Search

Maternal substance use is associated with altered neural activity and poor offspring outcomes, which may be facilitated by suboptimal caregiving in the form of impaired parental reflective functioning (PRF). To investigate these associations, the resting-state frontal electroencephalography (EEG) power of 48 substance-using mothers and 37 non-substance-using mothers were examined, specifying seven frequency bands: delta, theta, alpha, alpha1, alpha2, beta, and gamma. Substance-using mothers exhibited enhanced beta and gamma spectral power compared to non-substance-using mothers, potentially reflecting higher arousal states in substance-using mothers. There were no between-group differences in any component of PRF (i.e., levels of pre-mentalizing, certainty, and interest and curiosity). Whole-sample analyses revealed significant positive correlations between pre-mentalizing and delta spectral power. Taken together, these findings suggest potential neural correlates of maternal substance use and PRF, providing an important next step into examining associations between maternal substance use and poor child outcomes.Se asocia el uso materno de sustancias con la actividad neural alterada y el débil resultado en los hijos, lo cual pudiera ser favorecido por una prestación de cuidado subóptima en forma de un impedido funcionamiento con reflexión (PRF) en el progenitor. Para investigar estas asociaciones, se examinó la fuerza de la electroencefalografía frontal en estado de descanso de 48 madres que usaban sustancia y 37 madres que no usaban sustancias, especificando siete bandas de frecuencia: delta, theta, alpha, alpha 1, alpha 2, beta y gamma. Las madres que usaban sustancias mostraron una fuerza espectral aumentada en beta y gamma, tal como se les comparó con las madres que no usaban sustancias, lo que potencialmente refleja estados más altos de agitación en las madres que usaban sustancias. No se dieron diferencias entre grupos en ninguno de los componentes de PRF (v.g. niveles de pre-mentalización, opacidad e interés y curiosidad). Los análisis de todas las muestras revelaron correlaciones positivas significativas entre pre-mentalización y la fuerza espectral delta. Tomándolos en conjunto, estos resultados indican posibles correlaciones neurales entre del uso materno de sustancias y PRF, lo cual aporta un importante próximo paso para examinar las asociaciones entre el uso materno de sustancias y los débiles resultados en el niño.La toxicomanie maternelle est liée à une activité neuronale altérée et de mauvais résultats sur les enfants de la personne, ce qui peut être facilité par un mode de soin suboptimal sous la forme d'un fonctionnement de réflexion parentale (PRF en anglais) altéré. Pour enquêter sur ces liens, l’électroencéphalographie frontale au repos (EEG) de 48 mères toxicomanes et de 37 mères non-toxicomanes a été examiné, plus spécifiquement sur quatre bandes de fréquences : delta, thêta, alpha, alpha1, alpha2, béta, et gamma. Les mères toxicomanes ont fait preuve d'une puissance spectrale de béta et gamma importante comparées aux mères non-toxicomanes, ce qui reflète peut-être de plus d’ états d'excitation chez les mères toxicomanes. Nous n'avons observé aucune différence entre les groupes pour ce qui concerne les composantes de la PRF (soit, niveaux de pré-mentalisation, d'opacité, d'intérêt et de curiosité). Des analyses sur tout l’échantillon ont révélé des corrélations positives importantes entre la puissance spectrale de pré-mentalisation et la puissance spectrale delta. Considérés dans l'ensemble, ces résultats suggèrent un corrélat neural potentiel de la toxicomanie maternelle et de la PRF, ce qui présente une nouvelle étape importante dans l'examen des liens entre la toxicomanie maternelle et les mauvais résultats sur l'enfant.Eine Exploration des frontalen Ruhe-EEGs und „Reflective Functioning“ bei mütterlichem Substanzkonsum Mütterlicher Substanzkonsum ist mit einer veränderten neuronalen Aktivität und schlechten Entwicklungsergebnissen bei Kindern assoziiert, die möglicherweise durch eine suboptimale Betreuung in Form eines gestörten elterlichen „Reflective Functioning“ (Parental Reflective Functioning; PRF) begünstigt werden. Um diese Zusammenhänge zu untersuchen, wurde die Leistung der frontalen Elektroenzephalographie (EEG) im Ruhezustand von 48 substanzkonsumierenden Müttern und 37 nicht substanzkonsumierenden Müttern untersucht, wobei sieben Frequenzbereiche bestimmt wurden: Delta, Theta, Alpha, Alpha1, Alpha2, Beta und Gamma. Drogenkonsumierende Mütter wiesen im Vergleich zu nicht konsumierenden Müttern eine erhöhte Beta- und Gamma-Spektralleistung auf, was möglicherweise auf höhere Erregungszustände bei den drogenkonsumierenden Müttern zurückzuführen ist. Es gab keine Unterschiede zwischen den Gruppen in irgendeiner Komponente der PRF (d. h. weder im Level der Prämentalisierung, der Opazität, noch in der des Interesses und der Neugier). Analysen der Gesamtstichprobe ergaben signifikante positive Korrelationen zwischen der Prämentalisierung und der spektralen Delta-Leistung. Zusammengenommen deuten diese Ergebnisse auf potenzielle neuronale Korrelate zwischen mütterlichem Substanzkonsum und PRF hin und stellen einen wichtigen nächsten Schritt bei der Untersuchung von Zusammenhängen zwischen mütterlichem Substanzkonsum und schlechten Entwicklungsoutcomes bei Kindern dar.母親の薬物使用における安静時前頭葉脳波と省察機能の調査 要旨 母親の薬物使用は、神経活性の変化や子どもの転帰不良と関連しており、親の省察機能 (PRF) の損傷という形での最適とはいえない養育により促進される可能性がある。これらの関連性を調べるため、薬物使用者である母親48名と非使用者である母親37名の安静時前頭葉脳波 (EEG) を、デルタ、シータ、アルファ、アルファ1、アルファ2、ベータ、ガンマの7つの周波数帯に分けて調べた。薬物使用の母親は、非使用の母親と比べベータ波とガンマ波のスペクトル出力の増強を示し、より高い覚醒状態にあることを間接的に反映していた。PRFのどの項目にも群間差はなかった (すなわち、前メンタライジング、不透明性、興味・好奇心のレベルに関して) 。全例解析の結果、前メンタライジングとデルタ波スペクトル出力の間に有意な正の相関が認められた。これらの知見は、母親の薬物使用とPRFの神経系への相関の可能性を示唆しており、重要な次の課題として母親の薬物使用と子どもの不良な転帰との関連性の検討を提示する。.母亲的药物使用与神经活动的改变、不良的后代发育结果有关, 这可能是由育儿反思功能 (PRF) 受损引起的欠佳看护所导致的。为了研究这些关联, 我们检查了48名使用药物的母亲和37名不使用药物的母亲的静息状态额叶脑电图 (EEG) 功率, 并指定了七个频段:δ、θ、α、α1、α2、β和γ。与不使用药物的母亲相比, 使用药物的母亲表现出更高的β和γ光谱功率, 这可能反映了使用药物的母亲处于更高的唤醒状态。PRF的任何组成部分 (即, 预心智化、不确定性、兴趣和好奇心水平) 都没有组间差异。全样分析显示, 预心智化与δ光谱功率之间存在显著的正相关。综上所述, 这些发现表明, 母亲的药物使用与PRF之间存在潜在的神经相关性, 这也为下一步研究母亲的药物使用与不良的儿童发育结果之间的关系提供了重要的依据。.استكشاف رسم كهرباء الدماغ (EEG) الأمامية في حالة الراحة وعلاقته بالأداء التأملي عند الأمهات المتعاطيات للمواد المخدرة يرتبط تعاطي الأمهات للمواد المخدرة بتغير النشاط العصبي وضعف نتائج الأبناء ، والتي تحدث نتيجة تقديم رعاية دون المستوى الأمثل من خلال ضعف الأداء الأبوي التأملي (PRF) . وللتحقيق في هذه الارتباطات ، تم فحص الرسم الكهربي للدماغ الأمامية في حالة الراحة(EEG) لـ 48 من الأمهات المتعاطيات و 37 من الأمهات الغير متعاطيات ، مع تحديد سبعة نطاقات تردد: دلتا ، ثيتا ، ألفا ، ألفا 1 ، ألفا 2 ، بيتا ، و جاما. أظهرت الأمهات المتعاطيات قدرة طيفية محسّنة لبيتا وغاما مقارنة بالأمهات الغير المتعاطيات ، مما قد يعكس حالات الاستثارة الأعلى في الأمهات المتعاطيات. لم تكن هناك اختلافات بين المجموعات في أي مكون من مكونات الأداء التأملي(أي مستويات ماقبل التأمل الذهني - الغموص - الاهتمام - الفضول). وكشفت تحليلات العينة الكاملة عن ارتباطات إيجابية ذات دلالة إحصائية بين ما قبل التـأمل الذهني والنطاق الطيفي لتردد دلتا. بشكل عام ، تشير هذه النتائج إلى وجود ارتباطات عصبية محتملة بين تعاطي الأمهات والأداء التـأملي ، مما يوفر خطوة مهمة في تناول الارتباطات بين تعاطي المخدرات الأمومي والنتائج السيئة للأطفال.

