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Neural processing of the own child’s facial emotions in mothers with a history of early life maltreatment

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Early life maltreatment (ELM) has long-lasting effects on social interaction. When interacting with their own child, women with ELM often report difficulties in parenting and show reduced maternal sensitivity. Sensitive maternal behavior requires the recognition of the child’s emotional state depicted in its facial emotions. Based on previous studies, it can be expected that ELM affects the neural processing of facial emotions by altering activation patterns in parts of the brain’s empathy and mentalizing networks. However, so far studies have focused on the processing of standardized, adult facial emotions. Therefore, the current study investigated the impact of ELM on the processing of one’s own child’s facial emotions using functional magnetic resonance imaging. To achieve this, 27 mothers with and 26 mothers without a history of ELM (all without current mental disorders and psychopharmacological treatment) took part in an emotional face recognition paradigm with happy, sad, and neutral faces of their own and an unknown primary school-aged child of the same age and sex. We found elevated activations in regions of the mentalizing (superior temporal sulcus, precuneus) and mirror neuron (inferior parietal lobule) networks as well as in the visual face processing network (cuneus, middle temporal gyrus) in mothers with ELM compared to the non-maltreated mothers in response to happy faces of their own child. This suggests a more effortful processing and cognitive empathic mentalizing of the own child’s facial happiness in mothers with ELM. Future research should address whether this might indicate a compensatory recruitment of mentalizing capacities to maintain maternal sensitivity.
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European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience (2019) 269:171–181
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-018-0929-8
ORIGINAL PAPER
Neural processing oftheown child’s facial emotions inmothers
withahistory ofearly life maltreatment
CorinneNeukel1· SabineC.Herpertz1· CatherineHinid‑Attar2· Anna‑LenaZietlow3· AnnaFuchs4· EvaMoehler4·
FelixBermpohl2· KatjaBertsch1
Received: 12 March 2018 / Accepted: 16 July 2018 / Published online: 28 July 2018
© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract
Early life maltreatment (ELM) has long-lasting effects on social interaction. When interacting with their own child, women
with ELM often report difficulties in parenting and show reduced maternal sensitivity. Sensitive maternal behavior requires
the recognition of the child’s emotional state depicted in its facial emotions. Based on previous studies, it can be expected
that ELM affects the neural processing of facial emotions by altering activation patterns in parts of the brain’s empathy and
mentalizing networks. However, so far studies have focused on the processing of standardized, adult facial emotions. There-
fore, the current study investigated the impact of ELM on the processing of one’s own child’s facial emotions using functional
magnetic resonance imaging. To achieve this, 27 mothers with and 26 mothers without a history of ELM (all without current
mental disorders and psychopharmacological treatment) took part in an emotional face recognition paradigm with happy,
sad, and neutral faces of their own and an unknown primary school-aged child of the same age and sex. We found elevated
activations in regions of the mentalizing (superior temporal sulcus, precuneus) and mirror neuron (inferior parietal lobule)
networks as well as in the visual face processing network (cuneus, middle temporal gyrus) in mothers with ELM compared
to the non-maltreated mothers in response to happy faces of their own child. This suggests a more effortful processing and
cognitive empathic mentalizing of the own child’s facial happiness in mothers with ELM. Future research should address
whether this might indicate a compensatory recruitment of mentalizing capacities to maintain maternal sensitivity.
Keywords Trauma· Physical and sexual abuse· Maternal brain· Facial emotion recognition· Functional magnetic
resonance imaging· Mentalizing
Introduction
Early life maltreatment (ELM) such as sexual or physical
abuse is highly prevalent [1, 2]. Its consequences range from
an increased risk for cardiovascular dysfunctioning [3] to
an increased risk for mental disorders in general, including
non-psychotic disorders like depression [4], various anxiety
disorders [5], or borderline personality disorder [6], as well
as psychotic disorders [7]. Beyond this, women with ELM
often report difficulties in parenting their children. Empiri-
cal evidence confirms more impulsive, intrusive, and hos-
tile behaviors [8, 9] as well as less positive parent–child
interactions [10] along with reduced confidence in parenting
competences [11] in women with experiences of ELM. Con-
sistent with this, data from our own research group points to
reduced sensitivity of maltreated mothers when interacting
with their child [1214], resulting in behavior problems and
deficits in social competences of the children [15, 16].
