Poster #4 - Associations between prenatal stress exposure and functional brain connectivity across two generations

• In Event: Poster Session 13

Abstract

Background: Stress exposure during pregnancy has been linked to negative health outcomes in both birthing-parents and offspring across the lifespan (Coussons-Read, 2013). During pregnancy, the brain and body undergo significant biological adaptations including increased neuroplasticity, rendering the birthing-parent brain particularly vulnerable to stress during this critical window (Kim, 2021). Furthermore, previous work has identified intergenerational pathways in which prenatal stress exposure can potentially disrupt fetal neurodevelopment and subsequent infant brain health (Barker, 2004). This pre-registered study uses resting-state functional magnetic imaging (rs-fMRI) to examine the effects of stressful event exposure during pregnancy on birthing parent and neonate functional connectivity (FC). To further understand the heterogenous and complex nature of stress, this study will also probe how the timing of stressful experiences may differentially affect FC in both parent and infant.
Current Study: The goal of this pre-registered study is to identify associations between prenatal birthing parent stress exposure and the FC of emotional circuits across two generations. Aim 1: Examine associations between prenatal birthing parent stress and postpartum amygdala FC. Hypothesis 1: Higher prenatal stress will be associated with decreased amygdala-PFC connectivity. Aim 2: Examine associations between prenatal birthing parent stress and infant amygdala connectivity. Hypothesis 2: Higher prenatal stress will be associated with increased amygdala-PFC connectivity. Aim 3: A third exploratory aim is to investigate associations between event timing and amygdala FC. Hypothesis 3: Events occurring later in pregnancy will be more associated with birthing parent and infant FC.
Analysis Plan: The sample of the proposed study includes data from 42 birthing parent—infant dyads (Table 1). Data collection is ongoing and additional subjects may be included in the final analyses. Prenatal stressful events were measured using a life events interview. For each endorsed event, participants rated the negative impact of the experience ranging from neither negative nor undesirable (1) to extremely negative or undesirable (5). These stressors, weighted by impact rating, were summed to derive impact-weighted stress scores. Some literature suggests that stressful experiences are most salient when the experience activates the body’s physiological stress-response cascade (Pollak & Smith, 2021). Thus, impact-weighted stress scores were used to capture perceived stress. To conduct timing analyses, impact-weighted stress scores will be calculated for two prenatal timepoints (i.e., before and after 20 gestational weeks). rs-fMRI data will be rigorously preprocessed and whole-brain seed-based correlational analyses will be conducted using the amygdala as a seed. The amygdala has been examined in prior birthing parent and infant analyses due to its involved role in caregiving behaviors (Kim et al., 2016) and known disruptions in response to stress (Tottenham & Galván, 2016).
Implications: Given that pregnancy is a transition period of neuroplasticity where the brain is particularly sensitive to stressors, precise characterizations of stress exposure during this period may provide important insight to predictors of negative health trajectories in both parent and offspring. Furthermore, harnessing an intergenerational approach provides unique insight into biological mechanisms underlying stress exposure and contributes to integrated frameworks of familial caregiver-child health and well-being.

Authors

• Jenna H. Chin, University of Denver
  Presenting Author

• Haitao Chen, Cedars Sinai Medical Center

• Keely Olson

• Wei Gao, Cedars Sinai Medical Center

• Pilyoung Kim, University of Denver