Objective: This exploratory study aimed to examine associations between executive function and simulated and self-reported driving behavior among young adults with and without a history of prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE).Methods: Young adult drivers with PCE (n = 38) and with no drug exposure (NDE; n = 25) were recruited from an ongoing longitudinal birth cohort study assessing effects of PCE on development (Mean age = 23.7; 60.3% male; 61.9% with a valid U.S. driver's license, 38.1% report independent driving without a license). Participants completed executive function tasks (i.e., the Stop Signal Task and Groton Maze Learning Task) and self-reported driving measures (i.e., Checkpoints Risky Driving Scale (C-RDS)) outside the cab. Average stop signal reaction time(s) measured inhibitory control, number of exploratory errors measured visuo-spatial working memory, and the total C-RDS score measured self-reported risky driving. Participants completed a high-fidelity driving simulation scenario in a miniSim™ ½ cab National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) that yielded indicators of driving performance shown in previous research to correlate with inhibitory control (e.g., average speed, standard deviation lane position (SDLP)) and working memory (minimum headway time, lane departures). Multivariate linear regression models tested whether PCE status, licensure status and executive function measures were associated with simulated driving measures or C-RDS, controlling for sex.Results: Multivariate regression models demonstrated inhibitory control, working memory and PCE group status was not significantly associated with driving outcomes. Licensure was significantly associated with total lane departures (β = -0.66, SE = 0.19; p < 0.01) and C-RDS (β = 5.86, SE = 1.4; p ≤ 0.001).Conclusions: This exploratory study suggests that young adults with PCE have similar neurocognitive performance and driving behaviors as their non-drug exposed (NDE) peers. These findings add to the growing literature demonstrating that the effect of PCE on cognitive functions in childhood may not persist to young adulthood. Further research with similar groups of young drivers in a naturalistic driving context (i.e., instrumented vehicles) is needed to more definitively translate and confirm our findings.

A large body of work documents the utility of behavioral risk tasks for making inferences about adolescent risk-taking proclivities and related emotional and motivational correlates. Much less attention has been paid to risk-avoidance during adolescence. We provide validity data for a behavioral measure designed to assess avoidance, the Balloon Risk-Avoidance Task (BRAT). We examined avoidance in 127 youth, ages 10–17 (51% female, 68% Caucasian). Correlation analyses indicated significant positive associations between anxiety, fear, and BRAT avoidance behavior. Providing discriminant validity, avoidance on the BRAT was unrelated to depressive symptoms, depressed mood, or trait surgency (approach motivation). The BRAT was negatively associated with risk-taking behavior on the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART). IQ and age were not associated with avoidance on the BRAT. We found that females showed significantly more avoidance behavior than males, but sex did not moderate the association between anxiety and avoidance. Cluster-based analyses revealed a subset of youth in mid-to-late adolescence showing significantly greater levels of avoidance behavior on the BRAT. These adolescents had higher levels of reported anxiety symptoms compared to individuals in mid-to-late who show lower levels of avoidance. Findings are discussed in terms of the clinical implications and the potential role that avoidance serves as both protective and risk factors in youth.

