnant smokers to illustrate the need for mechanistic specification of behavior change motivated by concern for fetal well-being; (3) summarize component processes in neurobiological models of parental and non-parental social behaviors as a conceptual framework for understanding change mechanisms during pregnancy; (4) discuss the evidence for the malleability of these processes to support their translational relevance for preventive interventions; and (5) propose a roadmap for validating the proposed change mechanism using an experimental medicine approach. A greater understanding of social and interpersonal processes that facilitate health behavior change among expectant mothers and how these processes differ interindividually could yield novel volitional targets for prenatal interventions. More broadly, explicating other-oriented mechanisms of behavior change during pregnancy could serve as a paradigm for understanding how social and interpersonal processes positively influence health behaviors across the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suena H. Massey
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States
- Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Jean Decety
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Katherine L. Wisner
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Lauren S. Wakschlag
- Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States
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Swain JE, Ho SHS. Neuroendocrine mechanisms for parental sensitivity: overview, recent advances and future directions. Curr Opin Psychol 2017; 15:105-110. [PMID: 28813249 PMCID: PMC7195810 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.02.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Early parent-infant relationships play important roles in infants' development. New parents adapt to the developing relationship with their infants to coordinate parenting behaviors in the milieu of infant needs, hormones, moods, and stress. This review highlights research from the past two years, using non-invasive brain-imaging techniques and naturalistic tasks in mothers and fathers in relation to psychological, and endocrine measures. Recent work also connects parental brain physiology with parental sensitive behavior, parent/child outcomes and parent psychotherapy. Understanding neurobiological mechanisms underlying parenting thoughts, behaviors and moods (see Figure 1) will help identify mental health risks and contribute to parental mental health interventions and resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- James E Swain
- Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY, USA; Center of Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Shao-Hsuan Shaun Ho
- Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY, USA
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Abstract
The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how a mother's experience of neglect in her own childhood is associated with her neural response to her infant's distress cues. During scanning, 22 high-risk primiparous mothers were exposed to both their own 18-month-old infant's cry sound and a control sound. Mothers' continuous Neglect subscale scores from the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire were examined as a predictor of their neural response to own infant cry > control sound. Mothers who reported high levels of neglect from childhood showed regions of hyperactivation to their infant's cry (relative to control sound) in the anterior and posterior cingulate cortices and insula as well as specific prefrontal (precentral gyrus) and parietal (posterior supramarginal gyrus) areas. These results may suggest how important early life experiences are for future parenting responses and behaviors.
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Hilbrand S, Coall DA, Gerstorf D, Hertwig R. Caregiving within and beyond the family is associated with lower mortality for the caregiver: A prospective study. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2017; 38:397-403. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Abstract
AbstractInsensitive parental thoughts and affect, similar to contempt, may be mapped onto a network of basic emotions moderated by attitudinal representations of social-relational value. Brain mechanisms that reflect emotional valence of baby signals among parents vary according to individual differences and show plasticity over time. Furthermore, mental health problems and treatments for parents may affect these brain systems toward or away from contempt, respectively.
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Abstract
Parenting, conceptualized as a specific form of teaching, may inform mentalistic, culture-based, and functional definitions. Combined brain-imaging, hormone-measurement, and cognitive-behavioral analyses indicate the importance of mentalization circuits. These circuits appear to function according to culture, and cross animal species. Further, these approaches shed light on sex differences through work on fathers as well as mothers, are affected by psychopathology, and may be amenable to treatment in ways that may be applied to optimize teaching.
