Prospective association of maternal psychosocial stress in pregnancy with newborn hippocampal volume and implications for infant social-emotional development

Nora K. Moog; Saara Nolvi; Theresa S. Kleih; Martin Styner; John H. Gilmore; Jerod M. Rasmussen; Christine M. Heim; Sonja Entringer; Pathik D. Wadhwa; Claudia Buss

Neurobiology of Stress (Nov 2021)

Prospective association of maternal psychosocial stress in pregnancy with newborn hippocampal volume and implications for infant social-emotional development

Nora K. Moog,
Saara Nolvi,
Theresa S. Kleih,
Martin Styner,
John H. Gilmore,
Jerod M. Rasmussen,
Christine M. Heim,
Sonja Entringer,
Pathik D. Wadhwa,
Claudia Buss

Affiliations

Nora K. Moog: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Medical Psychology, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany
Saara Nolvi: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Medical Psychology, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany; Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Finland
Theresa S. Kleih: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Medical Psychology, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany; Institute of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Martin Styner: Departments of Psychiatry and Computer Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
John H. Gilmore: Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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
Christine M. Heim: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Medical Psychology, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany; Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, College of Health and Human Development, University Park, PA, USA
Sonja Entringer: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Medical Psychology, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany; 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; Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange, 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; Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange, CA, USA; Departments of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Epidemiology, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange, CA, USA
Claudia Buss: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Medical Psychology, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany; 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; Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange, CA, USA; Corresponding author. Institute of Medical Psychology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Luisenstrasse 57, 10117, Berlin, Germany.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 15
p. 100368

Abstract

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Maternal psychosocial stress during pregnancy can impact the developing fetal brain and influence offspring mental health. In this context, animal studies have identified the hippocampus and amygdala as key brain regions of interest, however, evidence in humans is sparse. We, therefore, examined the associations between maternal prenatal psychosocial stress, newborn hippocampal and amygdala volumes, and child social-emotional development.In a sample of 86 mother-child dyads, maternal perceived stress was assessed serially in early, mid and late pregnancy. Following birth, newborn (aged 5–64 postnatal days, mean: 25.8 ± 12.9) hippocampal and amygdala volume was assessed using structural magnetic resonance imaging. Infant social-emotional developmental milestones were assessed at 6- and 12-months age using the Bayley-III.After adjusting for covariates, maternal perceived stress during pregnancy was inversely associated with newborn left hippocampal volume (β = −0.26, p = .019), but not with right hippocampal (β = −0.170, p = .121) or bilateral amygdala volumes (ps > .5). Furthermore, newborn left hippocampal volume was positively associated with infant social-emotional development across the first year of postnatal life (B = 0.01, p = .011). Maternal perceived stress was indirectly associated with infant social-emotional development via newborn left hippocampal volume (B = −0.34, 95% CIBC [-0.97, −0.01]), suggesting mediation.This study provides prospective evidence in humans linking maternal psychosocial stress in pregnancy with newborn hippocampal volume and subsequent infant social-emotional development across the first year of life. These findings highlight the importance of maternal psychosocial state during pregnancy as a target amenable to interventions to prevent or attenuate its potentially unfavorable neural and behavioral consequences in the offspring.

Published in Neurobiology of Stress

ISSN: 2352-2895 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry: Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system; Science: Physiology: Neurophysiology and neuropsychology
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/neurobiology-of-stress/

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