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Child-rearing mothers with high levels of trait anxiety have a tendency for less adaptive sensory processing, which causes parenting stress. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this sensory processing and trait anxiety remain unclear. We aimed to determine the whole-brain spontaneous neural activity and sensory processing characteristics in mothers with varying parenting stress levels. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we assessed mothers caring for more than one preschool aged (2-5 years) child and presenting with varying levels of sensory processing, trait anxiety, and parenting stress. Spontaneous neural activities in select brain regions were evaluated by whole-brain correlation analyses based on the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF). We found significant positive correlations between levels of sensory processing with trait anxiety and parenting stress. Mothers having less adaptive sensory processing had significantly increased resting-state network activities in the left lobule VI of the cerebellum. Increased fALFF values in the left lobule VI confirmed the mediation effect on the relationship between trait anxiety and sensory processing. A tendency for less adaptive sensory processing involving increased brain activity in lobule VI could be an indicator of maternal trait anxiety and the risk of parenting stress.

A large longitudinal study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in children is limited. This large-scale longitudinal observational study examines the pandemic’s effects on children’s mental health while considering the effects of parental care styles. The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study is a large-scale, longitudinal multicenter study in the United States. Of the 11,875 children aged 9–12 years in its database, 4,885 subjects were selected for this study. The child behavior checklist and parental monitoring questionnaire (PMQ) were used to assess children’s mental health and parental support styles, respectively. Data collected before and during the pandemic were compared. Withdrawn/depressed and attention problems significantly worsened during compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic (p < 0.001, Withdrawn/depressed; 53.4 ± 5.7 to 53.7 ± 5.9, attention problems; 53.4 ± 5.4 to 53.6 ± 5.6). Simple slope analysis found withdrawn/depressed problems worsened when the PMQ was 1 SD below the mean, and rule-breaking behavior was improved when the PMQ was 1 SD above the mean. While the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated children’s depressive symptoms and attention issues, the effects may be minor. Additionally, parental involvement behaviors serve as a protective factor for the child’s mental health even during the pandemic.

Infants communicate their emotions to their caregivers through cries and laughter. Recent work suggests that adaptive parenting requires cognitive regulation of intuitive behaviors toward infants' signals. In this study, we examined the effects of cognitive regulation on mothers' unconscious behavioral and cardiac responses to infant cries and laughs. In all, 55 mothers took part in this study. To manipulate cognitive load, mothers were asked to memorize alphabet characters (two letters in the low cognitive load condition and eight in the high cognitive load condition). Then, they heard infant vocalizations (cries or laughs) for 6 s. During this time, we measured mothers' behavioral (center of pressure, an index of approach-avoidance behavior) and physiological (heart rate) responses. Regardless of vocalization type (infant cries or laughs), high cognitive load increased mothers' forward movement toward the infant sounds as well as mothers' heart rate. These findings advance our understanding of the link between executive function and maternal response to infant signals by utilizing postural and physiological measures of maternal response during memory tasks that require cognitive resources.

Reproductive efforts, such as pregnancy, delivery, and interaction with children, make maternal brains optimized for child-rearing. However, extensive studies in non-human species revealed a tradeoff between reproductive effort and life expectancy. In humans, large demographic studies have shown that this is the case for the most part; however, molecular marker studies regarding aging remain controversial. There are no studies simultaneously evaluating the relationship between reproductive effort, aging, and brain structures. We therefore examined the associations between reproductive efforts (parity status, number of deliveries, motherhood period, and cumulative motherhood period), DNA methylation age (mAge) acceleration (based on Horvath’s multi-tissue clock and the skin & blood clock), and the regional gray matter volumes (obtained through brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using voxel-based morphometry) in 51 mothers aged 27–46 years of children in early childhood. We found that increasing reproductive efforts were significantly associated with decelerated aging in mothers with one to four children, even after adjusting for the confounding effects in the multiple linear regression models. We also found that the left precuneus gray matter volume was larger as deceleration of aging occurred; increasing left precuneus gray matter volume, on the other hand, mediates the relationship between parity status and mAge deceleration. Our findings suggest that mothers of children in early childhood, who have had less than four children, may benefit from deceleration of aging mediated via structural changes in the precuneus.

