A longitudinal study on the association between trait mindfulness and maternal bonding across the perinatal period

AIMS/BACKGROUND

The mother-to-infant is important for healthy child development. The current study focused on the association between maternal trait mindfulness and the course of maternal bonding from pregnancy to one year postpartum.

DESIGN/METHODS

Women participating in a prospective perinatal cohort study (n = 1003) completed online questionnaires on maternal bonding (Pre- and Post-natal Bonding Scale) at 28 weeks of pregnancy, and at 8 weeks, 6 months and 12 months postpartum. At 20 weeks of pregnancy, women completed the Three Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire - Short Form. Multilevel analyses were used to analyse 1) changes in maternal bonding over time and 2) the relationship of these changes with different facets of trait mindfulness measured once during pregnancy. Demographics, obstetrics, and depressive symptoms were controlled for.

RESULTS

Results showed that maternal bonding first increased from pregnancy to 8 weeks postpartum and then remained relatively stable throughout the first-year postpartum. On average, women with high scores on acting with awareness and non-judging also scored higher on maternal bonding, but demonstrated a smaller increase in maternal bonding scores over time when compared to women with medium and low scores on these mindfulness facets. Furthermore, non-reacting was also positively associated with the level of maternal bonding but was not related to the course of bonding over time. The main effects of non-reacting and non-judging were not significant after adjusting for covariates. Depressive symptoms and a high educational level were negatively associated with bonding.

CONCLUSION

Mindfulness-based interventions may be helpful in supporting expectant mothers who are at risk for suboptimal bonding.

The association of maternal-infant interactive behavior, dyadic frontal alpha asymmetry, and maternal anxiety in a smartphone-adapted still face paradigm

Mother-infant interactions form a strong basis for emotion regulation development in infants. These interactions can be affected by various factors, including maternal postnatal anxiety. Electroencephalography (EEG) hyperscanning allows for simultaneous assessment of mother-infant brain-to-behavior association during stressful events, such as the still-face paradigm (SFP). This study aimed at investigating dyadic interactive behavior and brain-to-behavior association across SFP and identifying neural correlates of mother-infant interactions in the context of maternal postnatal anxiety. We measured frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), a physiological correlate of emotion regulation and a potential marker of risk for psychopathology. To emulate real-life interactions, EEG and behavioral data were collected from 38 mother-infant dyads during a smartphone-adapted dual-SFP. Although the behavioral data showed a clear still-face effect for the smartphone-adapted SFP, this was not reflected in the infant or maternal FAA. Brain-to-behavior data showed higher infant negative affect being associated with more infant leftward FAA during the still-face episodes. Finally, mothers with higher postnatal anxiety showed more right FAA during the first still-face episode, suggesting negative affectivity and a need to withdraw from the situation. Our results form a baseline for further research assessing the effects of maternal postnatal anxiety on infants' FAA and dyadic interactive behavior.

Browsing throughout pregnancy: The longitudinal course of social media use during pregnancy

BACKGROUND

The number of people using social media has substantially increased over the past years. Previous studies have shown associations between social media overuse and mental health problems during pregnancy. The current study evaluates changes in social media use during pregnancy.

METHODS

Pregnant women were recruited at their first antenatal appointment between January 2020 and July 2022 (N = 1135). The time spent on social media, frequency of social media use and problematic social media use, using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), were assessed at 12, 20 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. Pearson r correlations and repeated measures ANOVAs were performed to assess possible changes in social media use over the course of pregnancy. Lastly, we stratified social media use throughout pregnancy for parity.

RESULTS

There was a significant change in social media use over time, for the time spent on social media, frequency of social media use and problematic social media use. Mean social media scores were the lowest at 12 weeks of pregnancy and increased significantly at 20 weeks of pregnancy, after which they remained stable at 28 weeks. Compared to multiparous women, primiparous women spent more time on social media at 20 weeks of pregnancy, but not at 12 or 28 weeks.

CONCLUSION

Because overuse of social media has been associated with poor mental health, healthcare professionals should be aware of the intensity of social media use throughout pregnancy.

