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Newborn white matter microstructure moderates the association between maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and infant negative reactivity.

ABSTRACT: Maternal postpartum depression is a prominent risk factor for aberrant child socioemotional development, but there is little understanding about the neural phenotypes that underlie infant sensitivity to maternal depression. We examined whether newborn white matter fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of white matter maturity, moderates the association between maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and infant negative reactivity at 6 months. Participants were 80 mother-infant dyads participating in a prospective population-based cohort, and included families whose newborns underwent a magnetic resonance/diffusion tensor imaging scan at 2-5 weeks of age and whose mothers reported their own depressive symptoms at 3 and 6 months postpartum and infant negative emotional reactivity at 6 months. The whole-brain FA moderated the association between maternal depressive symptoms and mother-reported infant negative reactivity at 6 months after adjusting for the covariates. Maternal depressive symptoms were positively related to infant negative reactivity among infants with high or average FA in the whole brain and in corpus callosum and cingulum, but not among those with low FA. The link between maternal depressive symptoms and infant negative reactivity was moderated by newborn FA. The variation in white matter microstructure might play a role in child susceptibility to parental distress.

SUBMITTER: Nolvi S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7393309 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Newborn white matter microstructure moderates the association between maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and infant negative reactivity.

Nolvi Saara S Tuulari Jetro J JJ Lavonius Tuomas T Scheinin Noora M NM Lehtola Satu J SJ Lavonius Maria M Merisaari Harri H Saunavaara Jani J Korja Riikka R Kataja Eeva-Leena EL Pelto Juho J Parkkola Riitta R Karlsson Linnea L Karlsson Hasse H

Social cognitive and affective neuroscience 20200701 6

Maternal postpartum depression is a prominent risk factor for aberrant child socioemotional development, but there is little understanding about the neural phenotypes that underlie infant sensitivity to maternal depression. We examined whether newborn white matter fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of white matter maturity, moderates the association between maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and infant negative reactivity at 6 months. Participants were 80 mother-infant dyads participatin ...[more]

PMID: 32577747

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Project description:ImportanceMaternal depression and anxiety can have deleterious and lifelong consequences on child development. However, many aspects of the association of early brain development with maternal symptoms remain unclear. Understanding the timing of potential neurobiological alterations holds inherent value for the development and evaluation of future therapies and interventions.ObjectiveTo examine the association between exposure to prenatal maternal depression and anxiety symptoms and offspring white matter microstructure at 1 month of age.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study of 101 mother-infant dyads used a composite of depression and anxiety symptoms measured in mothers during the third trimester of pregnancy and measures of white matter microstructure characterized in the mothers' 1-month offspring using diffusion tensor imaging and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging performed from October 1, 2014, to November 30, 2016. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed at an academic research facility during natural, nonsedated sleep.Main outcomes and measuresBrain mapping algorithms and statistical models were used to evaluate the association between maternal depression and anxiety and 1-month infant white matter microstructure as measured by diffusion tensor imaging and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging findings.ResultsIn the 101 mother-infant dyads (mean [SD] age of mothers, 33.22 [3.99] years; mean age of infants at magnetic resonance imaging, 33.07 days [range, 18-50 days]; 92 white mothers [91.1%]; 53 male infants [52.5%]), lower 1-month white matter microstructure (decreased neurite density and increased mean, radial, and axial diffusivity) was associated in right frontal white matter microstructure with higher prenatal maternal symptoms of depression and anxiety. Significant sex × symptom interactions with measures of white matter microstructure were also observed, suggesting that white matter development may be differentially sensitive to maternal depression and anxiety symptoms in males and females during the prenatal period.Conclusions and relevanceThese data highlight the importance of the prenatal period to early brain development and suggest that the underlying white matter microstructure is associated with the continuum of prenatal maternal depression and anxiety symptoms.

Dataset Information

Newborn white matter microstructure moderates the association between maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and infant negative reactivity.

Publications

Newborn white matter microstructure moderates the association between maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and infant negative reactivity.

Similar Datasets

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