One important aspect of sensitive parenting is the fast and
accurate recognition of and response to a child’s emotional
cues, such as facial emotions. Facial emotions of infants
and children not only convey information that facilitates
social communication, but are also particularly salient and
* Corinne Neukel
corinne.neukel@med.uni-heidelberg.de
1 Department ofGeneral Psychiatry, Center forPsychosocial
Medicine, University ofHeidelberg, Voßstraße 4,
69115Heidelberg, Germany
2 Department ofPsychiatry andPsychotherapy, University
Medicine Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany
3 Institute ofMedical Psychology, Center forPsychosocial
Medicine, University ofHeidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
4 Department ofChild andAdolescent Psychiatry, Center
forPsychosocial Medicine, University ofHeidelberg,
Heidelberg, Germany
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Additionally, studies such as Neukel et al. (2019) and Sieratzki and Woll (2002) have explored the complexity of maternal neural processing and its impact on child perception [9,12]. Neukel et al. (2019) demonstrated that early life maltreatment aff ects the neural processing of a mother's own child's facial emotions, suggesting the need for additional support for mothers with adverse early experiences. ...
... Additionally, studies such as Neukel et al. (2019) and Sieratzki and Woll (2002) have explored the complexity of maternal neural processing and its impact on child perception [9,12]. Neukel et al. (2019) demonstrated that early life maltreatment aff ects the neural processing of a mother's own child's facial emotions, suggesting the need for additional support for mothers with adverse early experiences. ...
... Additionally, studies such as Neukel et al. (2019) and Sieratzki and Woll (2002) have explored the complexity of maternal neural processing and its impact on child perception [9,12]. Neukel et al. (2019) demonstrated that early life maltreatment aff ects the neural processing of a mother's own child's facial emotions, suggesting the need for additional support for mothers with adverse early experiences. Sieratzki and Woll (2002) highlighted the role of cradling preferences and hemispheric asymmetry in mother-infant interactions, suggesting that early sensory experiences signifi cantly shape neural pathways and emotional bonds [9,12]. ...
Article
Full-text available
The transition from nonverbal to verbal communication in children is signifi cantly infl uenced by the maternal secondary signaling system. Current geopolitical and health crises, such as the war in Ukraine and post- COVID-19 syndrome, exacerbate maternal stress and may aff ect mother- child interactions and child development.Aim. The purpose of this study is to examine diff erences in the activity of the second signaling system between mothers who report diffi culties perceiving their children and those who do not, and to understand the impact of these diff erences on motherchild interactions during the child’s verbal developmental period.Materials and methods. The study involved 184 mothers, divided into two groups: 98 mothers who reported diffi culties in perceiving their children and 86 mothers who did not. The The Questionnaire for Assessing the Activity of the Second Signal System (Language and Cognitive Test: How Well Do You Understand and Communicate?) (Lunov, 2023) was used to evaluate the activity of the second signal system across eight subscales corresponding to diff erent cytoarchitectonic fi elds. Independent samples t-tests were conducted to compare the mean scores of each subscale and the overall integral index between the groups. Results. Signifi cant diff erences were found on all subscales and the integral index, indicating notable discrepancies in the activity of the second signaling system between the two groups. Mothers who reported diffi culties had consistently lower scores, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to support their communication and interaction with their children. Discussion. The fi ndings highlight the critical role of the second signaling system in maternal perception and interaction. The combined eff ects of war-induced trauma and post- COVID-19 syndrome exacerbate these challenges and underscore the need for comprehensive support programs. Findings from studies underscore the importance of addressing transgenerational attachment factors and maternal mental health to improve mother- child relationships and promote healthy developmental outcomes.