Maternal anxiety during pregnancy is associated with weaker prefrontal functional connectivity in adult offspring

BACKGROUND

The connectome, constituting a unique fingerprint of a person's brain, may be influenced by its prenatal environment, potentially affecting later-life resilience and mental health.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging study in 28-year-old offspring (N = 49) of mothers whose anxiety was monitored during pregnancy. Two offspring anxiety subgroups were defined: "High anxiety" (n = 13) group versus "low-to-medium anxiety" (n = 36) group, based on maternal self-reported state anxiety at 12-22 weeks of gestation. To predict resting-state functional connectivity of 32 by 32 ROIs, maternal state anxiety during pregnancy was included as a predictor in general linear models for both ROI-to-ROI and graph theoretical metrics. Sex, birth weight and postnatal anxiety were included as covariates.

RESULTS

Higher maternal anxiety was associated with weaker functional connectivity of medial prefrontal cortex with left inferior frontal gyrus (t = 3.45, pFDR < 0.05). Moreover, network-based statistics (NBS) confirmed our finding and revealed an additional association of weaker connectivity between left lateral prefontal cortex with left somatosensory motor gyrus in the offspring. While our results showed a general pattern of lower functional connectivity in adults prenatally exposed to maternal anxiety, we did not observe significant differences in global brain networks between groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Weaker (medial) prefrontal cortex functional connectivity in the high anxiety adult offspring group suggests a long-term negative impact of prenatal exposure to high maternal anxiety, extending into adulthood. To prevent mental health problems at population level, universal primary prevention strategies should aim at lowering maternal anxiety during pregnancy.

Social media use as a risk factor for depressive symptoms during pregnancy

BACKGROUND

Accumulating research has shown associations between excessive social media use (SMU) with depressive symptoms. Depression is common during pregnancy, but it is not known whether SMU plays a role in the etiology and clinical course of depressive symptoms during pregnancy.

METHODS

The current study is a prospective cohort study with Dutch-speaking pregnant women recruited at the first antenatal appointment (N = 697). Depressive symptoms were measured at each trimester of pregnancy using the Edinburgh Depression Scale. Growth mixture modeling was used to determine classes of women based on longitudinal trajectories of depressive symptoms. SMU was assessed at 12 weeks of pregnancy, specifically, intensity (time and frequency) and problematic SMU (Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale). Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between SMU and trajectories of depressive symptoms.

RESULTS

Three trajectories of depressive symptoms during pregnancy were identified: a low stable (N = 489, 70.2 %), intermediate stable (N = 183, 26.3 %), and high stable (N = 25, 3.6 %) class. SMU Time and Frequency were significantly associated with belonging to the high stable class. Problematic SMU was significantly associated with belonging to the intermediate or high stable class.

LIMITATIONS

The study does not allow to draw conclusions about causality. The group sizes of the three trajectories differed considerably. Data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic which may have influenced the results. SMU was measured by self-report.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that both higher intensity of SMU (time and frequency) and problematic SMU may be a risk factor for higher levels of prenatal depressive symptoms during pregnancy.

Intergenerational Transmission of Maternal Childhood Maltreatment Prior to Birth: Effects on Human Fetal Amygdala Functional Connectivity

OBJECTIVE

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a potent risk factor for developing psychopathology later in life. Accumulating research suggests that the influence is not limited to the exposed individual but may also be transmitted across generations. In this study, we examine the effect of CM in pregnant women on fetal amygdala-cortical function, prior to postnatal influences.

METHOD

Healthy pregnant women (N = 89) completed fetal resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) scans between the late second trimester and birth. Women were primarily from low socioeconomic status households with relatively high CM. Mothers completed questionnaires prospectively evaluating prenatal psychosocial health and retrospectively evaluating trauma from their own childhood. Voxelwise functional connectivity was calculated from bilateral amygdala masks.

RESULTS

Connectivity of the amygdala network was relatively higher to left frontal areas (prefrontal cortex and premotor) and relatively lower to right premotor area and brainstem areas in fetuses of mothers exposed to higher CM. These associations persisted after controlling for maternal socioeconomic status, maternal prenatal distress, measures of fetal motion, and gestational age at the time of scan and at birth.

CONCLUSION

Pregnant women's experiences of CM are associated with offspring brain development in utero. The strongest effects were found in the left hemisphere, potentially indicating lateralization of the effects of maternal CM on the fetal brain. This study suggests that the time frame of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease research should be extended to exposures from mothers' childhood, and indicates that the intergenerational transmission of trauma may occur prior to birth.

