An initial investigation of neonatal neuroanatomy, caregiving, and levels of disorganized behavior

Abstract

Attachment disorganization is a risk factor for difficulties in attention, social relationships, and mental health. Conceptually, attachment disorganization may indicate a breakdown in fear regulation resulting from repeated exposure to frightening maternal care. In addition, past research has examined the influence of stress-inducing contextual factors and/or child factors upon the development of disorganization. However, no past work has assessed whether infant neuroanatomy, important to stress regulation, moderates the association between maternal care and levels of disorganized behavior. Here, utilizing data from a subsample of 82 dyads taking part in the “Growing Up in Singapore towards Healthy Outcomes” (GUSTO) cohort, we assessed the prediction from maternal sensitive caregiving at 6 mo and levels of attachment disorganization at 1.5 y, as moderated by hippocampal and amygdala volume determined within the first 2 weeks of life. Results indicate a significant interaction between neonatal left hippocampal volume and maternal sensitivity upon levels of disorganized behavior. Although these results require substantiation in further research, if replicated, they may enable new strategies for the identification of processes important to child mental health and points for intervention. This is because neonatal neuroanatomy, as opposed to genetic variation and sociodemographic risk, may be more directly linked to stress responses within individuals.

Newborn white matter microstructure moderates the association between maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and infant negative reactivity

“…Moreover, conceptually similar results have been reported in adolescent populations linking limbic volumes or reduced frontal cortical thinning to susceptibility to the effects of parenting ( Yap et al., 2008 ; Whittle et al., 2011 ; Deane et al., 2019 ). Furthermore, a recent study reported larger newborn hippocampal volumes underlying infant susceptibility to maternal sensitivity in terms of later disorganized attachment style ( Rifkin-Graboi et al., 2019 ). The current study is thus among the first to report conceptually similar associations in early infancy when postnatal factors have only minimally shaped the brain, and the first to reports such associations with a focus on white matter metrics as a moderator.…”

“…The mechanisms of susceptibility likely include genetic and behavioral factors ( Belsky and Pluess, 2009 ; Boyce, 2016 ), but brain structure and function also appears as a viable mediator of such associations ( Yap et al., 2008 ; Whittle et al., 2011 ; Schriber et al., 2017 ; Deane et al., 2019 ; Rifkin-Graboi et al., 2019 ). However, very little research has been conducted on the brain structural factors that may underlie such susceptibility in young children.…”

Developmental and attachment-based perspectives on dissociation: beyond the effects of maltreatment

“…Structural overgrowth in the limbic regions could contribute to early vulnerability for dissociation in a number of ways, though all remain speculative. Enlarged limbic areas may contribute to heightened stress reactivity and a 'sensitized' reliance on defensive responses (Perry et al, 1995;Schore, 2009), and thus augment risk for attachment disorganization (see Rifkin-Graboi et al, 2019) and dissociative responses in the face of stress. Plausibly, in the context of chronic and severe attachment-related stressors, the immature infant brain could adapt to favour the dissociative defensive response over the hyperaroused response (fight/flight) because of individual coping style (Perry et al, 1995), but also because an unresponsive caregiver is a survival threat the infant can neither 'fight' nor 'flee'.…”

Neonatal brain volume as a marker of differential susceptibility to parenting quality and its association with neurodevelopment across early childhood

“…However, although one of the key assumptions in the environmental sensitivity frameworks is the variability in the underlying neurobiology, the research on the neural correlates of interindividual differences in environmental susceptibility is sparse. Only one recent study has focused on early childhood neurophenotypes underlying susceptibility ( Rifkin-Graboi et al, 2019 ) whereas most existing studies on the brain functional and structural characteristics reflecting differential susceptibility have been conducted in adult or adolescent populations (for instance, Doehrmann et al, 2013 ; Gard et al, 2018 ; Schriber et al, 2017 ; Whittle et al, 2011 ; Yap et al, 2008 ). In these studies, the environmental variable of interest functioning as the moderator (e.g., variation in parenting behavior) may also have contributed to the susceptibility marker (i.e., neurophenotype).…”

“…Prior research has furthermore emphasized the role of structures implicated in default mode and salience networks in differential susceptibility to the environment ( Greven et al, 2019 ; Moore and Depue, 2016 ). Studies across age groups have shown that the hippocampus (HC), an early-developing limbic region that supports emotional and memory processes and is part of the salience network ( Zheng et al, 2017 ) is pivotal for susceptibility ( Rifkin-Graboi et al, 2019 ; Schriber et al, 2017 ; Whittle et al, 2011 ). HC size is associated with cognitive performance but study results are heterogeneous regarding the direction of the findings ( Erickson et al, 2011 ; Van Petten, 2004 ), making HC a possible candidate for susceptibility to parenting in terms of cognition.…”