Background Racism is a significant source of toxic stress and a root cause of health inequities. Emerging evidence suggests that exposure to vicarious racism (i.e., racism experienced by a caregiver) is associated with poor child health and development, but associations with biological indicators of toxic stress have not been well studied. It is also unknown whether two-generation interventions, such as early home visiting programs, may help to mitigate the harmful effects of vicarious racism. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine associations between maternal experiences of racial discrimination and child indicators of toxic stress and to test whether relationships are moderated by prior participation in Minding the Baby (MTB), an attachment-based early home visiting intervention. Methods Ninety-seven maternal-child dyads (n = 43 intervention dyads, n = 54 control dyads) enrolled in the MTB Early School Age follow-up study. Mothers reported on racial discrimination using the Experiences of Discrimination Scale. Child indicators of toxic stress included salivary biomarkers of inflammation (e.g., C-reactive protein, panel of pro-inflammatory cytokines), body mass index, and maternally reported child behavioral problems. We used linear regression to examine associations between maternal experiences of racial discrimination and child indicators of toxic stress and included an interaction term between experiences of discrimination and MTB group assignment (intervention vs. control) to test moderating effects of the MTB intervention. Results Mothers identified as Black/African American (33%) and Hispanic/Latina (64%). In adjusted models, maternal experiences of racial discrimination were associated with elevated salivary interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α levels in children, but not child body mass index or behavior. Prior participation in the MTB intervention moderated the relationship between maternal experiences of discrimination and child interleukin-6 levels. Discussion Results of this study suggest that racism may contribute to the biological embedding of early adversity through influences on inflammation, but additional research with serum markers is needed to better understand this relationship. Improved understanding of the relationships among vicarious racism, protective factors, and childhood toxic stress is necessary to inform family and systemic-level intervention.

Research is needed to better understand how childhood maltreatment history affects parental reflective capacities, and whether early childhood interventions help mitigate these effects. We examined associations between childhood maltreatment and current parenting (parental reflective functioning, parenting behaviors) among mothers who participated in a follow-up study ( N = 97) of the Minding the Baby® (MTB) randomized control trial. MTB is a home visiting program that aims to help mothers understand their child’s mental states (feelings, intentions, needs) by promoting parental reflective functioning. Mothers retrospectively reported childhood maltreatment using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Endorsing a higher number of childhood maltreatment subtypes was associated with less supportive/engaged parenting and higher pre-mentalizing modes, or difficulty with appropriately reflecting on the child’s mental states. These relationships were not moderated by participation in the MTB intervention. However, exploratory analyses of individual maltreatment subtypes revealed that participation in MTB may mitigate the harmful effects of childhood emotional abuse on pre-mentalizing modes, specifically. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms through which early childhood interventions may prevent intergenerational cycles of maltreatment.

The burden of the COVID-19 pandemic upon healthcare workers necessitates a systematic effort to support their resilience. This article describes the Yale University and Yale New Haven Health System effort to unite several independent initiatives into a coherent integrated model for institutional support for healthcare workers. Here, we highlight both opportunities and challenges faced in attempting to support healthcare workers during this pandemic.

INTRODUCTION Optimal age at surgery in nonsyndromic sagittal craniosynostosis continues to be debated. Previous reports suggest that earlier age at whole vault cranioplasty more frequently requires reoperation. It is unknown, however, whether reoperation affects neurocognitive outcome. This study examined the impact of reoperation on neurocognitive outcome in children with nonsyndromic sagittal craniosynostosis using comprehensive neurocognitive testing. METHODS Forty-seven school-age children (age 5-16 years) with nonsyndromic sagittal craniosynostosis who underwent whole-vault cranioplasty were included in this analysis. Participants were administered a battery of standardized neuropsychological testing to measure neurocognitive outcomes. RESULTS Thirteen of the 47 participants underwent reoperation (27.7%); 11 out of the 13 reoperations were minor revisions while 2 reoperations were cranioplasties. Reoperation rate was not statistically different between patients who had earlier surgery (at age ≤6 months) versus later surgery (at age >6 months) (P > 0.05). Nonreoperated patients who had only one later-in-life surgery did not perform statistically better than reoperated patients on any outcome measure of neurocognitive function, including IQ, academic achievement, visuomotor integration, executive function, and behavior. Comparing reoperated earlier surgery patients with nonreoperated later surgery patients, reoperated earlier surgery patients had higher full-scale and verbal IQ (P

Multiple interventions have been developed to improve the caregiver–child relationship as a buffer to the effects of early life adversity and toxic stress. However, relatively few studies have evaluated the long-term effects of these early childhood interventions, particularly on parenting and childhood behaviors. Here we describe the early school-age follow-up results of a randomized controlled trial of Minding the Baby ® (MTB), a reflective, attachment-based, trauma-informed, preventive home-visiting intervention for first-time mothers and their infants. Results indicate that mothers who participated in MTB are less likely to show impaired mentalizing compared to control mothers two to eight years after the intervention ended. Additionally, MTB mothers have lower levels of hostile and coercive parenting, and their children have lower total and externalizing problem behavior scores when compared to controls at follow-up. We discuss our findings in terms of their contribution to understanding the long-term parenting and childhood socio-emotional developmental effects of early preventive interventions for stressed populations.