Paternal bonding in pregnancy and early parenthood: a qualitative study in first-time fathers

The birth of an infant marks a period of profound change in first-time parents. Parental love and warmth, however, already begin to develop during pregnancy. Also for fathers, the development of bonding to the infant may be a unique process. The current qualitative study aimed to explore views and experiences of first-time fathers on the origins and development of paternal bonding during pregnancy and early childhood. In total, 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with expectant fathers (second or third trimester of pregnancy; n = 10) and fathers of infants (0-6 months postpartum; n = 11) and toddlers (2-3 years of age; n = 9). Two major themes were uncovered from the data: feelings of bonding and facilitators of bonding. The first theme was supported with three subthemes: 1) from abstract to concrete, 2) positive emotions, and 3) uncertainties and worries. The second theme, facilitators of bonding, was supported with four subthemes: 1) experiencing the foetus, 2) meeting the child, 3) interaction, and 4) communication. Similar to previous studies, our results suggested that, in most fathers, paternal bonding originates in pregnancy and that it evolves over time. Seeing or feeling the child, both during pregnancy and postpartum, as well as interacting or communicating with the child, appears to facilitate fathers' feelings of bonding. Involving fathers in pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting may be essential for their bonding process.

Breastfeeding and room-sharing during COVID-19 in the Netherlands: The impact of perinatal healthcare support

AIM

The recommendations of 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and parent-infant room-sharing (RS) are often not followed. As these early caregiving practices may have been affected by the COVID-19-related restrictions, we documented BF and RS practices in the Netherlands (2020-2021) and the effects of perceived perinatal healthcare support.

METHODS

Pregnant women and mothers of an infant younger than 6 months (N = 784) completed online questionnaires (e.g., demographic information, the impact of COVID-19 on their lives aspects, infant childcare practices) twice: at the beginning of the pandemic and when the infant reached 6 months of age.

RESULTS

The pandemic EBF practices mirrored pre-pandemic Dutch reports (17.8 %; Mduration = 3.4 months), while RS rates and duration seemingly doubled (30.6 %; Mduration = 3.98 months). Higher maternal education (r = 0.18) and multiparity (r = 0.08) were significantly associated with longer EBF, and similarly for education (r = 0.17) and multiparity (r = 0.11) with RS durations. Higher perceived perinatal healthcare support predicted shorter RS duration [β = -0.509, t(5,596) = -2.27, p = .023].

CONCLUSION

While the COVID-19 pandemic did not impact EBF, it may have promoted RS. The negative association between perinatal healthcare support and RS may suggest that parents who need more support from their providers also experience more challenges adhering to RS recommendations, yet this hypothesis remains to be corroborated.

Prenatal hair cortisol concentrations during the COVID-19 outbreak: Associations with maternal psychological stress and infant temperament

BACKGROUND

Maternal psychological stress during pregnancy, including stress resulting from disasters and trauma, has been linked to temperamental difficulties in offspring. Although heightened cortisol concentrations are often hypothesized as an underlying mechanism, evidence supporting this mechanism is not consistent, potentially because of methodological issues and low stress in the population.

AIM

To address these issues, this preregistered study investigated the following associations between: 1) prenatal psychological stress and hair cortisol, as a biomarker for chronic stress, during the COVID-19 outbreak (i.e., as a major worldwide psychological stressor), and 2) maternal hair cortisol during the COVID-19 outbreak and later infant temperamental negative affectivity and orienting/regulation. Additionally, we explored whether associations were different for women with low versus high socioeconomic status (SES; maternal education and annual household income) and at different stages of pregnancy.

METHOD

Pregnant women (N = 100) filled out online questionnaires during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Six months later, when most mothers were still pregnant or had just given birth, maternal hair samples were collected during home visits. When infants were six months old, mothers reported on their infant's temperament.

RESULTS

Although hierarchical regression analyses revealed no associations between prenatal COVID-19 psychological stress and hair cortisol during the COVID-19 outbreak, SES proved to be a moderator in this association. Only pregnant women with higher levels of SES, not lower levels, showed a positive association between work-related and social support-related COVID-19 worries and hair cortisol. Finally, prenatal hair cortisol was not associated with later infant temperamental negative affectivity and orienting/regulation.