... Funcionalmente, se ha encontrado aumento de actividad del GF (Dannlowski et al., 2013), el GTS (De Bellis & Hooper, 2012;Hein & Monk, 2017) y el GTM ante la exposición a rostros de amenaza en adolescentes y adultos que sufrieron varias EAN, muchos de los cuales muestran TEPT (Aas et al., 2017) y en madres maltratadas mientras observaban rostros alegres de sus hijos (Neukel et al., 2019). Contrariamente, hubo reducción de la actividad del GTM durante anticipación de recompensas (Birn et al., 2017) y del GF izquierdo durante una tarea de atención sostenida (Lim et al., 2016). ...
... Utilizando iRMF, se ha demostrado la reducción en la actividad del lóbulo parietal superior y el surco interparietal durante tareas de memoria de trabajo en adolescentes con bajo NSE y adultos maltratados (Hart et al., 2017); el precuneus durante anticipación de recompensas (Birn et al., 2017), el giro angular izquierdo en personas maltratadas durante el procesamiento de rostros (Dannlowski et al., 2013); el LPI izquierdo en niños maltratado mientras observan palabras de rechazo ; y el LPI ante rostros negativos en pacientes con síntomas clínicos y trauma (Aas et al., 2017). También se ha encontrado el aumento de actividad en el LPI durante fallos en el control inhibitorio en niños institucionalizados (Bruce et al., 2013) y del precuneus y LPI en madres maltratadas mientras percibían los rostros alegres de sus hijos (Neukel et al., 2019). Estos estudios resaltan que la adversidad temprana puede alterar circuitos parietales, reflejándose en problemas para la memoria de trabajo, la cognición social y el aprendizaje escolar. ...
... Hay reporte de menor volumen de la corteza visual en mujeres víctimas de abuso sexual en la niñez (Tomoda, Navalta et al., 2009) y en niños y adolescentes en condiciones de pobreza (Noble et al., 2015). Estudios con iRMF encuentran hipoactividad en la corteza occipital durante anticipación de recompensas en adolescentes con alto estrés infantil (Birn et al., 2017), en niños criados en hogares sustitutos durante el control inhibitorio (Bruce et al., 2013), en niños maltratados durante la percepción de palabras de rechazo y en madres maltratadas al procesar los rostros alegres de sus hijos (Neukel et al., 2019). En otro estudio se halló hiperactividad de la corteza occipital lateral ante rostros negativos en pacientes con esquizofrenia y EAN (Aas et al., 2017). ...
Article
A systematic review was conducted of publications on the relationship between exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and changes in brain structure and function through neuroimaging. The Scopus, PubMed, Scielo, and Mendeley databases were used to search for publications. This process yielded 849 articles containing the keywords used, of which 122 met the inclusion criteria. These studies tested 8498 people exposed to adversities such as maltreatment, sexual abuse, domestic violence, institutionalization, and poverty. The studies found significant alterations in the structure, function, and connectivity of 21 cortical and subcortical areas. The prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, anterior cingulate cortex, and striatum were the most cited. These areas constitute four neuro-behavioral systems involved in sensory processing, affective assessment, social inferences, and executive control, whose exposure to ACE increases the risk of developing mental problems. The discussion addresses the importance of considering genetic variations, environmental conditions, and epigenetic moderation to understand how ACE alters neuro-behavioral systems. This approach will make it possible to design more efficient intervention and prevention strategies targeted at vulnerable populations. In conclusion, neuroimaging research on people exposed to childhood adversity demonstrates the impairment of neural networks involved in perceptual, affective, social, and executive processing.