Distracted driving remains a leading factor in fatal motor vehicle crashes, particularly in young drivers. Due to ongoing neuromaturation, attention capabilities are changing and improving throughout young adulthood. Here, we sought to bridge neuroscience with driving simulation by evaluating the effects of driving on attention processing through a selective auditory attention task. Participants (18-25 years old) engaged in an auditory attention task during LOAD (driving a high-fidelity simulator) and No-LOAD conditions (sitting in the parked simulator). For the auditory task, participants responded to a target auditory tone in a target ear. The event-related potential components, collected from frontal and posterior regions, P2 and P3, were used to evaluate attention processing across LOAD and No-LOAD conditions for attended and unattended stimuli. Data from 24 participants were evaluated in repeated measures ANOVAs, considering interactions between load and attention conditions for the P2 and P3 components of the cortical region. We observed a significant difference between response to attended and unattended stimuli for posterior P2 and P3 responses at the frontal and posterior midline sites. Comparing LOAD and No-LOAD conditions, there was a significant difference for P2 response at the posterior site and P3 response at the frontal site. A significant interaction between load and attended stimuli was found for P3 response at the posterior site. These data document differences in neural processing of auditory stimuli during high-fidelity simulated driving versus sitting parked in the simulator. Findings suggest the cognitive load of driving affects auditory attention.

Cannabis and tobacco use and related disorders have been separately associated with sensitivity to reward (SR), sensitivity to punishment (SP), and impulsivity. Given the frequent co-occurrence of cannabis and tobacco consumption in adolescents, it is important to understand how SR, SP and impulsivity may relate to both cannabis-use and tobacco-use co-occurrences and problem severities. Presently, sixty-five adolescents (14–21 years, 65% male), including 36 adolescents with daily tobacco smoking and regular cannabis use and 29 non-smoking healthy controls (HCs), completed self-report questionnaires assessing substance use, addiction severity, SR, SP, and impulsivity. Adolescent smokers had decreased SP and increased impulsivity compared to HCs. SR and impulsivity were independent predictors of concurrent cannabis-related problem severity among smokers. These findings suggest that specific approach/avoidance motives and impulsivity warrant further investigation as potential treatment targets in adolescents who consume both tobacco and cannabis.

Objective Infant crying can lead to parental frustration and is the most common trigger for abusive head trauma (AHT). We used qualitative methodology with an activating stimulus (an audiotape of an infant crying) to prime the participants to engage in open dialogue for the purpose of understanding their perceptions of infant crying and its association with AHT, with the aim that information from these interviews and the impact of hearing the activating stimulus could be used to inform interventions to prevent AHT that would resonate with parents. Methods We conducted 25 initial qualitative interviews and 16 subsequent interviews with mothers and fathers of newborns. Before the initial interview, parents listened to a 1-minute audio clip of a crying infant, followed by a preventive message regarding AHT. The transcribed data were analyzed, and themes were developed using the constant comparative method of grounded theory. Data collection and analysis continued past the point of thematic saturation. Results Four themes emerged from the initial interviews: (1) previous experience is helpful to manage infant crying; (2) babies cry for a reason; (3) shaking an infant is incomprehensible to parents; and (4) the role of safety planning to manage frustration with crying. Analysis of the subsequent interviews revealed two additional themes: (1) use of supports for infant crying (e.g., technology and physician advice) and (2) effects of the audio clip on caregiving practices. Conclusion Previous experiences and beliefs about crying affect parents’ perceptions of infant crying and AHT. After discharge, parents reported using technology for information and support and thinking about the audio clip when caring for their infant. These experiences, beliefs and practices may aid in shaping effective prevention strategies to prevent AHT.

Cannabis use and related disorders are common in adults and frequently co-occur with subsyndromal and pathological gambling. However, understanding how cannabis use may moderate relationships between problem-gambling severity and psychiatric disorders remains poorly understood. Data from the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (N = 43,093 adults) were examined to investigate how cannabis use moderated associations between problem-gambling severity (with gambling groups based on the 10 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual [DSM-IV] inclusionary criteria for pathological gambling) and Axis I and Axis II psychiatric disorders. Problem-gambling severity groups included low frequency/nongambling, low-risk gambling, at-risk gambling, and problem/pathological gambling (PPG). Among both the group with lifetime cannabis use and that which never used cannabis, greater problem-gambling severity was associated with more psychopathology across mood, anxiety, substance-use and Axis II disorders. Significant Cannabis Use × Problem-Gambling Severity Group interactions were observed between PPG and major depression (OR = 0.35, 95% CI = [0.14-0.85]), cluster A personality disorders (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = [0.16-0.86])-especially paranoid personality disorder (OR = 0.34, 95% CI = [0.14-0.81])-and cluster B personality disorders (OR = 0.36, 95% CI = [0.18-0.75])-especially antisocial personality disorder (OR = 0.25, 95% CI = [0.11-0.60]). In all cases, associations between problem-gambling severity and psychopathologies were weaker among the lifetime-cannabis-using group as compared to the never-using group. Cannabis use moderates the relationships between problem-gambling severity and psychiatric disorders, with cannabis use appearing to account for some of the variance in the associations between greater problem-gambling severity and specific forms of psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The papers in this special issue were delivered at the inaugural Anne Marie Sandler Symposium in Infant Mental Health. The theme of the imagined baby, around which each of these papers is oriented,...

The purpose of this study was to examine associations between maternal trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and directly observed maternal-child interactions among a diverse cohort of mother-preterm infant dyads at 12-month corrected age.We conducted a retrospective cohort study. Maternal trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress symptoms were measured using the Modified Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale at baseline and 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome was directly observed maternal-child interactions at 12-month corrected age using the Coding Interactive Behavior Manual. We used linear regression models to estimate the associations between trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress symptoms (and symptom clusters), and observer-rated maternal-child interactions.Among the 236 participants, 89 (37.7%) self-reported as Black and 98 (41.5%) as Latina; mean gestational age of the infants was 31.6 weeks (SD 2.6). Mothers with posttraumatic stress symptoms demonstrated greater maternal sensitivity (β = 0.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06-0.58; standardized effect size = 0.39) and greater dyadic reciprocity (β = 0.39; 95% CI, 0.04-0.73; standardized effect size = 0.36) compared with those not exposed to trauma; however, we did not observe significant differences between trauma-exposed but asymptomatic women and those not exposed to trauma. Across symptom clusters, differences in maternal sensitivity and dyadic reciprocity were most pronounced for mothers with avoidance and re-experiencing symptoms, but not hyperarousal symptoms.Maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms seem to be associated with the quality of maternal-child interactions at age 1 year among a cohort of urban, mother-preterm infant dyads. These findings have implications for strength-based intervention development.

