Normal Variation in Early Parental Sensitivity Predicts Child Structural Brain Development

Kok, Rianne; Thijssen, Sandra; Bakermans‐Kranenburg, Marian J.; Jaddoe, Vincent W. V.; Verhulst, Frank C.; White, Tonya; IJzendoorn, Marinus H. van; Tiemeier, Henning

doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2015.07.009

Cited by 129 publications

(116 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…A more recent investigation of normal variations in parental care and brain structure (at 8 years of age) has revealed a similar relationship between early childhood parental sensitivity and total brain and grey matter volumes (Kok et al 2015). More specifically, and when compared to other brain regions, the subcortical grey matter appears to be particularly ‘responsive’ to early environmental influences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

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Mother–infant interactions and regional brain volumes in infancy: an MRI study

et al. 2016

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It is generally agreed that the human brain is responsive to environmental influences, and that the male brain may be particularly sensitive to early adversity. However, this is largely based on retrospective studies of older children and adolescents exposed to extreme environments in childhood. Less is understood about how normative variations in parent–child interactions are associated with the development of the infant brain in typical settings. To address this, we used magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the relationship between observational measures of mother–infant interactions and regional brain volumes in a community sample of 3- to 6-month-old infants (N = 39). In addition, we examined whether this relationship differed in male and female infants. We found that lower maternal sensitivity was correlated with smaller subcortical grey matter volumes in the whole sample, and that this was similar in both sexes. However, male infants who showed greater levels of positive communication and engagement during early interactions had smaller cerebellar volumes. These preliminary findings suggest that variations in mother–infant interaction dimensions are associated with differences in infant brain development. Although the study is cross-sectional and causation cannot be inferred, the findings reveal a dynamic interaction between brain and environment that may be important when considering interventions to optimize infant outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…For example, higher levels of parental sensitivity in early childhood have been linked with larger total brain and grey matter volumes in children at 8 years of age (Kok, et al 2015). In another study, insecure attachment at 18 months was associated with greater amygdala volumes at 22 years (Moutsiana et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mother–infant interactions and regional brain volumes in infancy: an MRI study

et al. 2016

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“…It has been increasingly demonstrated in previous research that early caregiving experiences have an impact on infant brain development and later child executive functioning (Fay‐Stammbach et al 2014; Kok et al 2015). Brain plasticity and a prolonged and rapid development of prefrontal brain regions in the first 2 years of life create a window of opportunity for early environmental experiences to affect infant brain development and a recent study indeed showed that normative variations in mother-infant interaction are associated with frontal resting EEG power, considered indicative of brain development (Bernier et al 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal Associations Between Parental Bonding, Parenting Stress, and Executive Functioning in Toddlerhood

et al. 2017

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Early executive functioning is an important predictor for future development of children’s cognitive skills and behavioral outcomes. Parenting behavior has proven to be a key environmental determinant of child executive functioning. However, the association of parental affect and cognitions directed to the child with child executive functioning has been understudied. Therefore, in the present study we examine the associations between parental bonding (i.e., the affective tie from parent to child), parenting stress, and child executive functioning. At 26 weeks of pregnancy, and at 6 months and 24 months postpartum the quality of the maternal (N = 335) and paternal (N = 261) bond with the infant was assessed. At 24 months, postnatal parenting stress and child executive functioning were measured by means of parent-report questionnaires. Results indicated that for both mothers and fathers feelings of bonding negatively predicted experienced parenting stress over time. In addition, for both parents a negative indirect effect of bonding on child executive functioning problems was found via experienced parenting stress. These findings indicate the importance of monitoring parents who experience a low level and quality of early parent-child bonding, as this makes them vulnerable to parenting stress, consequently putting their children at risk for developing executive functioning problems.

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“…Meanwhile, parental sensitivity – previously considered key for the transmission of attachment security in infancy (see a major meta-analysis by Verhage et al [53]) – may have other functions beyond ensuring secure attachment, although this function is, of course, an important one. The relationship between parental sensitivity and developmental outcomes, according to recent and highly compelling findings by Kok et al [54], may be more general and structural than can be captured by infant attachment status: these findings indicate that normal variation in maternal sensitivity is related to markers of optimal brain development. This suggests that the parenting environment supports the neurobiological architecture of higher-order cognitive function upon which the capacity to mentalize depends.…”

Section: Reconsidering the Role Of Attachmentmentioning

confidence: 93%

What we have changed our minds about: Part 2. Borderline personality disorder, epistemic trust and the developmental significance of social communication

Fonagy

Luyten

Allison

et al. 2017

bord personal disord emot dysregul

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In Part 1 of this paper, we discussed emerging evidence suggesting that a general psychopathology or ‘p’ factor underlying the various forms of psychopathology should be conceptualized in terms of the absence of resilience, that is, the absence of positive reappraisal mechanisms when faced with adversity. These impairments in the capacity for positive reappraisal seem to provide a comprehensive explanation for the association between the p factor and comorbidity, future caseness, and the ‘hard-to-reach’ character of many patients with severe personality pathology, most notably borderline personality disorder (BPD). In this, the second part of the paper, we trace the development of the absence of resilience to disruptions in the emergence of human social communication, based on recent evolutionary and developmental psychopathology accounts. We argue that BPD and related disorders may be reconceptualized as a form of social understanding in which epistemic hypervigilance, distrust or outright epistemic freezing is an adaptive consequence of the social learning environment. Negative appraisal mechanisms become overriding, particularly in situations of attachment stress. This constitutes a shift towards a more socially oriented perspective on personality psychopathology in which the absence of psychological resilience is seen as a learned response to the transmission of social knowledge. This shift in our views has also forced us to reconsider the role of attachment in BPD. The implications for prevention and intervention of this novel approach are discussed.

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Normal Variation in Early Parental Sensitivity Predicts Child Structural Brain Development

Cited by 129 publications

References 44 publications

Mother–infant interactions and regional brain volumes in infancy: an MRI study

Mother–infant interactions and regional brain volumes in infancy: an MRI study

Longitudinal Associations Between Parental Bonding, Parenting Stress, and Executive Functioning in Toddlerhood

What we have changed our minds about: Part 2. Borderline personality disorder, epistemic trust and the developmental significance of social communication

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