Neonatal brain volume as a marker of differential susceptibility to parenting quality and its association with neurodevelopment across early childhood

Saara Nolvi; Jerod M. Rasmussen; Alice M. Graham; John H. Gilmore; Martin Styner; Damien A. Fair; Sonja Entringer; Pathik D. Wadhwa; Claudia Buss

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (Oct 2020)

Neonatal brain volume as a marker of differential susceptibility to parenting quality and its association with neurodevelopment across early childhood

Saara Nolvi,
Jerod M. Rasmussen,
Alice M. Graham,
John H. Gilmore,
Martin Styner,
Damien A. Fair,
Sonja Entringer,
Pathik D. Wadhwa,
Claudia Buss

Affiliations

Saara Nolvi: Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Medical Psychology
Jerod M. Rasmussen: Development, Health, and Disease Research Program, Departments of Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Epidemiology, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, CA, USA
Alice M. Graham: The Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and the Advanced Imaging Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
John H. Gilmore: Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Martin Styner: Departments of Psychiatry and Computer Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Damien A. Fair: The Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and the Advanced Imaging Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
Sonja Entringer: Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Medical Psychology; Development, Health, and Disease Research Program, Departments of Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Epidemiology, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, CA, USA
Pathik D. Wadhwa: Development, Health, and Disease Research Program, Departments of Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Epidemiology, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, CA, USA
Claudia Buss: Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Medical Psychology; Development, Health, and Disease Research Program, Departments of Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Epidemiology, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, CA, USA; Corresponding author at: Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Medical Psychology, Luisenstrasse 57, 10117, Berlin, Germany.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 45
p. 100826

Abstract

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Parenting quality is associated with child cognitive and executive functions (EF), which are important predictors of social and academic development. However, children vary in their susceptibility to parenting behaviors, and the neurobiological underpinnings of this susceptibility are poorly understood. In a prospective longitudinal study, we examined whether neonatal total brain volume (TBV) and subregions of interest (i.e., hippocampus (HC) and anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG)) moderate the association between maternal sensitivity and cognitive/EF development across early childhood. Neonates underwent a brain magnetic resonance imaging scan. Their cognitive performance and EF was characterized at 2.0 ± 0.1 years (N = 53) and at 4.9 ± 0.8 years (N = 36) of age. Maternal sensitivity was coded based on observation of a standardized play situation at 6-mo postpartum. Neonatal TBV moderated the association between maternal sensitivity and 2-year working memory as well as all 5-year cognitive outcomes, suggesting that the positive association between maternal sensitivity and child cognition was observed only among children with large or average but not small TBV as neonates. Similar patterns were observed for TBV-corrected HC and ACG volumes. The findings suggest that larger neonatal TBV, HC and ACG may underlie susceptibility to the environment and affect the degree to which parenting quality shapes long-term cognitive development.

Published in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

ISSN: 1878-9293 (Print); 1878-9307 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Science: Physiology: Neurophysiology and neuropsychology
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/developmental-cognitive-neuroscience/

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