CONCLUSION

Although the COVID-19 outbreak proved to be a major psychological stressor worldwide, the physiological impact of the crisis might be different for pregnant women with higher SES as compared to lower SES.

Frontal Alpha Asymmetry in Response to Stressor Moderates the Relation Between Parenting Hassles and Child Externalizing Problems

Inequitable urban environments are associated with toxic stress and altered neural social stress processing that threatens the development of self-regulation. Some children in these environments struggle with early onset externalizing problems that are associated with a variety of negative long-term outcomes. While previous research has linked parenting daily hassles to child externalizing problems, the role of frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) as a potential modifier of this relationship has scarcely been explored. The present study examined mother-child dyads, most of whom were living in low socioeconomic status households in an urban environment and self-identified as members of racial minority groups. Analyses focused on frustration task electroencephalography (EEG) data from 67 children (mean age = 59.0 months, SD = 2.6). Mothers reported the frequency of their daily parenting hassles and their child's externalizing problems. Frustration task FAA moderated the relationship between parenting daily hassles and child externalizing problems, but resting FAA did not. More specifically, children with left frontal asymmetry had more externalizing problems as their mothers perceived more hassles in their parenting role, but parenting hassles and externalizing problems were not associated among children with right frontal asymmetry. These findings lend support to the motivational direction hypothesis and capability model of FAA. More generally, this study reveals how individual differences in lateralization of cortical activity in response to a stressor may confer differential susceptibility to child behavioral problems with approach motivation (i.e., left frontal asymmetry) predicting externalizing problems under conditions of parental stress.

Brains in Sync: Practical Guideline for Parent-Infant EEG During Natural Interaction

Parent-infant EEG is a novel hyperscanning paradigm to measure social interaction simultaneously in the brains of parents and infants. The number of studies using parent-infant dual-EEG as a theoretical framework to measure brain-to-brain synchrony during interaction is rapidly growing, while the methodology for measuring synchrony is not yet uniform. While adult dual-EEG methodology is quickly improving, open databases, tutorials, and methodological validations for dual-EEG with infants are largely missing. In this practical guide, we provide a step-by-step manual on how to implement and run parent-infant EEG paradigms in a neurodevelopmental laboratory in naturalistic settings (e.g., free interactions). Next, we highlight insights on the variety of choices that can be made during (pre)processing dual-EEG data, including recommendations on interpersonal neural coupling metrics and interpretations of the results. Moreover, we provide an exemplar dataset of two mother-infant dyads during free interactions ("free play") that may serve as practice material. Instead of providing a critical note, we would like to move the field of parent-infant EEG forward and be transparent about the challenges that come along with the exciting opportunity to study the development of our social brain within the naturalistic context of dual-EEG.

Parents of young infants report poor mental health and more insensitive parenting during the first Covid-19 lockdown

Background

The Covid-19 pandemic has put an unprecedented pressure on families with children. How parents were affected by the first Covid-19 lockdown during the early postpartum period, an already challenging period for many, is unknown.

Aim

To investigate the associations between Covid-19 related stress, mental health, and insensitive parenting practices in mothers and fathers with young infants during the first Dutch Covid-19 lockdown.

Methods

The Dutch Covid-19 and Perinatal Experiences (COPE-NL) study included 681 parents of infants between 0 and 6 months (572 mothers and 109 fathers). Parents filled out online questionnaires about Covid-19 related stress, mental health (i.e. anxiety and depressive symptoms), and insensitive parenting. Hierarchical regression models were used to analyze the data.

Results

Parents of a young infant reported high rates of Covid-19 related stress, with higher reported stress in mothers compared to fathers. Additionally, the percentages of mothers and fathers experiencing clinically meaningful mental health symptoms during the pandemic were relatively high (mothers: 39.7% anxiety, 14.5% depression; fathers: 37.6% anxiety, 6.4% depression). More Covid-19 related stress was associated with more mental health symptoms in parents and increased insensitive parenting practices in mothers.

Conclusions

The results emphasize the strain of the pandemic on young fathers’ and mothers’ mental health and its potential negative consequences for parenting. As poor parental mental health and insensitive parenting practices carry risk for worse child outcomes across the lifespan, the mental health burden of the Covid-19 pandemic might not only have affected the parents, but also the next generation.

