Prenatal intimate partner violence exposure predicts infant biobehavioral regulation: Moderation by the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene

Abstract

The ability to regulate stress is a critical developmental milestone of early childhood that involves a set of interconnected behavioral and physiological processes and is influenced by genetic and environmental stimuli. Prenatal exposure to traumatic stress and trauma, including intimate partner violence (IPV), increases risk for offspring biobehavioral regulation problems during childhood and adolescence. Although individual differences in susceptibility to prenatal stress have been largely unexplored, a handful of studies suggest children with specific genetic characteristics are most vulnerable to prenatal stress. We evaluated the brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met gene (BDNF) as a moderator of the effect of prenatal IPV exposure on infant temperamental and cortisol regulation in response to a psychosocial challenge. Ninety-nine mother-infant dyads recruited from the community were assessed when infants (51% female) were 11 to 14 months. Maternal reports of IPV during pregnancy and infant temperament were obtained, and infant saliva was collected for genotyping and to assess cortisol reactivity (before and after the Strange Situation Task). Significant genetic moderation effects were found. Among infants with the BDNF Met allele, prenatal IPV predicted worse temperamental regulation and mobilization of the cortisol response, while controlling for infant postnatal exposure to IPV, other maternal traumatic experiences, and infant sex. However, prenatal IPV exposure was not associated with temperamental or cortisol outcomes among infant carriers of the Val/Val genotype. Findings are discussed in relation to prenatal programming and biological susceptibility to stress.

Disentangling Associations Among Maternal Lifetime and Prenatal Stress, Psychological Functioning During Pregnancy, Maternal Race/Ethnicity, and Infant Negative Affectivity at Age 6 Months: A Mixtures Approach

“…Individual measures of maternal stress and psychological dysfunction in pregnancy, including depression and anxiety, 30,44 PTSD, 45,46 and interpersonal violence, 47 have been linked to infant and childhood temperament in prior studies. We extend methods traditionally used to study the health effects of environmental chemical mixtures to quantify the total association between a set of correlated stress and psychological symptom measures in pregnant women in relation to their infant's propensity to NA.…”

Maternal caregiving and DNA methylation in human infants and children: Systematic review

“…Providing readers with a full discussion of how these genes are involved in biochemical pathways connecting maternal behavior and infants' developmental outcomes is beyond the aims of the present paper. Notwithstanding, it should be highlighted that both genetic variations in the allelic version of these genes have been previously associated with individual differences in maternal caregiving and/or were found to moderate the effect of maternal regulatory behavior on the offspring behavioral, emotional and stress regulation across infancy and childhood . One can speculate that—as far as maternal sensitive caregiving emerged as a key dimension of maternal behavior linked with the offspring regulation of methylation—at least some of these genes may be involved in a pathway that is highly relevant for intergenerational transmissions among mothers and their infants.…”

“…Notwithstanding, it should be highlighted that both genetic variations in the allelic version of these genes have been previously associated with individual differences in maternal caregiving [58][59][60] and/or were found to moderate the effect of maternal regulatory behavior on the offspring behavioral, emotional and stress regulation across infancy and childhood. [61][62][63] One can speculate that-as far as maternal sensitive caregiving emerged as a key dimension of maternal behavior linked with the offspring regulation of methylation-at least some of these genes may be involved in a pathway that is highly relevant for intergenerational transmissions among mothers and their infants. Indeed, it is well known that the oxytocin and the serotonin transporter gene are highly involved in maternal sensitive behavior and facilitate the emergence of mutually satisfying and reciprocal interactions in mother-infant dyads.…”

Consenso de expertos sobre las medidas de protecci´ón a hijos e hijas víctimas de violencia de género

“…La literatura revela que la exposición a la violencia de género produce en los hijos e hijas consecuencias físicas, psicoemocionales, conductuales y escolares (Alisic et al, 2015;Carracedo et al, 2018;Seijo et al, 2009;Seijo et al, 2016). A nivel físico, se han descrito trastornos somáticos, bajo peso y retraso en el crecimiento, problemas de alimentación y conductas regresivas (Dabanah et al, 2018;Humpreys et al, 2009); alteraciones del sueño (El-Sheikh et al, 2006); colesterol y triglicéridos altos (Ziaei et al, 2019); problemas en la regulación bioconductual (Martínez-Torteya et al, 2018;Riedl et al, 2019); desarrollo de enfermedades crónicas y problemas genitourinarios, gastrointestinales, dermatológicos y neurológicos (Martinón et al, 2017).…”