... Funcionalmente, se ha encontrado aumento de actividad del GF (Dannlowski et al., 2013), el GTS (De Bellis & Hooper, 2012;Hein & Monk, 2017) y el GTM ante la exposición a rostros de amenaza en adolescentes y adultos que sufrieron varias EAN, muchos de los cuales muestran TEPT (Aas et al., 2017) y en madres maltratadas mientras observaban rostros alegres de sus hijos (Neukel et al., 2019). Contrariamente, hubo reducción de la actividad del GTM durante anticipación de recompensas (Birn et al., 2017) y del GF izquierdo durante una tarea de atención sostenida (Lim et al., 2016). ...
... Utilizando iRMF, se ha demostrado la reducción en la actividad del lóbulo parietal superior y el surco interparietal durante tareas de memoria de trabajo en adolescentes con bajo NSE y adultos maltratados (Hart et al., 2017); el precuneus durante anticipación de recompensas (Birn et al., 2017), el giro angular izquierdo en personas maltratadas durante el procesamiento de rostros (Dannlowski et al., 2013); el LPI izquierdo en niños maltratado mientras observan palabras de rechazo ; y el LPI ante rostros negativos en pacientes con síntomas clínicos y trauma (Aas et al., 2017). También se ha encontrado el aumento de actividad en el LPI durante fallos en el control inhibitorio en niños institucionalizados (Bruce et al., 2013) y del precuneus y LPI en madres maltratadas mientras percibían los rostros alegres de sus hijos (Neukel et al., 2019). Estos estudios resaltan que la adversidad temprana puede alterar circuitos parietales, reflejándose en problemas para la memoria de trabajo, la cognición social y el aprendizaje escolar. ...
... Hay reporte de menor volumen de la corteza visual en mujeres víctimas de abuso sexual en la niñez (Tomoda, Navalta et al., 2009) y en niños y adolescentes en condiciones de pobreza (Noble et al., 2015). Estudios con iRMF encuentran hipoactividad en la corteza occipital durante anticipación de recompensas en adolescentes con alto estrés infantil (Birn et al., 2017), en niños criados en hogares sustitutos durante el control inhibitorio (Bruce et al., 2013), en niños maltratados durante la percepción de palabras de rechazo y en madres maltratadas al procesar los rostros alegres de sus hijos (Neukel et al., 2019). En otro estudio se halló hiperactividad de la corteza occipital lateral ante rostros negativos en pacientes con esquizofrenia y EAN (Aas et al., 2017). ...
Article
Se realizó una revisión sistemática de las publicaciones que han estudiado la relación entre la exposición a experiencias adversas en la niñez (EAN) y los cambios en la estructura y función encefálica a través de neuroimágenes. Para la búsqueda de publicaciones se usaron las bases de datos Scopus, PubMed, Scielo, y Mendeley. Se encontraron 849 artículos que contenían las palabras clave, de los cuales 122 cumplieron los criterios de inclusión. Estas investigaciones evaluaron 8498 personas expuestas a adversidades, como maltrato, abuso sexual, violencia doméstica, institucionalización y pobreza. Se hallaron alteraciones significativas en la estructura, función y conectividad de 21 áreas corticales y subcorticales, sobresaliendo la corteza prefrontal, amígdala, hipocampo, corteza cingulada anterior y estriado. Estas se pueden agrupar en cuatro sistemas neuro-comportamentales implicados en el procesamiento sensorial, la valoración afectiva, las inferencias sociales y el control ejecutivo, los cuales se ven afectados por la exposición a las EAN incrementando el riesgo para el desarrollo de problemas mentales. En la discusión se aborda la importancia de considerar las variaciones genéticas, las condiciones ambientales y la moderación epigenética para comprender mejor cómo las EAN alteran los sistemas neuro-comportamentales. Esta compresión permitirá diseñar estrategias de intervención y prevención más eficientes y sectorizadas hacia las poblaciones vulnerables. En conclusión, los estudios con neuroimagen en personas expuestas a adversidad durante la niñez demuestran la afectación de redes neurales implicadas en el procesamiento perceptual, afectivo, social y ejecutivo.