Prenatal substance exposure has the potential to impact a variety of domains, with neurobiological effects that last throughout the lifespan. Different substances may impact the brain in both specific and diffuse ways; however, the aberrant neural outcomes following exposure tend to coalesce in three areas: (1) sensorimotor development; (2) arousal, motivation, and reward; and (3) executive functioning, impulse control, and emotion regulation. This manuscript represents a summary and update of a previous review (Morie et al., 2019). We organize this piece by domain and summarize data from published neuroimaging studies that examine the neural correlates of prenatal exposure across developmental stages. While the published neuroimaging literature in the area of prenatal exposure has a range of sampling concerns that may limit generalizability as well as longitudinal prediction, the findings to date do point to domains of interest warranting further study. With this caveat, we synthesize the extant findings to describe ways in which prenatal substance exposure is associated with developmental psychopathology and implicated in potentially aberrant behavioral patterns beginning in infancy and persisting through childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and even parenthood. We also examine how substance abuse may impact parenting behaviors that in turn influences infant and child behavior in ways that may be additive or obscure the direct teratological effects of prenatal exposure. Given this observation, we offer an additional intergenerational lens through which prenatal substance exposure should be studied.

BACKGROUND. The proportion of motor vehicle crash fatalities involving alcohol-impaired drivers declined substantially between 1982 and 1997, but progress stopped after 1997. The systemic complexity of alcohol-impaired driving contributes to the persistence of this problem. This study aims to identify and map key feedback mechanisms that affect alcohol-impaired driving among adolescents and young adults in the U.S. METHODS. We apply the system dynamics approach to the problem of alcohol-impaired driving and bring a feedback perspective for understanding drivers and inhibitors of the problem. The causal loop diagram (i.e., map of dynamic hypotheses about the structure of the system producing observed behaviors over time) developed in this study is based on the output of two group model building sessions conducted with multidisciplinary subject-matter experts bolstered with extensive literature review. RESULTS. The causal loop diagram depicts diverse influences on youth impaired driving including parents, peers, policies, law enforcement, and the alcohol industry. Embedded in these feedback loops are the physical flow of youth between the categories of abstainers, drinkers who do not drive after drinking, and drinkers who drive after drinking. We identify key inertial factors, discuss how delay and feedback processes affect observed behaviors over time, and suggest strategies to reduce youth impaired driving. CONCLUSION. This review presents the first causal loop diagram of alcohol-impaired driving among adolescents and it is a vital first step toward quantitative simulation modeling of the problem. Through continued research, this model could provide a powerful tool for understanding the systemic complexity of impaired driving among adolescents, and identifying effective prevention practices and policies to reduce youth impaired driving.

PURPOSE. A growing body of human research has documented associations between the maternal brain and maternal substance use and addictions. This neuroscience-informed approach affords the opportunity to unpack potential neurobiological mechanisms that may underscore challenges in maternal caregiving behavior among mothers with addictions and provide new directions for parenting interventions. FINDINGS. Consistent with theoretical models of parenting and addictions, five studies evidence both hypo- and hyper-reactivity to infant affective cues across neuroimaging methods and tasks that incorporate both infant face and cry stimuli. Three structural and resting-state brain studies as a function of maternal substance use are also reported. CONCLUSIONS. While human neuroimaging research converges in showing that maternal substance use is associated with differential reactivity to infant affective cues, further multi-level/multi-modal, longitudinal, and dimensional research is critically needed to advance this area of investigation.

Maternal bonding early postpartum lays an important foundation for child development. Changing brain structure and function during pregnancy and postpartum may underscore maternal bonding. We employed connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) to measure brain functional connectivity and predict self-reported maternal bonding in mothers at 2 and 8 months postpartum. At 2 months, CPM predicted maternal anxiety in the bonding relationship: Greater integration between cerebellar and motor–sensory–auditory networks and between frontoparietal and motor–sensory–auditory networks were associated with more maternal anxiety toward their infant. Furthermore, greater segregation between the cerebellar and frontoparietal, and within the motor-sensory-auditory networks, was associated with more maternal anxiety regarding their infant. We did not observe CPM prediction of maternal bonding impairments or rejection/anger toward the infant. Finally, considering 2 and 8 months of data, changes in network connectivity were associated with changes in maternal anxiety in the bonding relationship. Our results suggest that changing connectivity among maternal brain networks may provide insight into the mother–infant bond, specifically in the context of anxiety and the representation of the infant in the mother’s mind. These findings provide an opportunity to mechanistically investigate approaches to enhance the connectivity of these networks to optimize the representational and behavioral quality of the caregiving relationship.

The Trier Social Stress Test for children (TSST-C) adapted from TSST is one of the most commonly used laboratory paradigms for investigating the effects of stress on cognitive, affective and physiological responses in children and adolescents. Considering that laboratory procedures generate a significant amount of stress to children and adolescents, even in the absence of a stress paradigm, it is important to validate TSST-C against an inactive control condition in which the stress components were absent. Using a randomized design, we tested an inactive control condition, which replaced the TSST-C with a benign video clip (nature scenes viewed while standing), thus removing the stress associated components of the TSST-C. Eighty-eight youth between the ages of 10 and 17 years were randomly assigned to complete the TSST-C or the Inactive Control (IC). Subjective anxiety rating, salivary cortisol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate were collected at eight time points. Subjects in the Inactive Control condition showed no significant changes in blood pressure and heart rate, and decreased anxiety rating and salivary cortisol level throughout the study. Subjects in the stress condition (TSST-C) showed increased anxiety ratings, salivary cortisol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate immediately following TSST-C stress induction. Our findings validated that the TSST-C induced a systemic stress response, and that the Inactive Control can be a promising standardized control condition for the TSST-C and a tool for future psychobiological research. Our results also showed that anxiety reactivity decreased with age while HR reactivity increased with age. Cortisol reactivity did not fall in a linear relationship with age but rather via a quadratic curve, suggesting the mid-age adolescents had the highest cortisol responses to stress compared to their younger and older peers, potentially due to a dual factor of pubertal development and self-control and emotion regulation capacity.