In sync with your child: The potential of parent-child electroencephalography in developmental research

Healthy interaction between parent and child is foundational for the child's socioemotional development. Recently, an innovative paradigm shift in electroencephalography (EEG) research has enabled the simultaneous measurement of neural activity in caregiver and child. This dual-EEG or hyperscanning approach, termed parent-child dual-EEG, combines the strength of both behavioral observations and EEG methods. In this review, we aim to inform on the potential of dual-EEG in parents and children (0-6 years) for developmental researchers. We first provide a general overview of the dual-EEG technique and continue by reviewing the first empirical work on the emerging field of parent-child dual-EEG, discussing the limited but fascinating findings on parent-child brain-to-behavior and brain-to-brain synchrony. We then continue by providing an overview of dual-EEG analysis techniques, including the technical challenges and solutions one may encounter. We finish by discussing the potential of parent-child dual-EEG for the future of developmental research. The analysis of multiple EEG data is technical and challenging, but when performed well, parent-child EEG may transform the way we understand how caregiver and child connect on a neurobiological level. Importantly, studying objective physiological measures of parent-child interactions could lead to the identification of novel brain-to-brain synchrony markers of interaction quality.

Automated Brain Masking of Fetal Functional MRI with Open Data

Fetal resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) has emerged as a critical new approach for characterizing brain development before birth. Despite the rapid and widespread growth of this approach, at present, we lack neuroimaging processing pipelines suited to address the unique challenges inherent in this data type. Here, we solve the most challenging processing step, rapid and accurate isolation of the fetal brain from surrounding tissue across thousands of non-stationary 3D brain volumes. Leveraging our library of 1,241 manually traced fetal fMRI images from 207 fetuses, we trained a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) that achieved excellent performance across two held-out test sets from separate scanners and populations. Furthermore, we unite the auto-masking model with additional fMRI preprocessing steps from existing software and provide insight into our adaptation of each step. This work represents an initial advancement towards a fully comprehensive, open-source workflow, with openly shared code and data, for fetal functional MRI data preprocessing.

The association of unplanned pregnancy with perinatal depression: a longitudinal cohort study

Perinatal depression is common, affecting approximately 7-13% of women. Studies have shown an association between unplanned pregnancy and perinatal depressive symptoms, but many used a cross-sectional design and limited postnatal follow-up. The current study investigated the association of unplanned pregnancy with perinatal depressive symptoms using a longitudinal cohort study that followed women from the first trimester until 12 months postpartum. Pregnant women (N = 1928) provided demographic and clinical data and information about pregnancy intention at the first trimester. Depressive symptoms were assessed during each trimester of pregnancy and five times postpartum using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) until 12 months postpartum. Mixed model analyses were used to investigate the association between an unplanned pregnancy and the level of depressive symptoms. Women with an unplanned pregnancy (N = 111, 5.8%) reported persistently higher levels of depressive symptoms during the entire perinatal period compared to women with a planned pregnancy, after adjustment for confounders (p < 0.001). However, the course of depressive symptom scores over time in women with an unplanned pregnancy was similar to that of women with a planned pregnancy. Lower age (p = 0.006), unemployment (p = 0.004), and history of depression (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with higher levels of perinatal depressive symptoms. An unplanned pregnancy may have a long-lasting negative impact on a woman's perinatal mental health. Therefore, women with an unplanned pregnancy may benefit from systematic follow-up during the perinatal period with contingent mental health support.

Tracking Infant Development With a Smartphone: A Practical Guide to the Experience Sampling Method

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced developmental researchers to rethink their traditional research practices. The growing need to study infant development at a distance has shifted our research paradigm to online and digital monitoring of infants and families, using electronic devices, such as smartphones. In this practical guide, we introduce the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) – a research method to collect data, in the moment, on multiple occasions over time – for examining infant development at a distance. ESM is highly suited for assessing dynamic processes of infant development and family dynamics, such as parent-infant interactions and parenting practices. It can also be used to track highly fluctuating family dynamics (e.g., infant and parental mood or behavior) and routines (e.g., activity levels and feeding practices). The aim of the current paper was to provide an overview by explaining what ESM is and for what types of research ESM is best suited. Next, we provide a brief step-by-step guide on how to start and run an ESM study, including preregistration, development of a questionnaire, using wearables and other hardware, planning and design considerations, and examples of possible analysis techniques. Finally, we discuss common pitfalls of ESM research and how to avoid them.