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Abraham E, Hendler T, Zagoory-Sharon O, Feldman R. Network integrity of the parental brain in infancy supports the development of children's social competencies. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2016; 11:1707-1718. [PMID: 27369068 PMCID: PMC5091682 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsw090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2016] [Accepted: 06/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The cross-generational transmission of mammalian sociality, initiated by the parent’s postpartum brain plasticity and species-typical behavior that buttress offspring’s socialization, has not been studied in humans. In this longitudinal study, we measured brain response of 45 primary-caregiving parents to their infant’s stimuli, observed parent–infant interactions, and assayed parental oxytocin (OT). Intra- and inter-network connectivity were computed in three main networks of the human parental brain: core limbic, embodied simulation and mentalizing. During preschool, two key child social competencies were observed: emotion regulation and socialization. Parent’s network integrity in infancy predicted preschoolers’ social outcomes, with subcortical and cortical network integrity foreshadowing simple evolutionary-based regulatory tactics vs complex self-regulatory strategies and advanced socialization. Parent–infant synchrony mediated the links between connectivity of the parent’s embodied simulation network and preschoolers' ability to use cognitive/executive emotion regulation strategies, highlighting the inherently dyadic nature of this network and its long-term effects on tuning young to social life. Parent’s inter-network core limbic-embodied simulation connectivity predicted children’s OT as moderated by parental OT. Findings challenge solipsistic neuroscience perspectives by demonstrating how the parent–offspring interface enables the brain of one human to profoundly impact long-term adaptation of another.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eyal Abraham
- Department of Psychology and the Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Talma Hendler
- Functional Brain Center, Wohl Institute of Advanced Imaging, Tel-Aviv SouraskyMedical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.,School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Orna Zagoory-Sharon
- Department of Psychology and the Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Department of Psychology and the Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel .,Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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Pajulo H, Pajulo M, Jussila H, Ekholm E. SUBSTANCE-ABUSING PREGNANT WOMEN: PRENATAL INTERVENTION USING ULTRASOUND CONSULTATION AND MENTALIZATION TO ENHANCE THE MOTHER-CHILD RELATIONSHIP AND REDUCE SUBSTANCE USE: Prenatal Intervention for Substance-Abusing Mothers. Infant Ment Health J 2016; 37:317-34. [DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2015] [Revised: 03/23/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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31
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Gettler LT. Becoming DADS: Considering the Role of Cultural Context and Developmental Plasticity for Paternal Socioendocrinology. Current Anthropology 2016. [DOI: 10.1086/686149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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Wan MW, Brooks A, Green J, Abel K, Elmadih A. Psychometrics and validation of a brief rating measure of parent-infant interaction. International Journal of Behavioral Development 2016. [DOI: 10.1177/0165025416631835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated the psychometrics of a recently developed global rating measure of videotaped parent-infant interaction, the Manchester Assessment of Caregiver–Infant Interaction (MACI), in a normative sample. Inter-rater reliability, stability over time, and convergent and discriminant validity were tested. Six-minute play interactions were blind-rated by trained coders in 147 healthy mother-infant dyads at 3–10 months postpartum using the MACI; 51% were re-assessed 4 or 7 months later. Infant cognitive functioning, language and temperament, parent-reported infant warmth and invasion, parental mood, and the parent’s own recalled experiences of being parented were measured. We report the internal psychometrics of the MACI, evidence of stability as predicted, and inter-rater reliability. MACI caregiver sensitive responsiveness showed convergent validity with parental state of mind (mood at 3–4 months; report of own childhood care and overprotection), while MACI infant affect (but not the caregiver scales) was associated with parent-rated infant warmth. All MACI scales showed discriminant validity with concurrent cognitive and language developmental status, and most temperament dimensions. In conclusion, the MACI demonstrates utility, reliability and preliminary validity data in a normative sample, which complements previous work using the MACI. Follow-up is needed to test predictive validity. The findings inform further improvements to the tool, and may guide those looking for a relatively brief way to examine the global qualities of parent, infant and dyadic interaction.
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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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Abstract
Epigenetics, and especially DNA methylation, have recently become provocative biological explanations for early-life environmental effects on later health. Despite the large increase in papers on the topic over the last few years, many questions remain with regards to the biological feasibility of this mechanism and the strength of the evidence to date. In this review, we examine the literature on early-life effects on epigenetic patterns, with special emphasis on social environmental influences. First, we review the basic biology of epigenetic modification of DNA and debate the role of early-life stressful, protective, and positive environments on gene-specific, system-specific, and whole-genome epigenetic patterns later in life. Second, we compare the epigenetic literatures of both humans and other animals and review the research linking epigenetic patterns to health in order to complete the mechanistic pathway. Third, we discuss physical environmental and social environmental effects, which have to date, generally not been jointly considered. Finally, we close with a discussion of the current state of the area's research, its future direction, and its potential use in pediatric health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colter Mitchell
- Survey Research Center and Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Lisa M. Schneper
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
| | - Daniel A. Notterman
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
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Swain JE, Caluser I, Mahmood Z, Meldrim M, Morelen D. Action-based synthesis of parental brain consciousness. Behav Brain Sci 2016; 39:e197. [PMID: 28355809 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x15002277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
AbstractParenting consciousness, in line with passive frame theory, may be considered inseparable from action. With combined brain-imaging and cognitive-behavioral analyses, we are in the early phases of understanding how parental brain circuits regulate parental thoughts and behavior. Furthermore, work on parental consciousness confirms the importance of motor outputs and outlines related circuits that inform consciousness across generations.