... A subgroup of the included rMDD mothers had experienced early-life maltreatment (ELM), which has been associated to reduced maternal sensitivity independently of depression (Kluczniok et al., 2016). Because ELM might thus pose an extra risk for insensitive behavior in mothers with rMDD, we sought to identify additional effects of ELM, as previously demonstrated for healthy mothers with ELM using the same face paradigm (Neukel et al., 2019). Extending previous work on mother-infant dyads with infants under 2 years, we investigated mothers of children at primary school age (5-12 years). ...
... Finally, to clearly disentangle the effect of ELM from depression, it would have been necessary to introduce a fourth group of healthy mothers with ELM. However, recent work comparing healthy mothers with vs. without ELM using the same affect recognition paradigm reported ELM effects in response to the own child's happy face in mentalizing, mirror neuron, and visual processing circuits (Neukel et al., 2019). The fact that they did not observe any ELM effects in emotion processing areas and in particular in the amygdala strengthens the assumption that our observed group effect is related to depression. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background Maternal depression is associated with difficulties in understanding and adequately responding to children’s emotional signals. Consequently, the interaction between mother and child is often disturbed. However, little is known about the neural correlates of these parenting difficulties. Motivated by increasing evidence of the amygdala’s important role in mediating maternal behavior, we investigated amygdala responses to child sad and happy faces in mothers with remitted major depression disorder (rMDD) relative to healthy controls. Methods We used the sensitivity subscale of the emotional availability scales and functional magnetic resonance imaging in 61 rMDD and 27 healthy mothers to examine the effect of maternal sensitivity on mothers’ amygdala responses to their children’s affective facial expressions. ResultsFor mothers with rMDD relative to controls, we observed decreased maternal sensitivity when interacting with their child. They also showed reduced amygdala responses to child affective faces that were associated with lower maternal sensitivity. Connectivity analysis revealed that this blunted amygdala response in rMDD mothers was functionally correlated with reduced activation in higher-order medial prefrontal areas. Conclusions Our results contribute toward a better understanding of the detrimental effects of lifetime depression on maternal sensitivity and associated brain responses. By targeting region-specific neural activation patterns, these results are a first step toward improving the prediction, prevention, and treatment of depression-related negative effects on mother–child interaction.
... This intergenerational transmission is in line with previous work reporting the transfer of a traumatic life event from parents to children [24][25][26], showing among other things increased impulsiveness and reduced emotional availability in parents with a history of abuse, which can negatively impact the parenting style. An altered perception of children's signals and a change in neurobiological processing have also been reported in endocrinological and fMRI studies on mothers with a history of abuse [27][28][29]. Other studies have already shown that children in troubled families have an increased risk of negative emotionality [12]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have already been associated, in some studies, with various diverse psychosocial abnormalities in later life. However, it is still unclear whether ACEs reported by biological parents differ from ACE scores in community samples. Background/Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which parents of a patient sample differ from a community sample in terms of reporting childhood experiences. In addition, the connection between parental negative traumatic experiences and their children’s reporting of these experiences should be examined in more detail. Methods: In total, 256 child psychiatric patients (73.8% female and 26.2% male) aged 4–18 years (mean [M] = 13.26 years, standard deviation [SD] = 2.73) were retrospectively examined for post-traumatic stress symptoms (using the CATS questionnaire). In addition, 391 caregivers, 316 of whom were biological parents, completed the ACE questionnaire on adverse childhood experiences. The frequencies of ACEs of the parents, the traumatic experiences of the patients and their cumulative occurrence were evaluated descriptively. Results: A total of 139 (73%) mothers reported at least one negative experience in childhood. In contrast, 65 fathers (52%) reported at least one negative experience in childhood. Mothers most frequently mentioned separation from a parent (38.7%), while fathers cited emotional abuse as the most frequent negative experience. These ACE scores were significantly higher than those reported from community samples. Post-traumatic stress disorder was diagnosed in 75 (29.3%) of the 256 patients. A total of 44.6% of children of mothers and 53.8% of children of fathers reporting at least one ACE showed a CATS score above the cut-off. Conclusions: Parents of child psychiatric patients show higher scores of adverse childhood experiences than a community sample with the same population background. Further empirical studies in parents of child psychiatric patients and a larger sample seem mandatory in the face of these results.
