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1-181 - Normative Variation in Early Caregiving: Longitudinal Links to Brain Structure and Function

Thu, March 21, 4:00 to 5:30pm, Baltimore Convention Center, Floor: Level 3, Room 322

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Early childhood is marked by immense brain plasticity. Consequently, infants and toddlers may be particularly susceptible to their caregiving environments. Studies linking early caregiving to brain development have been largely limited to extreme environments (e.g., institutionalized care). Less is known about the extent to which normative variation in early caregiving predicts later brain morphology and neural circuitry. This symposium takes a step toward filling this gap and examines the influence of caregiving in three separate community samples. Paper 1 adopts a multi-dimensional approach to caregiving and examines the distinct components of caregiving at 12 months that predict amygdala and hippocampal volume at 10 years. Paper 2 shows that maternal sensitivity at 6 months predicts behavioral indices of emotional memory at 3.5 years, and, relatedly, hippocampal microstructure at 4.5 years. Paper 3 reports that maternal sensitivity assessed at 2.5 years predicts amygdala-mPFC connectivity indicating more effective neural regulation of emotional stimuli at 13.5 years. The convergence of results linking normative variation in caregiving to later brain structure and function is notable given the studies’ complementary approaches to assessing caregiving, representation of children and caregivers from three countries (Canada, Singapore, US), and investigation of different indices of brain development (macrostructure, microstructure, function) and developmental periods (preschool, childhood, adolescence). Our discussant, a leading scholar in the field of early life stress and brain development, will explore the ways in which these findings converge to demonstrate the impact of early-life care on subsequent brain development.

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