Poster #15 - Perceived Social Support Modulates Neural Reactivity to Negative Stimuli During Pregnancy

• In Event: 1-005 - Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Section - Biological Processes: Neuroscience and Genetics

Integrative Statement

Mothers’ greater negative emotionality and poorer emotional regulation during pregnancy are considered risk factors for both postpartum maternal mental illness (i.e. depression) and long-term difficulties in children’s emotional development (Lovejoy et al., 2000; Webster-Stratton et al., 1998). Yet, the mechanisms for such effects are unclear. In the current study, we examined a neural mechanism whereby emotional experiences may lead to depressive symptoms and a possible protective factor for mitigating risk. We tested risk at the biological level using the Late Positive Potential (LPP), a neural marker of emotional processing that has established links to adult depressive symptoms (Foti et al., 2010). We also tested an environmental protective factor, perceived social support, which is known to mitigate self-reported emotional arousal (Gross, 2002), but has not been directly tested in association with the LPP.

Ninety-two mothers-to-be were enrolled in a study of maternal mental health. Rolling recruitment resulted in 81 and 85 laboratory visits with identical measures during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, respectively.

Maternal LPPs were derived from EEG recordings collected while participants viewed a series of emotional pictures (passive view condition) and while participants reappraised negative images as neutral/nonthreatening (reappraisal condition). For each condition, we scored early (reactive) LPP as mean neural activity between 300 and 700 milliseconds post-stimulus and late (putatively during/post regulation) LPP as mean neural activity between 1200 and 2000 milliseconds post-stimulus.

Mothers reported their satisfaction with current levels of social support and depressive symptoms via the Social Support Questionnaire (Sarason et al., 1983) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (Cox et al., 1987), respectively.

Mothers’ self-regulation modulated reactivity to negative emotional stimuli during the second trimester of pregnancy. Specifically, late-window LPP amplitudes were smaller for trials during which mothers were instructed to reappraise negative images relative to passive view trials (F(1,76) = 11.046, p = 0.001). Thus, mothers showed neural reactivity to negative images but were able to downregulate reactivity through reappraisal.

In contrast, maternal self-regulation did not appear to modulate reactivity to negative emotional stimuli in the third trimester (F(1,76) = 0.686, p = 0.410). Rather, mothers’ self-reported satisfaction with social support modulated reactivity to emotional stimuli (F(1,67) = 4.551, p = 0.037) such that low levels of social support were associated with increased neural reactivity. At the neural level, mothers showed less discrimination between negative and neutral stimuli when social support was low.

Importantly, modulation of the LPP in both the passive view (B = 0.193, SE(B) = 0.073, p = 0.01) and reappraisal conditions (B = -0.164, SE(B) = 0.092, p = 0.078) by social support had implications for maternal depression in the third trimester. Greater LPP during passive view (reflecting greater differentiation between emotional and neutral stimuli) and smaller LPP during reappraisal (reflecting the ability to regulate arousal at the neural level) were negatively associated with depression. LPP was unrelated to depression when perceived levels of social support were high.

Our work has implications for the timing and method for intervention during pregnancy to promote healthy development in mothers and children.

Authors

• Sejal Mistry, Texas A&M University
  Presenting Author

• Tristin Nyman, Texas A&M University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lisa Schmall, University of Iowa
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elizabeth J Kiel, Miami University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Rebecca Brooker, Texas A&M
  Non-Presenting Author