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Marsh AA. Neural, cognitive, and evolutionary foundations of human altruism. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci 2015; 7:59-71. [PMID: 26685796 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2015] [Revised: 10/16/2015] [Accepted: 11/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
This article considers three forms of altruism from both a psychological and a neural perspective, with an emphasis on homologies that can be observed across species and potentially illuminate altruism's evolutionary origins. Kin-based altruism benefits biological relatives and, according to the theory of inclusive fitness, is ultimately beneficial to the altruist from a genetic standpoint. Kin selection adequately explains some altruistic behavior, but it is not applicable to much human altruism. Little is known about the neural processes that support it, but they may include cortical regions involved in processing autobiographical memory and the identities of familiar others. Reciprocity-based altruism is performed in expectation of future rewards and is supported by dopaminergic cortico-striatal networks that guide behavior according to anticipated rewards. Care-based altruism is aimed at improving the well-being of distressed and vulnerable individuals and is closely linked to empathic concern. This form of altruism is thought to rely on the subcortical neural systems that support parental care, particularly structures densely populated with receptors for the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, including the amygdala, stria terminalis, and striatum. The amygdala may be a particularly important convergence point for care-based altruism because of its dual role in responding both to cues that signal infantile vulnerability and those that signal distress. Research on altruism continues to converge across disciplines, but more research linking molecular-level neural processes to altruistic behavior in humans and other species is needed, as is research on how various forms of altruism intersect. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail A Marsh
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
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Çak Esen HT, Caluser I, Swain JE. THE NEUROSCIENCE OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS: ATTACHMENT AND THE DEVELOPING SOCIAL BRAIN (2ND EDITION). LOUIS COZOLINO, W. W. Norton & Company; Second Edition edition, 2014, 656 pp, ISBN-10: 0393707822, ISBN-13: 978-0393707823. Infant Ment Health J 2015. [DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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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: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Pajulo M, Tolvanen M, Karlsson L, Halme-Chowdhury E, Öst C, Luyten P, Mayes L, Karlsson H. THE PRENATAL PARENTAL REFLECTIVE FUNCTIONING QUESTIONNAIRE: EXPLORING FACTOR STRUCTURE AND CONSTRUCT VALIDITY OF A NEW MEASURE IN THE FINN BRAIN BIRTH COHORT PILOT STUDY. Infant Ment Health J 2015; 36:399-414. [DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Linnea Karlsson
- University of Turku and National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki
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Decety J, Lewis KL, Cowell JM. Specific electrophysiological components disentangle affective sharing and empathic concern in psychopathy. J Neurophysiol 2015; 114:493-504. [PMID: 25948868 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00253.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2015] [Accepted: 05/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Empathic impairment is one of the hallmarks of psychopathy, a personality dimension associated with poverty in affective reactions, lack of attachment to others, and a callous disregard for the feelings, rights, and welfare of others. Neuroscience research on the relation between empathy and psychopathy has predominately focused on the affective sharing and cognitive components of empathy in forensic populations, and much less on empathic concern. The current study used high-density electroencephalography in a community sample to examine the spatiotemporal neurodynamic responses when viewing people in physical distress under two subjective contexts: one evoking affective sharing, the other, empathic concern. Results indicate that early automatic (175-275 ms) and later controlled responses (LPP 400-1,000 ms) were differentially modulated by engagement in affective sharing or empathic concern. Importantly, the late event-related potentials (ERP) component was significantly impacted by dispositional empathy and psychopathy, but the early component was not. Individual differences in dispositional empathic concern directly predicted gamma coherence (25-40 Hz), whereas psychopathy was inversely modulatory. Interestingly, significant suppression in the mu/alpha band (8-13 Hz) when perceiving others in distress was positively associated with higher trait psychopathy, which argues against the assumption that sensorimotor resonance underpins empathy. Greater scores on trait psychopathy were inversely related to subjective ratings of both empathic concern and affective sharing. Overall, the study demonstrates that neural markers of affective sharing and empathic concern to the same cues of another's distress can be distinguished at an electrophysiological level, and that psychopathy alters later time-locked differentiations and spectral coherence associated with empathic concern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean Decety
