Exposure to prenatal maternal distress and infant white matter neurodevelopment

The prenatal period represents a critical time for brain growth and development. These rapid neurological advances render the fetus susceptible to various influences with life-long implications for mental health. Maternal distress signals are a dominant early life influence, contributing to birth ou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Development and psychopathology 2021-12, Vol.33 (5), p.1526-1538
Main Authors: Demers, Catherine H, Bagonis, Maria M, Al-Ali, Khalid, Garcia, Sarah E, Styner, Martin A, Gilmore, John H, Hoffman, M Camille, Hankin, Benjamin L, Davis, Elysia Poggi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anisotropy
Anxiety
Brain - pathology
Brain research
Cell division
Diffusion Tensor Imaging - methods
Emotional regulation
Female
Fetuses
Gestational age
Humans
Infant
Infants
Influence
Longitudinal Studies
Magnetic resonance imaging
Mental depression
Mental health
Neuroimaging
Pregnancy
Prenatal experience
Prospective Studies
Psychopathology
Stress
Substantia alba
White Matter - diagnostic imaging
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Summary:The prenatal period represents a critical time for brain growth and development. These rapid neurological advances render the fetus susceptible to various influences with life-long implications for mental health. Maternal distress signals are a dominant early life influence, contributing to birth outcomes and risk for offspring psychopathology. This prospective longitudinal study evaluated the association between prenatal maternal distress and infant white matter microstructure. Participants included a racially and socioeconomically diverse sample of 85 mother-infant dyads. Prenatal distress was assessed at 17 and 29 weeks' gestational age (GA). Infant structural data were collected via diffusion tensor imaging at 42-45 weeks' postconceptional age. Findings demonstrated that higher prenatal maternal distress at 29 weeks' GA was associated with increased fractional anisotropy ( = .283, (64) = 2.319, = .024) and with increased axial diffusivity ( = .254, (64) = 2.067, = .043) within the right anterior cingulate white matter tract. No other significant associations were found with prenatal distress exposure and tract fractional anisotropy or axial diffusivity at 29 weeks' GA, nor earlier in gestation.
ISSN:0954-5794
1469-2198
1469-2198
DOI:10.1017/S0954579421000742