Poster #153 - A longitudinal analysis of triadic father-mother-child interaction and child amygdala volume

• In Event: 1-005 - Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

It is now widely recognized that child brain development is influenced by environmental factors, including the caregiving environment. The amygdala, a key region of the social brain network, plays a salient role in processing emotionally significant information and develops rapidly during the first few years of life (Gilmore et al., 2012). The structural development of the amygdala is sensitive to early caregiving experiences such as parent-child interactions (e.g., Lyons-Ruth et al., 2016; Moutsiana et al., 2015). However, studies to date have focused on mother-child interactions, dismissing the crucial role of fathers, despite evidence that father presence can influence the emotional quality of mother-child interactions, producing a triadic effect (Clarke-Stewart, 1978; Yogman, 1981). In fact, mother-father-child triadic interactions have been found predictive of child outcomes over and above dyadic mother-child interactions, but they have not yet been investigated in relation to child brain volumes. This preliminary small-scale longitudinal study investigated whether normative variations in the quality of mother-father-child triadic interaction (operationalized as “family alliance”) in early childhood predicts amygdalar volume in late childhood.

Fourteen families including 5-year old children attending kindergarten (M = 5.63; SD = 1.71) were assessed during a structured 15-minute triadic interaction (board game) measuring family alliance. Family alliance refers to the family’s ability to work together as a team in an emotionally pleasant atmosphere and was assessed with the Family Alliance Assessment Scale (Favez et al., 2011) with excellent inter-rater reliability (r = .81). When children reached 10 years of age, they underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging using a 3D T1-weighted protocol on a Siemens 3T scanner. Volumes of the left and right amygdala were obtained using CAT12 (in SPM12) with a label atlas based on manually segmented whole-brain parcellation (Neuromorphometrics; http://Neuromorphometrics.com). The main analyses consisted of linear regressions predicting left amygdala and right amygdala volume while controlling for maternal and paternal education, family income, and child age at the time of the MRI.

The results revealed that over and above the covariates, family alliance uniquely and negatively predicted right amygdala grey matter volume (M= -.425, p = .046). In contrast, grey matter volume of the left amygdala was not predicted by family alliance.

Although the findings of this small-scale preliminary study require replication in larger samples, these initial results are the first to suggest that the quality of family triadic interactions may relate to child brain development, as shown by associations with smaller right amygdala volume 5 years later. Based on research highlighting an increase in amygdala volume under conditions of stress owing to increased dendritic arborization (Lupien et al., 2013), one may speculate that triadic mother-father-child interactions characterized by cooperation and harmony constitute a protective factor against stress, in turn preserving child amygdala from premature structural development (Tottenham, 2012). Given that the right amygdala responds mostly to ambiguous emotional stimuli and non-verbal stimuli (Costafreda et al., 2008; Gläscher & Adolphs, 2003; Phelps et al., 2001), it may be especially sensitive to the subtle emotional cues embedded in triadic intera

Authors

• Emeline Clara Wyckaert, University of Montréal
  Presenting Author

• Élizabel Leblanc, University of Montreal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Fanny Degeilh, Sainte-Justine Research Center, Univertisy of Montreal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Marie Deschênes, Grandir ensemble
  Non-Presenting Author

• Miriam H. Beauchamp, University of Montreal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Annie Bernier, University of Montreal
  Non-Presenting Author