- Child Neurosuite, Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Kimberly L Lewis
- Child Neurosuite, Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; and
| | - Jason M Cowell
- Child Neurosuite, Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; and
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Kim P, Rigo P, Leckman JF, Mayes LC, Cole PM, Feldman R, Swain JE. A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Perceived Infant Outcomes at 18-24 Months: Neural and Psychological Correlates of Parental Thoughts and Actions Assessed during the First Month Postpartum. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1772. [PMID: 26635679 PMCID: PMC4654106 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2015] [Accepted: 11/04/2015] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The first postpartum months constitute a critical period for parents to establish an emotional bond with their infants. Neural responses to infant-related stimuli have been associated with parental sensitivity. However, the associations among these neural responses, parenting, and later infant outcomes for mothers and fathers are unknown. In the current longitudinal study, we investigated the relationships between parental thoughts/actions and neural activation in mothers and fathers in the neonatal period with infant outcomes at the toddler stage. At the first month postpartum, mothers (n = 21) and fathers (n = 19) underwent a neuroimaging session during which they listened to their own and unfamiliar baby's cry. Parenting-related thoughts/behaviors were assessed by interview twice at the first month and 3-4 months postpartum and infants' socioemotional outcomes were reported by mothers and fathers at 18-24 months postpartum. In mothers, higher levels of anxious thoughts/actions about parenting at the first month postpartum, but not at 3-4 months postpartum, were associated with infant's low socioemotional competencies at 18-24 months. Anxious thoughts/actions were also associated with heightened responses in the motor cortex and reduced responses in the substantia nigra to own infant cry sounds. On the other hand, in fathers, higher levels of positive perception of being a parent at the first month postpartum, but not at 3-4 months postpartum, were associated with higher infant socioemotional competencies at 18-24 months. Positive thoughts were associated with heightened responses in the auditory cortex and caudate to own infant cry sounds. The current study provides evidence that parental thoughts are related to concurrent neural responses to their infants at the first month postpartum as well as their infant's future socioemotional outcome at 18-24 months. Parent differences suggest that anxious thoughts in mothers and positive thoughts in fathers may be the targets for parenting-focused interventions very early postpartum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilyoung Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of DenverDenver, CO, USA
- *Correspondence: Pilyoung Kim,
| | - Paola Rigo
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of TrentoTrento, Italy
| | - James F. Leckman
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of MedicineNew Haven, CT, USA
| | - Linda C. Mayes
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of MedicineNew Haven, CT, USA
| | - Pamela M. Cole
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State UniversityUniversity Park, PA, USA
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan UniversityRamat Gan, Israel
| | - James E. Swain
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of MedicineNew Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychology, Center for Human Growth and Development, Women and Infants Mental Health Program, University of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI, USA
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Ho SS, Macdonald A, Swain JE. Associative and sensorimotor learning for parenting involves mirror neurons under the influence of oxytocin. Behav Brain Sci 2014; 37:203-4. [PMID: 24775160 DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X1300232X] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Mirror neuron-based associative learning may be understood according to associative learning theories, in addition to sensorimotor learning theories. This is important for a comprehensive understanding of the role of mirror neurons and related hormone modulators, such as oxytocin, in complex social interactions such as among parent-infant dyads and in examples of mirror neuron function that involve abnormal motor systems such as depression.
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Abstract
The past few years have shown a major rise in network analysis of "big data" sets in the social sciences, revealing non-obvious patterns of organization and dynamic principles. We speculate that the dependency dimension - individuality versus sociality - might offer important insights into the dynamics of neurons and neuronal ensembles. Connectomic neural analyses, informed by social network theory, may be helpful in understanding underlying fundamental principles of brain organization.