... In the review by Berube et al. (2023), only two out of 11 studies that included neutral facial expressions used an ER task, rather than an attention, matching, or gender identification task. In one of the two studies, participants were mothers with vs. mothers without CM without current mental disorders and psychopharmacological treatment (Neukel et al., 2019). The other of the two studies examined patients with depression and healthy controls with vs. without a history of CM (Suzuki et al., 2015). ...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Individuals with child maltreatment (CM) experiences show alterations in emotion recognition (ER). However, previous research has mainly focused on populations with specific mental disorders, which makes it unclear whether alterations in the recognition of facial expressions are related to CM, to the presence of mental disorders or to the combination of CM and mental disorders, and on ER of emotional, rather than neutral facial expressions. Moreover, commonly, recognition of static stimulus material was researched. Objective: We assessed recognition of dynamic (closer to real life) negative, positive and neutral facial expressions in individuals characterised by CM, rather than a specific mental disorder. Moreover, we assessed whether they show a negativity bias for neutral facial expressions and whether the presence of one or more mental disorders affects recognition. Methods: Ninety-eight adults with CM experiences (CM+) and 60 non-maltreated (CM−) adult controls watched 200 non-manipulated coloured video sequences, showing 20 neutral and 180 emotional facial expressions, and indicated whether they interpreted each expression as neutral or as one of eight emotions. Results: The CM+ showed significantly lower scores in the recognition of positive, negative and neutral facial expressions than the CM− group (p < .050). Furthermore, the CM+ group showed a negativity bias for neutral facial expressions (p < .001). When accounting for mental disorders, significant effects stayed consistent, except for the recognition of positive facial expressions: individuals from the CM+ group with but not without mental disorder scored lower than controls without mental disorder. Conclusions: CM might have long-lasting influences on the ER abilities of those affected. Future research should explore possible effects of ER alterations on everyday life, including implications of the negativity bias for neutral facial expressions on emotional wellbeing and relationship satisfaction, providing a basis for interventions that improve social functioning.
... Concerning psychosocial risk factors that moderated the associations between maternal childhood adversities and subsequent mother-child interactions, severe maternal childhood maltreatment associated with higher maternal emotional recognition impacted less maternal-sensitive interactive behaviors (Bérubé et al., 2020). Emotion recognition could vary in mothers exposed to childhood adversities in comparison to mothers who were not exposed; it does not activate the same regions in their brain, and consequently, the way they process the emotions they recognize is different, which may lead to less positive behaviors toward their children (Neukel et al., 2019). ...
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Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can negatively impact physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development, consequently affecting the next generation. The aim of the present study was to systematically review evidence from empirical studies on the association between maternal history of adversity in childhood (maltreatment and household dysfunction) and subsequent mother–child interactions at an early age. A search was performed in the PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Scopus, LILACS, and SciELO databases to identify studies, including measures of maternal childhood adversities and mother–child interaction, published between 2016 and 2022. Twenty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that in 90% of the studies, maternal childhood adversities negatively impacted subsequent mother–child interactions in early childhood, reducing maternal displays of affection, emotional availability, sensitivity, mother–child communication, and bonding. Biological factors (e.g., genetic and hormonal) and maternal emotional recognition moderated these associations. In addition, biological factors (i.e., neurobiological and hormonal) and psychosocial factors (e.g., depression, executive functioning, and violence) acted as mediators. Preventive interventions should be implemented to break out of the intergenerational cycle of violence that impacts mother–child interactions.