Child maltreatment dysregulates the brain’s oxytocinergic system, resulting in dysfunctional attachment patterns. However, how the oxytocinergic system in children who are maltreated (CM) is epigenetically affected remains unknown. We assessed differences in salivary DNA methylation of the gene encoding oxytocin (OXT) between CM (n = 24) and non-CM (n = 31), alongside its impact on brain structures and functions using multi-modal brain imaging (voxel-based morphometry, diffusion tensor imaging, and task and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging). We found that CM showed higher promoter methylation than non-CM, and nine CpG sites were observed to be correlated with each other and grouped into one index (OXTmi). OXTmi was significantly negatively correlated with gray matter volume (GMV) in the left superior parietal lobule (SPL), and with right putamen activation during a rewarding task, but not with white matter structures. Using a random forest regression model, we investigated the sensitive period and type of maltreatment that contributed the most to OXTmi in CM, revealing that they were 5–8 years of age and physical abuse (PA), respectively. However, the presence of PA (PA+) was meant to reflect more severe cases, such as prolonged exposure to multiple types of abuse, than the absence of PA. PA+ was associated with significantly greater functional connectivity between the right putamen set as the seed and the left SPL and the left cerebellum exterior. The results suggest that OXT promoter hypermethylation may lead to the atypical development of reward and visual association structures and functions, thereby potentially worsening clinical aspects raised by traumatic experiences.

SYNOPSISInfant crying is one of the parenting stressors, and our research suggests that the presence of spouse has a stress relieving effect in mothers with high attachment anxiety. Its mechanism is, however, still unclear. Here we will discuss the possible mechanism again corresponding to the commentaries. First, we briefly review the difficulties that individuals with high attachment insecurity face in parenting situation and discuss the possible cause why spousal presence smooth out the difficulties focusing on the role of oxytocin. Second, we point out potential issues in parenting research which presuppose the linear relationship between parental physiological or neural response, and parenting behavior. Finally, we discuss the future parenting research such as children with developmental disability or fathers that has gained less attention in previous research.

Objective: Infant cry, a major stressor for caregivers, is one of the leading triggers of child abuse. The present study examined the effects of spousal support, spousal presence, and the possible ...

Infant crying is an important signal for their survival and socio-cognitive development, and maternal beliefs about crying predict responsiveness to crying. Most studies have considered caregivers’ reactions to crying to be fixed, and it is unclear how they change with their caregiving experience. Additionally, it has recently been suggested that there is a bidirectional relationship between changes in mothers’ beliefs about crying and infants’ temperament. This study examined that relationship using longitudinal study design. Maternal beliefs about crying and infant temperament of first-time mothers were measured at 1-month intervals over a 4-month period. Prior to the main survey, we conducted a pre-survey to confirm the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Infant Crying Questionnaire. We found that parent-oriented beliefs, which focus on the caregiver rather than the crying infant, increased with the mother’s experience, and that infants high on surgency predicted changes in maternal beliefs about infant crying. The current results suggest that the beliefs required by caregivers change with an infant’s development and parenting experience in the early postpartum period. Longitudinal studies of caregivers’ changes, such as the present study, are expected to contribute to the understanding of co-development of caregivers and infants.

Reproductive effort experiences, such as pregnancy, delivery, and interaction with their children, make female maternal brains optimised for child-rearing. However, extensive studies in non-human species revealed there is a trade-off between reproductive effort and life expectancy. In humans, large demographic studies have shown that this is the case for the most part, but molecular marker studies of aging remain controversial, and there are no studies evaluating the relationship between reproductive effort, aging, and brain structures simultaneously. We examined the associations among the reproductive efforts, DNA methylation age acceleration, and the regional grey matter of structural brain scans by voxel-based morphometry in 27-46-year-old mothers. We found that greater reproductive efforts, including the number of delivery and motherhood periods, were significantly associated with decelerated aging in mothers with 1-4 children. We also found that the precuneus grey matter volume was larger as age deceleration occurred and found a mediation effect of the greater left precuneus grey matter volume on the relationship between parity and age deceleration. Our findings suggest that mothers of early childhood children who have less than four children may benefit from aging via precuneus structural changes.