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Moses-Kolko EL, Horner MS, Phillips ML, Hipwell AE, Swain JE. In search of neural endophenotypes of postpartum psychopathology and disrupted maternal caregiving. J Neuroendocrinol 2014; 26:665-84. [PMID: 25059408 PMCID: PMC4353923 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2014] [Revised: 07/18/2014] [Accepted: 07/21/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
This is a selective review that provides the context for the study of perinatal affective disorder mechanisms and outlines directions for future research. We integrate existing literature along neural networks of interest for affective disorders and maternal caregiving: (i) the salience/fear network; (ii) the executive network; (iii) the reward/social attachment network; and (iv) the default mode network. Extant salience/fear network research reveals disparate responses and corticolimbic coupling to various stimuli based upon a predominantly depressive versus anxious (post-traumatic stress disorder) clinical phenotype. Executive network and default mode connectivity abnormalities have been described in postpartum depression (PPD), although studies are very limited in these domains. Reward/social attachment studies confirm a robust ventral striatal response to infant stimuli, including cry and happy infant faces, which is diminished in depressed, insecurely attached and substance-using mothers. The adverse parenting experiences received and the attachment insecurity of current mothers are factors that are associated with a diminution in infant stimulus-related neural activity similar to that in PPD, and raise the need for additional studies that integrate mood and attachment concepts in larger study samples. Several studies examining functional connectivity in resting state and emotional activation functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigms have revealed attenuated corticolimbic connectivity, which remains an important outcome that requires dissection with increasing precision to better define neural treatment targets. Methodological progress is expected in the coming years in terms of refining clinical phenotypes of interest and experimental paradigms, as well as enlarging samples to facilitate the examination of multiple constructs. Functional imaging promises to determine neural mechanisms underlying maternal psychopathology and impaired caregiving, such that earlier and more precise detection of abnormalities will be possible. Ultimately, the discovery of such mechanisms will promote the refinement of treatment approaches toward maternal affective disturbance, parenting behaviours and the augmentation of parenting resiliency.
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Affiliation(s)
- E L Moses-Kolko
- Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Swain JE, Kim P, Spicer J, Ho SS, Dayton CJ, Elmadih A, Abel KM. Approaching the biology of human parental attachment: brain imaging, oxytocin and coordinated assessments of mothers and fathers. Brain Res 2014; 1580:78-101. [PMID: 24637261 PMCID: PMC4157077 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2014.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 201] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2013] [Revised: 02/11/2014] [Accepted: 03/07/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Brain networks that govern parental response to infant signals have been studied with imaging techniques over the last 15 years. The complex interaction of thoughts and behaviors required for sensitive parenting enables the formation of each individual's first social bonds and critically shapes development. This review concentrates on magnetic resonance imaging experiments which directly examine the brain systems involved in parental responses to infant cues. First, we introduce themes in the literature on parental brain circuits studied to date. Next, we present a thorough chronological review of state-of-the-art fMRI studies that probe the parental brain with a range of baby audio and visual stimuli. We also highlight the putative role of oxytocin and effects of psychopathology, as well as the most recent work on the paternal brain. Taken together, a new model emerges in which we propose that cortico-limbic networks interact to support parental brain responses to infants. These include circuitry for arousal/salience/motivation/reward, reflexive/instrumental caring, emotion response/regulation and integrative/complex cognitive processing. Maternal sensitivity and the quality of caregiving behavior are likely determined by the responsiveness of these circuits during early parent-infant experiences. The function of these circuits is modifiable by current and early-life experiences, hormonal and other factors. Severe deviation from the range of normal function in these systems is particularly associated with (maternal) mental illnesses - commonly, depression and anxiety, but also schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Finally, we discuss the limits and extent to which brain imaging may broaden our understanding of the parental brain given our current model. Developments in the understanding of the parental brain may have profound implications for long-term outcomes in families across risk, resilience and possible interventions. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Oxytocin and Social Behav.
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Affiliation(s)
- J E Swain
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, USA; Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, USA.
| | - P Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, USA
| | - J Spicer
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, USA
| | - S S Ho
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, USA
| | - C J Dayton
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, USA; School of Social Work, Wayne State University, USA
| | - A Elmadih
- Centre for Women׳s Mental Health, Institute of Brain Behaviour and Mental Health, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, University of Manchester, UK
| | - K M Abel
- Centre for Women׳s Mental Health, Institute of Brain Behaviour and Mental Health, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, University of Manchester, UK
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Ho SS, Torres-Garcia A, Swain JE. Evolutionary processes and mother-child attachment in intentional change. Behav Brain Sci 2014; 37:426-7. [PMID: 25162871 DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X13003336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral change may occur through evolutionary processes such as running stochastic evolutionary algorithms, with a fitness function to determine a winning solution from many. A science of intentional change will therefore require identification of fitness functions - causal mechanisms of adaptation - that can be acquired only with analytical approaches. Fitness functions may be subject to early-life experiences with parents, which influence some of the very same brain circuits that may mediate behavioral change through interventions.
