The orbitofrontal cortex modulates parenting stress in the maternal brain

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.

Early postpartum resting‐state functional connectivity for mothers receiving buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder: A pilot study

“…It is possible that PAG activation in these studies was part of a balanced response to own infant cues, in which mothers may have been preparing to exhibit caring or defensive behaviours depending on other circumstances. In support, in a recent study of mothers, 110 PAG connectivity with OFC during own vs other baby picture task was inversely related to parenting stress. Perhaps, in that study, 110 stress reduces OFC regulation of defensive and aggressive drives from the PAG, in accordance with circumstances in which a stressed mother must prepare to defend their infant.…”

“…In support, in a recent study of mothers, 110 PAG connectivity with OFC during own vs other baby picture task was inversely related to parenting stress. Perhaps, in that study, 110 stress reduces OFC regulation of defensive and aggressive drives from the PAG, in accordance with circumstances in which a stressed mother must prepare to defend their infant. Future studies may be able to assess the timing of regional brain activity, aiming to describe the order by which brain regions influence each other.…”

How stress can influence brain adaptations to motherhood

“…While a certain level of parenting stress is considered normal, high levels suggest difficulties in adjusting to parenthood, and have been associated with negative maternal outcomes such as maternal depression and harsh parenting styles ( Deater-Deckard, 2008 , Rutherford and Mayes, 2019 ). Parenting stress has been associated with reduced orbitofrontal gyrus activation in first-time mothers watching videos of their 2–3 year-old child’s feeding behavior ( Noriuchi et al, 2019 ). Parenting stress was also associated with reduced amygdala responses to positive facial expressions from one’s own infant vs. a control infant at 3 months postpartum ( Barrett et al, 2012 ).…”

“…For distress and difficulties that are caused by the nature of infant cues, mothers exhibited increased brain responses that reflect enhanced efforts to process and understand those cues ( Montirosso et al, 2017 ). However, stress that mothers feel in the context of parenting was generally associated with dampened brain responses to both their infants’ positive and negative cues ( Barrett et al, 2012 , Noriuchi et al, 2019 ). Furthermore, a mother’s physical stress regulation as assessed by cortisol reactivity to a stressful situation was associated with reduced brain responses to her own infant’s cry ( Laurent et al, 2011 ).…”

Parenting Stress Undermines Mother-Child Brain-to-Brain Synchrony: A Hyperscanning Study

“…As its heightened activity is also associated with active “top-down” regulation of emotional responses 17 , it is plausible that the PFC is differentially recruited in mothers who report higher as compared to lower parenting stress. Two recent functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies showed that parental stress modulated orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) activation when a mother viewed images of her own child 17,18 , reinforcing involvement of the PFC in maternal brain mechanisms related to parenting stress. We embarked on this study with one principal hypothesis, anticipating that mothers who experience greater parenting stress would exhibit less dyadic prefrontal cortical synchrony when engaging in a task with their child.…”