It is vital that new mothers quickly and accurately recognize their child's facial expressions. There is evidence that during pregnancy women develop enhanced processing of facial features associated with infancy and distress, as these cues signal vulnerability and are therefore biologically salient. In this study, 51 pregnant women at 17-36 weeks gestation watched neutral infant and adult faces gradually morph into either happy or sad expressions. We measured the speed and accuracy with which participants were able to recognize facial affect (happy vs. sad) across facial ages (infant vs. adult). Participants were faster and more accurate at recognizing happy versus sad faces and adult versus infant faces. We discuss how prior exposure to a certain face type may explain faster recognition. We also consider these results in the context of evidence indicating positive affect is recognized more quickly, but associated with slower attention and detection.

In this article, we describe the results of the second phase of a randomized controlled trial of Minding the Baby (MTB), an interdisciplinary reflective parenting intervention for infants and their families. Young first-time mothers living in underserved, poor, urban communities received intensive home visiting services from a nurse and social worker team for 27 months, from pregnancy to the child's second birthday. Results indicate that MTB mothers' levels of reflective functioning was more likely to increase over the course of the intervention than were those of control group mothers. Likewise, infants in the MTB group were significantly more likely to be securely attached, and significantly less likely to be disorganized, than infants in the control group. We discuss our findings in terms of their contribution to understanding the impacts and import of intensive intervention with vulnerable families during the earliest stages of parenthood in preventing the intergenerational transmission of disrupted relationships and insecure attachment.

Emotion regulation encapsulates the capability to successfully manage an ongoing emotional experience, particularly in social interactions, and thus may be especially significant to early parent-child relationships. In particular, the capacity to adjust emotions may support parental mentalization and reflective functioning – how parents think about their own and their child’s mental states and how these mental states effect behavior. To examine this issue, we investigated the association between emotion regulation, emotion dysregulation, and parental reflective functioning in a maternal sample (N = 97). We found that mothers with higher tendencies to suppress their emotions and who had more difficulties with emotion regulation engaged in greater levels of pre-mentalizing (i.e., a non-mentalizing mode). Mothers with poorer emotional awareness also evidenced less interest and curiosity in their child’s mental states. Finally, mothers who reported greater difficulty setting goals also evidenced a reduced capacity to recognize that their infant’s mental states are not directly observable. Taken together, our findings support the relationship between different aspects of emotion regulation and maternal reflective functioning, suggesting that emotion regulation should be integrated in empirical and intervention work that targets maternal mentalization.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unanticipated and uncontrollable chronic stressor that is detrimental to the mental and behavioral health of children and families, particularly those from disadvantaged and marginalized backgrounds. Chronic stress impairs a myriad of prefrontal cortical functions, important for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, and has consequences on dyadic parent-child functioning. Informed by neuroscience and clinical evidence, sensitive parenting is a vital avenue of intervention that buffers against the toxic effects of COVID-19 on parent-child mental health. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we first discuss the neurobiological, psychological, and behavioral mechanisms behind exacerbated mental health risks in families. We then highlight the role of sensitive parenting as a buffer against stress-related mental health problems, and conclude with recommendations for systemic-, family-, and individual-interventions to most effectively address stress-related mental health problems and their impact on children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize trajectory classes of adolescents who ride with an impaired driver (RWI) and drive while impaired (DWI). METHODS We analyzed all 7 annual assessments (Waves W1-W7) of the NEXT Generation Health Study, a nationally representative longitudinal study starting with 10th grade (2009-2010 school year). Using all 7 waves, latent class analysis was used to identify trajectory classes with dichotomized RWI (last 12 months) and DWI (last 30 days; once or more = 1 vs. none = 0). Covariates were race/ethnicity, sex, parent education, urbanicity, and family affluence. RESULTS Four RWI trajectories and 4 DWI trajectories were identified: abstainer, escalator, decliner, and persister. For RWI and DWI trajectories respectively, 45.0% (n = 647) and 76.2% (n = 1,657) were abstainers, 15.6% (n = 226) and 14.2% (n = 337) were escalators, 25.0% (n = 352) and 5.4% (n = 99) were decliners, and 14.4% (n = 197) and 3.8% (n = 83) persisters. Race/ethnicity (χ2 = 23.93, P = .004) was significantly associated with the RWI trajectory classes. Race/ethnicity (χ2 = 20.55, P = .02), sex (χ2 = 13.89, P = .003), parent highest education (χ2 = 12.49, P = .05), urbanicity (χ2 = 9.66, P = .02), and family affluence (χ2 = 12.88, P = .05) were significantly associated with DWI trajectory classes. CONCLUSIONS Among adolescents transitioning into emerging adulthood, race/ethnicity is a common factor associated with RWI and DWI longitudinal trajectories. Our results suggest that adolescent RWI and DWI are complex behaviors warranting further detailed investigation of the respective trajectory classes. Our study findings can inform the tailoring of prevention and intervention efforts aimed at preventing illness/injury and preserving future opportunities for adolescents to thrive in emerging adulthood.

This study investigated theory of mind (ToM) development in 83 children aged 3-5 years and its associations with parental reflective functioning (PRF), using a multidimensional and developmental approach. Results showed that ToM dimensions (i.e., affective, belief-desire, and cognitive) gradually increased with age. All dimensions of PRF (i.e., prementalizing modes, certainty about mental states, and interest and curiosity in mental states) were associated with ToM dimensions, with different dimensions being differentially related to ToM, including age-related effects.

Adolescents and young adults who ride with an impaired driver (RWI) and drive while impaired (DWI) are at considerable risk for crash-related injury and death (National Center for Statistics and An...