Maternal stress during pregnancy alters fetal cortico-cerebellar connectivity in utero and increases child sleep problems after birth

Child sleep disorders are increasingly prevalent and understanding early predictors of sleep problems, starting in utero, may meaningfully guide future prevention efforts. Here, we investigated whether prenatal exposure to maternal psychological stress is associated with increased sleep problems in toddlers. We also examined whether fetal brain connectivity has direct or indirect influence on this putative association. Pregnant women underwent fetal resting-state functional connectivity MRI and completed questionnaires on stress, worry, and negative affect. At 3-year follow-up, 64 mothers reported on child sleep problems, and in the subset that have reached 5-year follow-up, actigraphy data (N = 25) has also been obtained. We observe that higher maternal prenatal stress is associated with increased toddler sleep concerns, with actigraphy sleep metrics, and with decreased fetal cerebellar-insular connectivity. Specific mediating effects were not identified for the fetal brain regions examined. The search for underlying mechanisms of the link between maternal prenatal stress and child sleep problems should be continued and extended to other brain areas.

The COVID-19 outbreak increases maternal stress during pregnancy, but not the risk for postpartum depression

The COVID-19 pandemic affects society and may especially have an impact on mental health of vulnerable groups, such as perinatal women. This prospective cohort study of 669 participating women in the Netherlands compared perinatal symptoms of depression and stress during and before the pandemic. After a pilot in 2018, recruitment started on 7 January 2019. Up until 1 March 2020 (before the pandemic), 401 women completed questionnaires during pregnancy, of whom 250 also completed postpartum assessment. During the pandemic, 268 women filled out at least one questionnaire during pregnancy and 59 postpartum (1 March-14 May 2020). Pregnancy-specific stress increased significantly in women during the pandemic. We found no increase in depressive symptoms during pregnancy nor an increase in incidence of high levels of postpartum depressive symptoms during the pandemic. Clinicians should be aware of the potential for increased stress in pregnant women during the pandemic.

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

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

Frontal alpha asymmetry during prayerful and resting states: An EEG study in Catholic sisters

INTRODUCTION

Life expectancy in the US is 78.6 years, and although people are living longer, they are also living with chronic diseases. As women age, they are more susceptible to chronic disease including mental health conditions and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) dementia. Therefore, practical and cost effective ways to prevent the onset of cognitive, mental and physical ailments and increase the quality of life among aging populations is timely and warranted. The purpose of this study in aging adult women was to explore if prayer is associated with electrical brain activity patterns consistent with meditation and therefore a likely pro-health behavior.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A sample of 33 healthy women (M_age = 80.1, SD = 8.3) were recruited from a Midwestern Catholic Sisters community. Participants completed 6 consecutive, counterbalanced electroencephalogram (EEG) sessions: three resting sessions and three praying sessions equating to 18 min of recorded EEG data for each participant. Differences in alpha power and frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) between praying and resting conditions and the influence of age on the association between inter-individual differences in alpha power were explored.

RESULTS

Results indicated significant higher alpha power detected in electrodes positioned in the occipital area for praying sessions compared to resting sessions. Additionally, we found significant positive correlations between FAA values and age of the participants for both conditions (rest: r = 0.436, p = 0.016; pray: r = 0.434, p = 0.017), indicating more approach-related brain activity in older participants.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken collectively, our results suggest that prayerful meditation increased alpha power and that positive and approach-related (left frontal-central) brain activity increased as Sisters aged. Future studies should explore the mediating role of age as it relates to meditation and cognitive outcomes.

Impact of maternal childhood trauma on child behavioral problems: The role of child frontal alpha asymmetry

Childhood trauma is associated with many long-term negative outcomes, and is not limited to the individual experiencing the trauma, but extends to subsequent generations. However, mechanisms underlying the association between maternal childhood trauma and child psychopathology are not well understood. Here, we targeted frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) as a potential underlying factor of the relationship between maternal childhood trauma and child behavioral problems. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded from (N = 45) children (Mean age = 57.9 months, SD = 3.13) during an eyes-closed paradigm in order to evaluate FAA. Mothers reported on their childhood trauma experiences using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and on their child's behavior using the child behavior checklist (CBCL). We found that maternal childhood trauma significantly predicted child total, internalizing, and externalizing behavior at age 5 years. We also observed a role for FAA such that it acted as a moderator, but not mediator, for behavioral problems. We found that children with relative more right/less left frontal activity were more at risk to develop behavioral problems when their mother had been exposed to trauma in her childhood. These results indicate that child frontal asymmetry may serve as a susceptibility marker for child behavioral problems.

