Maternal History of Child Maltreatment and Neural Activation to Infant Cues in the Fourth Trimester

• In Event: Disrupting the Cycle of Intergenerational Adversity through Parenting: A Multidisciplinary Approach

Abstract

Introduction. Women with child maltreatment histories are more likely to display problematic parenting behaviors including permissive parenting, hostile caregiving, and use of harsh physical discipline. The mechanisms linking child maltreatment history to problematic parenting are not well understood. One promising mechanism is postpartum neuroplasticity among regions associated with effective parenting. The goal of this pilot study was to examine the association between child maltreatment history and postpartum neural activation to infant cues.

Methods. 25 first-time mothers were recruited in third trimester (40% with child maltreatment). At 1 and 3 months postpartum, we used fMRI to measure neural responses to pictures “own” versus age- and race-matched “unknown” infants in 4 affect states (happy, distressed, neutral, ambiguous).

Results. Women were 31 years old (SD=5), 80% White, 7% Hispanic, 73% breastfeeding. Our fMRI data showed a significant three-way interaction between child maltreatment, own/unknown infant, and infant affect across multiple regions. Women with child maltreatment had greater activation to unknown infant distress [fusiform, parahippocampal, inferior occipital gyri]; in contrast, women without child maltreatment displayed heightened activation to own infant distress [insula]. Women with child maltreatment reported marginally more perinatal depression (p=.05), anxiety (p=.06), and parental stress (p=.08) relative to women without child maltreatment histories.

Conclusions. Women with histories of child maltreatment show less neural activation to images of their own distressed infant relative to women without child maltreatment. Lower activation may be maladaptive among first-time mothers who are learning to attend to their newborn’s needs during times of distress.

Authors

• Margaret Bublitz, The Miriam Hospital
  Presenting Author

• James E. Swain, Stony Brook Unviersity
  Non-Presenting Author

• Shoshanna Lustig, The Miriam Hospital
  Non-Presenting Author

• Christine Barthelemy, Bradley Hospital
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lena DeYoung, Bradley Hospital
  Non-Presenting Author

• Daniel P Dickstein, McLean Hospital
  Non-Presenting Author