Mother's empathy is an important ability for parenting behavior. Many studies have confirmed that oxytocin affects empathy, but the epigenetic background of oxytocin in maternal empathy has not yet been examined. This study examined the relationship between the oxytocin gene methylation and empathy in mothers of children in early childhood. Additionally, in order to understand a comprehensive mechanism, we also investigated changes in gray matter volume as a function of oxytocin gene methylation and empathy. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index was used to assess cognitive and affective dimensions of empathy of the 57 mothers who participated in this study. Genetic data were collected via saliva samples and analyzed to quantify DNA methylation of oxytocin gene. Gray matter volumes were investigated by means of voxel-based morphometry across the whole brain. A positive correlation was found between oxytocin gene methylation and Personal Distress, an aspect of affective empathy. Moreover, we found an inverse correlation between oxytocin gene methylation and the volume of the right inferior temporal gyrus. In a relationship with oxytocin gene methylation and empathy, the indirect effect of the inferior temporal gyrus gray matter volumes was not significant. Our findings provide empirical evidence for an epigenetic mechanism linking the oxytocin gene, structural variation of brain, and empathy in mothers. Taken together, the current imaging epigenetic findings shed new light on the understanding of the epigenetic basis of oxytocin and parental empathy.

Infants communicate their emotions to caregivers mainly through vocalizations. Research has shown that maternal oxytocin levels relate to adaptive parenting; however, little empirical research exists regarding the effects of endogenous oxytocin levels on maternal responses to infant vocalizations. Thus, in this study, we examined the relationship between mothers’ salivary oxytocin levels, subjective feelings, and behavioral response to infants’ emotional vocalizations. Additionally, we examined the relationship between psychological traits and maternal behavioral responses to infant vocalizations. In this study, 39 mothers were asked to stand on a balance board while listening to infant vocalization stimuli, to measure movements of their center of pressure, an index of approach-avoidance behavior. Sixty infant vocalizations (laughter, crying, and neutral) were presented for 6 ​s each. Afterwards, participants were asked to rate their subjective responses to each stimulus (not aroused – aroused, displeased – pleased, not urgent – urgent, and healthy – sick). Maternal oxytocin levels were negatively correlated with anterior movement of the center of pressure in response to infants’ crying and babbling vocalizations, though no relationship was found between maternal approach-avoidance behavior toward infant laughter and oxytocin levels. This study indicated that maternal approach behavior toward infant vocalizations varies as a function of maternal endogenous oxytocin and the type of infant vocalization.

The defoliation and mortality of Erythrina spp. are increasing on the southern islands of Japan as well as in Taiwan. Although infestation by the gall wasp Quadrastichus erythrinae has been accepted as the cause of Erythrina decline, its role in the death of hosts has never been investigated. We thus studied the cause of the decline, focusing on physiological changes and any contributions by microorganisms. From declining and defoliated trees, Fusarium sp. within F. solani species complex (FSSC) clade 3 was primarily detected, especially from discolored xylem and necrotic phloem that had an odor. This fungus belongs to the Ambrosia Fusarium clade, a group of symbionts of ambrosia beetles that includes the causal agent of Fusarium dieback on avocado. No specific fungi were detected from twigs and leaves with Q. erythrinae galls. According to histological observations, the internal symptoms of declining E. variegata are similar to those of sudden death syndrome in soybeans, which is caused by F. virguliforme, a member of FSSC clade 2. One of the isolates of the Fusarium sp. isolated from E. variegata induced wilt and necrosis of cortex and phloem in the seedlings after artificial inoculation, and the inoculated strain was reisolated. The present results demonstrated that the isolate was pathogenic to E. variegata and may be a causal agent of Erythrina decline.