The Role of Mindful Parenting in Individual and Social Decision-Making in Children

Children are confronted with an increasing amount of choices every day, which can be stressful. Decision-making skills may be one of the most important “21st century skills” that children need to master to ensure success. Many aspects of decision-making, such as emotion regulation during stressful situations, develop in the context of caregiver-child interactions. This study examined whether mindful parenting predicts children’s individual and social decision-making. The current study included 63 mother-child dyads from The Netherlands (Child M_age = 5.11, SD = 0.88, 50.8% girls). Mothers completed the Dutch version of the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale (IM-P). A “Choice Task” was developed to measure individual decision-making skills, and a “Sharing Task” was created to measure social decision-making in young children. Higher maternal mindful parenting significantly predicted more sharing after controlling for covariates (child age, sex, SES, maternal education level; Wald = 4.505, p = 0.034). No main effect of maternal mindful parenting was found for any of the individual decision-making measures. These findings suggest that mindful parenting supports children’s social decision-making. Future research should investigate if the combination of mindful parenting and children’s early decision-making skills predict key developmental outcomes.

Implementing EEG hyperscanning setups

Hyperscanning refers to obtaining simultaneous neural recordings from more than one person (Montage et al., 2002 [1]), that can be used to study interactive situations. In particular, hyperscanning with Electroencephalography (EEG) is becoming increasingly popular since it allows researchers to explore the interactive brain with a high temporal resolution. Notably, there is a 40-year gap between the first instance that simultaneous measurement of EEG activity was mentioned in the literature (Duane and Behrendt, 1965 [2]), and the first actual description of an EEG hyperscanning setup being implemented (Babiloni et al., 2006 [3]). To date, specific EEG hyperscanning devices have not yet been developed and EEG hyperscanning setups are not usually described with sufficient detail to be easily reproduced. Here, we offer a step-by-step description of solutions to many of these technological challenges. Specifically, we describe and provide customized implementations of EEG hyperscanning setups using hardware and software from different companies: Brain Products, ANT, EGI, and BioSemi. •Necessary details to set up a functioning EEG hyperscanning protocol are provided.•The setups allow independent measures and measures of synchronization between the signals of two different brains.•Individual electrical Ground and Reference is obtained in all discussed systems.

Sleep moderates the association between routines and emotion regulation for toddlers in poverty

Routines in the family are a potential source of resilience for at-risk children and support children's emerging emotion regulation. Meanwhile, inadequate sleep has been linked with deficits in cognitive processes to attend to environmental stimuli and with poor emotion regulation for children. The detrimental effects of poor sleep are potentially worse in low-income children. The aim of the current study was to examine the moderating role of sleep in the association between family routines and emotion regulation in toddlers in poverty. We analyzed data of 130 toddlers (24-31 months; 58% boys) from low-income, primarily African American families. Mothers completed questionnaires about child routines (Child Routines Questionnaire; CRQ; Wittig, 2005).To measure emotion regulation, toddlers completed an observed behavioral task meant to elicit frustration (Lab-TAB-Locomotor Version; Goldsmith & Rothbart, 1991). As hypothesized, adequate sleep (> 11 hr) fully moderated the association between routines and observed emotion regulation. There was no effect of routines on emotion regulation for toddlers with inadequate amounts of sleep. Analyses controlled for toddler respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as well as maternal emotion dysregulation (the Emotional Dysregulation Scale; EDS; Westen, Muderrisoglu, Fowler, Shedler, & Koren, 1997). These results emphasize the importance of sufficient sleep in at-risk toddlers. Furthermore, the results suggest that the effectiveness of family interventions focusing on family health to increase toddler emotion regulation could be improved by incorporating sleep interventions/routines. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Associations between maternal psychological distress and salivary cortisol during pregnancy: A mixed-models approach

BACKGROUND

Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy is related to adverse child behavioral and emotional outcomes later in life, such as ADHD and anxiety/depression. The underlying mechanisms for this, however, are still largely unknown. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis, with its most important effector hormone cortisol, has been proposed as a mechanism, but results have been inconsistent. The current study investigated the association between maternal psychological distress (i.e. anxiety and depressive symptoms) and maternal cortisol levels during pregnancy using a mixed models approach.