BACKGROUND: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder involving chronic motor and phonic tics. Most individuals with Tourette syndrome can suppress their tics for at least a short period of time. Yet, the brain correlates of tic suppression are still poorly understood. METHODS: In the current study, high-density electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded during a resting-state and a tic suppression session in 72 children with TS. Functional connectivity between cortical regions was assessed in the alpha band (8-13 Hz) using an EEG source connectivity method. Graph theory and network-based statistics were used to assess the global network topology and to identify brain regions showing increased connectivity during tic suppression. RESULTS: Graph theoretical analyses revealed distinctive global network topology during tic suppression, relative to rest. Using network-based statistics, we found a subnetwork of increased connectivity during tic suppression (p < .001). That subnetwork encompassed many cortical areas, including the right superior frontal gyrus and the left precuneus, which are involved in the default mode network. We also found a condition by age interaction, suggesting age-mediated increases in connectivity during tic suppression. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that children with TS suppress their tics through a brain circuit involving distributed cortical regions, many of which are part of the default mode network. Brain connectivity during tic suppression also increases as youths with TS mature. These results highlight a mechanism by which children with TS may control their tics, which could be relevant for future treatment studies.

Maternal attachment security is an important predictor of caregiving . However, little is known regarding the neurobiological mechanisms by which attachment influences processing of infant cues, a critical component of caregiving. We examined whether attachment security, measured by the Adult Attachment Interview, might relate to neural responses to infant cues using event-related potentials. Secure (

Impairments in feedback processing, often associated with risk-taking behavior, may have implications for development of substance abuse in adolescents. The most commonly used substances by adolescents include tobacco and cannabis, with some individuals using both substances, potentially heightening risk. Our objective was to examine feedback processing and impulsivity in adolescents who smoke cigarettes and use cannabis daily (N = 21), comparing them with adolescents who smoke cigarettes daily and use cannabis occasionally (N = 18) and non-smoking (N = 27) adolescents. To do this, the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART) with concurrent EEG was used to measure risk-related feedback processing, and impulsivity was measured using the Barratt's impulsiveness scale (BIS-11). It was found that adolescent daily tobacco/cannabis smoking was associated with higher BIS-11 scores, shortened feedback-related-negativity (FRN) latencies and reduced P300 amplitudes. In addition, FRN latencies during win conditions were inversely associated with tobacco-use severity, indicated by scores on the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), and with BIS-11 scores. Adolescents with concurrent tobacco and cannabis use show altered feedback processing and higher impulsivity. Future work should disentangle whether the effect reflects risk, consequences of use or both.

A recent commentary in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology emphasized the disproportionately adverse mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic (Purtle, 2020). While this perspective focused specifically on disparities in financial insecurity and grief stemming from disparities in COVID-19 mortality in adults, we expand this view to incorporate a developmental perspective of the pre-existing inequities experienced by children and families that have been magnified by COVID-19 in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic is an abrupt and chronic stressor that puts many children and adolescents at risk for developing mental and behavioral health disorders—particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds and marginalized communities, as the pandemic has illustrated in the U.S. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, these children were already more likely to experience severe economic hardship, lack access to quality education and other resources critical for coping with adversities, and be at increased risk for maltreatment and exposure to home or community violence, all of which can result in increased risk for adverse health outcomes (Nurius et al., 2015; Jones et al., 2018). Moreover, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) families in the U.S. face systemic racism and discrimination. These inequities are only magnified and perpetuated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Figure 1) (Beaunoyer et al., 2020; Hooper et al., 2020; Turner Lee, 2020a; Van Dorn et al., 2020). Open in a separate window Figure 1 The COVID-19 pandemic magnifies and exacerbates existing inequities (left) for disadvantaged children and families in the United States (indicated by thicker arrows in right), thereby placing them at greater risk for recurring suboptimal health outcomes and exacerbation of existing inequities. The asterisks (*) denote increased risk factors for disadvantaged children and families during COVID-19, which are not mutually exclusive. These are also potential points for intervention.

Infant-cue processing facilitates sensitive maternal care, which is necessary in the formation of healthy mother-infant attachment. Mothers may be particularly focused on cue processing early postpartum, contributing to intense preoccupation with their infant’s well-being. Prior reproductive experience, or parity, may also impact the intensity of infant-cue processing and has been found to influence P300 neural responses to infant faces during pregnancy and at 2 months postpartum. However, we do not know whether this parity effect persists. Thus, we examined the P300 to infant faces in 59 mothers at 2 and 7 months postpartum. Our main finding was that primiparous, as compared to multiparous, women showed a significantly higher P300 to infant faces across the postpartum period. Findings further emphasize the importance of studying parity and its impact on the neural processing of infant faces.

As a call to action in the field, we highlight that the COVID-19 pandemic is an abrupt and chronic stressor to children and families of disadvantaged and marginalized backgrounds. Critically, this global crisis has a disproportionate impact on the physical, mental and behavioral health of these vulnerable members of society, due to pre-existing disadvantages such as economic hardship, educational inequities, risks of maltreatment and community violence. A lack of access to mental health support further deprives children and their caregivers of the resources needed to cope with magnified adversities during the pandemic. We believe these inequalities are not the mere result of the pandemic, but enduring issues in society that are detrimental to the wellbeing of the most vulnerable. We advocate for long-term strategies to change societal structures that oppress marginalized children and families, and believe the pandemic reflects a pressing need to invest in interventions.

