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Maternal cortisol is associated with neonatal amygdala microstructure and connectivity in a sexually dimorphic manner.

ABSTRACT: The mechanisms linking maternal stress in pregnancy with infant neurodevelopment in a sexually dimorphic manner are poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that maternal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, measured by hair cortisol concentration (HCC), is associated with microstructure, structural connectivity, and volume of the infant amygdala. In 78 mother-infant dyads, maternal hair was sampled postnatally, and infants underwent magnetic resonance imaging at term-equivalent age. We found a relationship between maternal HCC and amygdala development that differed according to infant sex. Higher HCC was associated with higher left amygdala fractional anisotropy (? = 0.677, p=0.010), lower left amygdala orientation dispersion index (? = -0.597, p=0.034), and higher fractional anisotropy in connections between the right amygdala and putamen (? = 0.475, p=0.007) in girls compared to boys. Furthermore, altered amygdala microstructure was only observed in boys, with connectivity changes restricted to girls. Maternal cortisol during pregnancy is related to newborn amygdala architecture and connectivity in a sexually dimorphic manner. Given the fundamental role of the amygdala in the emergence of emotion regulation, these findings offer new insights into mechanisms linking maternal health with neuropsychiatric outcomes of children.

SUBMITTER: Stoye DQ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7685701 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Maternal cortisol is associated with neonatal amygdala microstructure and connectivity in a sexually dimorphic manner.

Stoye David Q DQ Blesa Manuel M Sullivan Gemma G Galdi Paola P Lamb Gillian J GJ Black Gill S GS Quigley Alan J AJ Thrippleton Michael J MJ Bastin Mark E ME Reynolds Rebecca M RM Boardman James P JP

eLife 20201124

The mechanisms linking maternal stress in pregnancy with infant neurodevelopment in a sexually dimorphic manner are poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that maternal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, measured by hair cortisol concentration (HCC), is associated with microstructure, structural connectivity, and volume of the infant amygdala. In 78 mother-infant dyads, maternal hair was sampled postnatally, and infants underwent magnetic resonance imaging at term-equivalent age. ...[more]

PMID: 33228850

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Project description:Prenatal stress is associated with child behavioral outcomes increasing susceptibility for psychiatric disorders in later life. Altered fetal brain development might partly mediate this association, as some studies suggest. With this study, we investigated the relation between prenatal stress, child's brain structure and behavioral problems. The association between self-reported maternal pregnancy-related anxiety (PRAQ-R2 questionnaire, second and third trimester) and brain gray matter volume was probed in 27 4-year-old children (13 female). Voxel based morphometry was applied with an age-matched template in SPM for the whole-brain analyses, and amygdala volume was assessed with manual segmentation. Possible pre- and postnatal confounders, such as maternal depression and anxiety among others, were controlled for. Child behavioral problems were assessed with the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire by maternal report. We found a significant interaction effect of pregnancy-related anxiety and child's sex on child's amygdala volume, i.e., higher pregnancy-related anxiety in the second trimester was related to significantly greater left relative amygdala volume in girls compared to boys. Further exploratory analyses yielded that both maternal pregnancy-related anxiety and child's amygdala volume are related to child emotional and behavioral difficulties: While higher pregnancy-related anxiety was associated with more emotional symptoms, peer relationship problems and overall child difficulties, greater left amygdala volume was related to less of these child difficulties and might partly mediate sex-specific associations between pregnancy-related anxiety and child behavioral difficulties. Our data suggest that maternal prenatal distress leads to sexually dimorphic structural changes in the offspring's limbic system and that these changes are also linked to behavioral difficulties. Our results provide further support for the notion that prenatal stress impacts child development.

Dataset Information

Maternal cortisol is associated with neonatal amygdala microstructure and connectivity in a sexually dimorphic manner.

Publications

Maternal cortisol is associated with neonatal amygdala microstructure and connectivity in a sexually dimorphic manner.

Similar Datasets

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