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Early life maltreatment can have severe and long-lasting consequences for the directly affected individual as well as for the next generation. Data from our research including mother-child dyads from Heidelberg and Berlin showed that early life maltreatment is associated with behavioral, hormonal and neural changes including personality traits and attachment style of the affected mothers that negatively affect their relationship with their child. The children of these mothers with previous experience of violence have an elevated risk to be maltreated, to show delayed development and to develop mental disorders. They also show a heightened cortisol concentration and reduced control of inhibition. It seems to be of importance whether the mother has experienced early life maltreatment but is resilient, i.e., she has not developed a mental disorder (up to the time of examination), or whether in addition to the early life maltreatment she has developed a mental disorder later in life. Children of mothers with early life experience of maltreatment and a mental disorder seem to be especially exposed to stress in parenthood and show the greatest impairments and risks. Based on the existing data from research, the practical and clinical implications are discussed and one possible intervention in terms of training of mentalization competency for parents is presented.
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Background Maternal sensitive behavior depends on recognizing one’s own child’s affective states. The present study investigated distinct and overlapping neural responses of mothers to sad and happy facial expressions of their own child (in comparison to facial expressions of an unfamiliar child). Methods We used functional MRI to measure dissociable and overlapping activation patterns in 27 healthy mothers in response to happy, neutral and sad facial expressions of their own school-aged child and a gender- and age-matched unfamiliar child. To investigate differential activation to sad compared to happy faces of one’s own child, we used interaction contrasts. During the scan, mothers had to indicate the affect of the presented face. After scanning, they were asked to rate the perceived emotional arousal and valence levels for each face using a 7-point Likert-scale (adapted SAM version). Results While viewing their own child’s sad faces, mothers showed activation in the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex whereas happy facial expressions of the own child elicited activation in the hippocampus. Conjoint activation in response to one’s own child happy and sad expressions was found in the insula and the superior temporal gyrus. Conclusions Maternal brain activations differed depending on the child’s affective state. Sad faces of the own child activated areas commonly associated with a threat detection network, whereas happy faces activated reward related brain areas. Overlapping activation was found in empathy related networks. These distinct neural activation patterns might facilitate sensitive maternal behavior.
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Postpartum depression may disrupt socio-affective neural circuitry and compromise provision of positive parenting. Although work has evaluated how parental response to negative stimuli is related to caregiving, research is needed to examine how depressive symptoms during the postpartum period may be related to neural response to positive stimuli, especially positive faces, given depression’s association with biased processing of positive faces. The current study examined the association between neural response to adult happy faces and observations of maternal caregiving and the moderating role of postpartum depression, in a sample of 18- to 22-year old mothers (n = 70) assessed at 17 weeks (s.d. = 4.7 weeks) postpartum. Positive caregiving was associated with greater precuneus and occipital response to positive faces among mothers with lower depressive symptoms, but not for those with higher symptoms. For mothers with higher depressive symptoms, greater ventral and dorsal striatal response to positive faces was associated with more positive caregiving, whereas the opposite pattern emerged for mothers with lower symptoms. There was no association between negative caregiving and neural response to positive faces or negative faces. Processing of positive stimuli may be an important prognostic target in mothers with depressive symptoms, given its link with healthy caregiving behaviors.
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Background: Borderline personality disorder has repeatedly been associated with a history of maltreatment in childhood; however, research on maltreatment and its link to borderline features in children is limited. Method: The aim of this review is to synthesise the existing data on the association between maltreatment and borderline features in childhood. In total, 10 studies were included in this systematic review. Results: Studies indicated that children with borderline features were more likely to have a history of maltreatment, and that children who had been maltreated were more likely to present with borderline features. Other risk factors such as cognitive and executive functioning deficits, parental dysfunction and genetic vulnerability were also identified across studies. Conclusion: This review adds to the literature by highlighting maltreatment as a risk factor for borderline features in childhood. Longitudinal research is required to establish the link between childhood borderline features and adult borderline features. Implications for early identification, prevention and intervention services are discussed.
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