Background and objectives Exposure to early-life trauma may lead to maladaptive characteristics such as alexithymia, and thus to poorer emotional regulation. This relationship may also be influenced by exposure to substances prenatally. We hypothesized that increased alexithymia would be seen in those with prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE). Additionally, we hypothesized that early-life trauma would be associated with alexithymia, and that alexithymia would be associated with poor emotional reappraisal and emotional suppression. Methods A moderated mediation model was developed to examine whether the hypothesized indirect relationship between trauma and emotional reappraisal through alexithymia was different in young adults with and without PCE (Total N = 57). Thirty-seven young adults with PCE and 20 with no such exposure, all of whom were members of a longitudinal cohort, were recruited for the study, and data concerning childhood trauma, alexithymia, and emotional regulation were collected. Intercorrelations were performed between the scores on each measure and moderated mediation models were constructed separately with emotional neglect or emotional abuse as the independent variable and emotional reappraisal or emotional suppression as the dependent variable. Results PCE status was associated with alexithymia, and alexithymia mediated the relationship between emotional neglect and emotional reappraisal in individuals with PCE but not those without. Discussion and conclusions The data suggest that alexithymia is a mechanism underlying poor use of emotional reappraisal in PCE individuals. Scientific significance Individuals with early-life trauma and substance exposure may represent a vulnerable population, and alexithymia may play a key role in the development of emotional regulation skills in this population. (Am J Addict 2020;29:492-499).

OBJECTIVE: As noninvasive biological markers gain increasing popularity in pediatric research, it is critical to understand how study participants perceive these measures, especially among groups underrepresented in biobehavioral research, like children and people of color. The purpose of this study was to examine acceptability and feasibility of hair and salivary biomarker collection in an urban community sample of ethnically diverse children (age 4 to 10 years). METHODS: Ninety-seven mother–child dyads were recruited for a cross-sectional follow up study of the Minding the Baby® home visiting intervention. Children were Hispanic (63%), Black (34%), and multi-racial (3.1%). A conventional content analysis was conducted using two sources of data: (1) mothers’ responses to open-ended interview questions on their views and suggestions regarding biomarker collection, and (2) field notes recorded by investigators. RESULTS: Forty-four percent of mothers reported biomarker-related questions or concerns, including questions about the purpose of biomarker testing, and concerns about cosmetic issues, child discomfort, and future use of biomarker data. Mothers also offered positive feedback and advice for collection. Issues affecting feasibility included children’s hair length and style, refusal to participate, and behavioral or developmental issues. CONCLUSIONS: Hair and salivary biomarker collection was largely acceptable and feasible in this sample. Strategies for promoting ethical and sensitive biomarker collection include respectful explanations and parental involvement, creating a comfortable and safe environment for the child, flexible collection strategies, and attention to development, cultural preferences and perspectives.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Parental brain research primarily employs general-linear-model-based (GLM-based) analyses to assess blood-oxygenation-level-dependent responses to infant auditory and visual cues, reporting common responses in shared cortical and subcortical structures. However, this approach does not reveal intermixed neural substrates related to different sensory modalities. We consider this notion in studying the parental brain. RECENT FINDINGS: Spatial independent component analysis (sICA) has been used to separate mixed source signals from overlapping functional networks. We explore relative differences between GLM-based analysis and sICA as applied to an fMRI dataset acquired from women while they listened to infant cries or viewed infant sad faces. SUMMARY: There is growing appreciation for the value of moving beyond GLM-based analyses to consider brain functional organization as continuous, distributive, and overlapping gradients of neural substrates related to different sensory modalities. Preliminary findings suggest sICA can be applied to the study of the parental brain.

Approximately twenty percent of female and ten percent of male adolescents report violence in their dating relationships and there is a significant association between dating violence in adolescence and later perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) in adulthood. Identification of factors associated with dating violence can inform intervention and prevention efforts. This study was designed to examine the associations of early childhood maltreatment experience and involvement in adolescent dating violence. It also aimed to identify the moderating effect of insecure attachment styles on these associations. One hundred fifty adolescent who participated in a larger longitudinal study on prenatal drug exposure participated in this study. Participants completed self-report measures of childhood maltreatment at a standard follow-up visit between the ages of 15-19 years. Approximately 18 month later, they completed questionnaires on their attachment styles and level of dating violence perpetration and victimization. Hierarchical regression modeling revealed a significant main effect for childhood abuse but not insecure attachment on perpetration and victimization of dating violence. Avoidant attachment significantly moderated the relationship between childhood abuse exposure and dating violence: For adolescents who reported an avoidant attachment style, an increase in the level of experienced childhood maltreatment predicted significantly higher increases in victimization by dating violence, compared to those did not have avoidant attachment. Results suggest adolescents with child maltreatment history and avoidant attachment styles may be at higher risk for involvement in dating violence and support intervention efforts for fostering attachment relationship to attenuate the association between early exposures to maltreatment and involvement in dating violence later.

Psychopathy is a cluster of personality traits associated with high rates of aggression. While research on psychopathic traits largely focuses on neurobiological factors implicated in aggression, other research suggests that contextual factors, such as social exclusion, also contribute to promoting aggression. Yet, the relationships among psychopathic traits, neural processing of exclusion, and aggression remain unknown. A sample of 76 adolescents and young adults completed Cyberball, a task involving conditions of social inclusion, ambiguous exclusion, and unambiguous exclusion. During Cyberball, a slow wave (SW) event-related potential (an index of elaborative processing) and self-reported anger were measured. Additionally, acts of real-world aggression were assessed. Results indicated that as psychopathic traits increased, SW during ambiguous exclusion also increased, but SW during inclusion decreased. However, the combination of smaller SW during ambiguous exclusion and higher psychopathic traits predicted heightened anger following Cyberball and more frequent real-world aggression. This response to social exclusion among individuals with elevated psychopathic traits may represent an unreflective, reactive style that exacerbates anger and aggression in certain contexts. These data suggest that neurobiological dysfunction in elaborative processing is related to psychopathic traits, and social context comprises another important influence on the aggression of individuals with elevated psychopathic traits.

Prior reproductive experience, or parity, may contribute to differential neural responses to infant stimuli during pregnancy. We examined the P300 elicited by viewing infant and adult faces, as well as houses, in women pregnant with their first child and compared their neural responses to women who had at least one child prior to their current pregnancy. We found the P300 amplitude was larger in women pregnant with their first child as compared to pregnant women who had previously had children. This larger P300 was observed in response to all visual stimuli and was not specific to infant faces. Taken together, these findings indicate increased sensitivity toward social and non-social stimuli in pregnancy and indicate the importance of measuring parity in social neuroscience studies of pregnancy and motherhood.