Infant vocalization plays a pivotal role in communicating infant mood to parents and thereby motivating parenting responses. Although many psychological and neural responses to infant vocalization have been reported, few studies have examined maternal approach-avoidance behavior in response to infant vocalization. Thus, this research sought to determine how infant emotional vocalization affects maternal behavior. Twenty mothers participated in this behavioral study, all of whom had infants of 24 months old or less. In the experiment, they stood on a Balance Board that collected real-time data regarding center of pressure (COP), while listening to a series of infant vocalizations including cry, laugh, and babbling. They then listened to the same vocalizations for a second time and rated their felt emotions in response to each vocalization. The participants demonstrated significant postural movements of approaching in response to cry stimuli or to stimuli regarded as highly urgent. In contrast, they demonstrated postural movement of avoidance in response to laugh vocalization. These findings suggest that parenting behavior in response to infant emotional vocalization is regulated not by the pleasant-unpleasant axis but by the urgency of the stimulus.

The crying of infants elicits aversive feelings and poses a risk for child abuse. Maternal childhood maltreatment can have negative parenting ability consequences and interact with the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) single nucleotide polymorphism (rs53576) to predict maternal response to infant distress stimuli. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of individual vulnerability differences to situational cognitive load in parenting situations. The current study, in which 124 mothers participated in a standardized infant vocalization paradigm, examined three-way interaction on subjective empathy, behavior intention, and handgrip force response to a crying infant. Participants were asked to squeeze a handgrip dynamometer at maximal and half strength while memorizing a meaningless alphabet syllable as the cognitive load manipulation. Significant interactions were also observed between OXTR rs53576, childhood adversity, and cognitive load when predicting excessive force and harsh response intention on hearing a crying infant. These findings suggested that, as the G allele carriers of OXTR rs53576 appear to be susceptible to the effects of severe childhood adversity, inter- and intra-individual approaches are needed when assessing maternal responses to infant stimuli.

Many studies have explored risk factors for child maltreatment, but little research has focused on situational risk factors such as cognitive load, which involves within-individual fluctuation. The current study sought to determine whether cognitive load led to within-individual changes in intention in response to infant crying. The study also sought to ascertain whether state empathy, empathic concern (EC) and personal distress mediated or moderated this relationship. Sixty-six participants completed a memory task (remembering meaningless, two- or eight-letter, English alphabet string), during which they were required to keep these letters in mind while hearing infant crying (or a tone). Subsequently, participants rated questions concerning state empathy and intention in response to the crying (i.e., intentions involving caregiving, neglect, or physical abuse). Results showed that cognitive load reduced caregiving intention and increased intention to perpetrate neglect. In addition, EC mediated the relationship between cognitive load and intention to provide care or perpetrate neglect. Moreover, cognitive load interacted with state empathy to predict intention to provide care or perpetrate neglect. These findings highlighted the importance of focusing on situational cognitive risk factors for child maltreatment and elucidated the role of state empathy as a mediator or moderator in child maltreatment research.

Recently, security cameras have been installed at a high rate in places where there are extensive grounds and many humans gather. The number of installed security cameras has been increasing year by year. The main reason is security enhancement including the prevention of incidences of terrorism. Therefore, we propose a method which detects abandoned objects on online by using pan-tilt camera. Above all, we improve problems of the previous method which is based on ST-Patch features and human detection. We make extended ST-Patch features for solving the problem of ST-Patch features. We improve human detection by using deep learning which is based on a convolutional neural network. We conducted preliminary experiments to verify a method of pooling, and then we decided to use Max pooling because its detection accuracy is better than that of Ave pooling. We conducted experiments in five situations to verify usefulness of the proposed method. If the proposed method finds an abandoned object, it saves the object image. We define the abandoned object as an object which human does not subsist near. We could detect the abandoned object in each situation. However, we conducted experiments of the proposed method only in a room. We need to conduct experiments in a wide area to find new problem.