About this session

Friday, 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Maternal Childhood Maltreatment Influences Emerging Infant Neurobiology: Examining Mechanisms of Effect

Intergenerational effects of maternal childhood maltreatment on child behavior and psychopathology are well-documented (Plant et al., 2018). However, effects on infant neurobiology are only beginning to be explored (Hendrix et al., 2021; Moog et al., 2018). To better understand intergenerational transmission, we need to a) assess whether maternal history of threat versus deprivation differentially affects infant neurobiology, b) identify maternal and infant mechanisms contributing to transmission, and c) explore how prenatal and postnatal environments combine to influence transmission. Papers in the symposium address these questions by integrating over levels of analysis, including maternal history, maternal prenatal processes, infant HPA axis function, infant brain metrics, and maternal and infant postnatal behavior. The first two papers explore differential effects of maternal childhood abuse and neglect on infant cortisol output, the first in a neonatal sample of 413 dyads, and the second at infant age 4 months in a sample of 181, with further evaluation of how postnatal interaction moderates transmission. The third study of 116 dyads extends infant outcomes to both infant brain (white matter integrity) and behavior (negative emotionality), as well as considering the role of prenatal maternal sleep disruption as a mediator of transmission. The final paper builds on replicated rodent findings to examine infant cortisol as a mechanism linking maternal childhood maltreatment to effects on infant stress-sensitive brain regions among 57 infants. The two co-chairs will lead audience discussion focused on a more integrated understanding of the pre-and postnatal pathways through which maternal childhood maltreatment may influence infant neurobiology.

Paper #1
Title	Maternal Childhood Threat Versus Deprivation: Differential Relations to Neonatal Cortisol Reactivity Levels
Presenting author	Dr. Brie M. Reid, Ph.D., Northeastern University, United States

Paper #2
Title	Maternal Caregiving Moderates Relations Between Maternal Childhood Maltreatment and Infant Cortisol Regulation
Presenting author	Mrs. Miriam Chasson, M.S.W., Harvard Medical School, Israel

Paper #3
Title	Intergenerational transmission of maternal early life stress and sleep on infant neural circuits and behavior
Presenting author	Catherine Demers, Ph.D., University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, United States

Paper #4
Title	Maternal Childhood Neglect is Linked to Increased Infant Cortisol Output and Stress-Sensitive Brain Volumes
Presenting author	Jennifer Khoury, Ph.D., Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada

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Session chairs
Karlen Lyons-Ruth, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, United States; Dr. Elysia Poggi Davis, Ph.D., , United States

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