METHOD

During three pregnancy trimesters, mothers (N = 170) collected four salivary samples for two consecutive days. Mothers reported symptoms of anxiety and depression three times during pregnancy (at 13.3 ± 1.1, 20.2 ± 1.5, and 33.8 ± 1.5 weeks of pregnancy, respectively) using the anxiety subscale of the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90), the Spielberger State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Specific fears and worries during pregnancy were measured with the short version of the Pregnancy Related Anxiety Questionnaire (PRAQ-R).

RESULTS

We found a significant effect of SCL-90 anxiety subscale on cortisol levels at awakening (p = .008), indicating that mothers with higher anxiety showed lower cortisol at awakening. Maternal psychological variables explained 10.5% of the variance at the person level in awakening cortisol level, but none in the overall diurnal cortisol model.

CONCLUSION

More research is necessary to unravel the underlying mechanisms of the association between maternal psychological distress and cortisol and the search for mechanisms other than the HPA-axis should be continued and extended.

Prenatal neural origins of infant motor development: Associations between fetal brain and infant motor development

Functional circuits of the human brain emerge and change dramatically over the second half of gestation. It is possible that variation in neural functional system connectivity in utero predicts individual differences in infant behavioral development, but this possibility has yet to be examined. The current study examines the association between fetal sensorimotor brain system functional connectivity and infant postnatal motor ability. Resting-state functional connectivity data was obtained in 96 healthy human fetuses during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Infant motor ability was measured 7 months after birth using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Increased connectivity between the emerging motor network and regions of the prefrontal cortex, temporal lobes, posterior cingulate, and supplementary motor regions was observed in infants that showed more mature motor functions. In addition, females demonstrated stronger fetal-brain to infant-behavior associations. These observations extend prior longitudinal research back into prenatal brain development and raise exciting new ideas about the advent of risk and the ontogeny of early sex differences.

Functional Connectivity of the Human Brain in Utero

The brain is subject to dramatic developmental processes during the prenatal period. Nevertheless, information about the development of functional brain networks during gestation is scarce. Until recently it has not been possible to probe function in the living human fetal brain. Advances in functional MRI have changed the paradigm, making it possible to measure spontaneous activity in the fetal brain and to cross-correlate functional signals to attain information about neural connectional architecture across human gestation. We summarize the earliest MRI studies of fetal neural functional connectivity and highlight unique challenges and limitations inherent in the technique. In addition, we discuss future directions to unlock the potential of fetal brain functional MRI research.

Maternal mindfulness and anxiety during pregnancy affect infants' neural responses to sounds

Maternal anxiety during pregnancy has been consistently shown to negatively affect offspring neurodevelopmental outcomes. However, little is known about the impact of positive maternal traits/states during pregnancy on the offspring. The present study was aimed at investigating the effects of the mother's mindfulness and anxiety during pregnancy on the infant's neurocognitive functioning at 9 months of age. Mothers reported mindfulness using the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory and anxiety using the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90) at ± 20.7 weeks of gestation. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were measured from 79 infants in an auditory oddball paradigm designed to measure auditory attention-a key aspect of early neurocognitive functioning. For the ERP responses elicited by standard sounds, higher maternal mindfulness was associated with lower N250 amplitudes (P < 0.01, η(2) = 0.097), whereas higher maternal anxiety was associated with higher N250 amplitudes (P < 0.05, η(2) = 0.057). Maternal mindfulness was also positively associated with the P150 amplitudes (P < 0.01, η(2) = 0.130). These results suggest that infants prenatally exposed to higher levels of maternal mindfulness devote fewer attentional resources to frequently occurring irrelevant sounds. The results show that positive traits and experiences of the mother during pregnancy may also affect the unborn child. Emphasizing the beneficial effects of a positive psychological state during pregnancy may promote healthy behavior in pregnant women.