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Swain J, Dayton C, Kim P, Tolman R, Volling B. PROGRESS ON THE PATERNAL BRAIN: THEORY, ANIMAL MODELS, HUMAN BRAIN RESEARCH, AND MENTAL HEALTH IMPLICATIONS. Infant Ment Health J 2014; 35:394-408. [PMID: 25798491 DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
With a secure foundation in basic research across mammalian species in which fathers participate in the raising of young, novel brain-imaging approaches are outlining a set of consistent brain circuits that regulate paternal thoughts and behaviors in humans. The newest experimental paradigms include increasingly realistic baby-stimuli to provoke paternal cognitions and behaviors with coordinated hormone measures to outline brain networks that regulate motivation, reflexive caring, emotion regulation, and social brain networks with differences and similarities to those found in mothers. In this article, on the father brain, we review all brain-imaging studies on PubMed to date on the human father brain and introduce the topic with a selection of theoretical models and foundational neurohormonal research on animal models in support of the human work. We discuss potentially translatable models for the identification and treatment of paternal mood and father-child relational problems, which could improve infant mental health and developmental trajectories with potentially broad public health importance.
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Affiliation(s)
- J.E. Swain
- University of Michigan and Yale University
| | - C.J. Dayton
- Wayne State University and University of Michigan
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Abstract
Mothers need to make caregiving decisions to meet the needs of children, which may or may not result in positive child feedback. Variations in caregivers' emotional reactivity to unpleasant child-feedback may be partially explained by their dispositional empathy levels. Furthermore, empathic response to the child's unpleasant feedback likely helps mothers to regulate their own stress. We investigated the relationship between maternal dispositional empathy, stress reactivity, and neural correlates of child feedback to caregiving decisions. In Part 1 of the study, 33 female participants were recruited to undergo a lab-based mild stressor, the Social Evaluation Test (SET), and then in Part 2 of the study, a subset of the participants, 14 mothers, performed a Parenting Decision Making Task (PDMT) in an fMRI setting. Four dimensions of dispositional empathy based on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index were measured in all participants—Personal Distress, Empathic Concern, Perspective Taking, and Fantasy. Overall, we found that the Personal Distress and Perspective Taking were associated with greater and lesser cortisol reactivity, respectively. The four types of empathy were distinctly associated with the negative (vs. positive) child feedback activation in the brain. Personal Distress was associated with amygdala and hypothalamus activation, Empathic Concern with the left ventral striatum, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), and supplemental motor area (SMA) activation, and Fantasy with the septal area, right SMA and VLPFC activation. Interestingly, hypothalamus-septal coupling during the negative feedback condition was associated with less PDMT-related cortisol reactivity. The roles of distinct forms of dispositional empathy in neural and stress responses are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Shaun Ho
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Sara Konrath
- Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA ; Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Stephanie Brown
- Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA ; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Stony Brook University New York, NY, USA
| | - James E Swain
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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Arch JJ, Brown KW, Dean DJ, Landy LN, Brown KD, Laudenslager ML. Self-compassion training modulates alpha-amylase, heart rate variability, and subjective responses to social evaluative threat in women. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2014; 42:49-58. [PMID: 24636501 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 141] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2013] [Revised: 11/17/2013] [Accepted: 12/20/2013] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A growing body of research has revealed that social evaluative stressors trigger biological and psychological responses that in chronic forms have been linked to aging and disease. Recent research suggests that self-compassion may protect the self from typical defensive responses to evaluation. We investigated whether brief training in self-compassion moderated biopsychological responses to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in women. Compared to attention (placebo) and no-training control conditions, brief self-compassion training diminished sympathetic (salivary alpha-amylase), cardiac parasympathetic, and subjective anxiety responses, though not HPA-axis (salivary cortisol) responses to the TSST. Self-compassion training also led to greater self-compassion under threat relative to the control groups. In that social stress pervades modern life, self-compassion represents a promising approach to diminishing its potentially negative psychological and biological effects.
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