Neural responses to happy, fearful and angry faces of varying identities in 5- and 7-month-old infants.

The processing of facial emotion is an important social skill that develops throughout infancy and early childhood. Here we investigate the neural underpinnings of the ability to process facial emotion across changes in facial identity in cross-sectional groups of 5- and 7-month-old infants. We simultaneously measured neural metabolic, behavioral, and autonomic responses to happy, fearful, and angry faces of different female models using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), eye-tracking, and heart rate measures. We observed significant neural activation to these facial emotions in a distributed set of frontal and temporal brain regions, and longer looking to the mouth region of angry faces compared to happy and fearful faces. No differences in looking behavior or neural activations were observed between 5- and 7-month-olds, although several exploratory, age-independent associations between neural activations and looking behavior were noted. Overall, these findings suggest more developmental stability than previously thought in responses to emotional facial expressions of varying identities between 5- and 7-months of age.

Infant brain responses to live face-to-face interaction with their mothers: Combining functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) with a modified still-face paradigm.

BACKGROUND: Non-invasive imaging techniques, such as fNIRS, allow us to shed light on the neural correlates of infant's social-emotional development within the context of parent-infant interaction. On a behavioral level, numerous studies have investigated parent-infant interaction employing the still-face paradigm and found that the primary caregiver(s), often the mother, is an important coregulator of the infant's physiological and behavioral stress response. However, limited information is available on how the infant's brain reacts to the maternal cues during real-life interaction. METHODS: Therefore, the main aim of the current study was to design a fNIRS paradigm to study live mother-infant interaction and to explore the neural correlates of infant affect regulation during real-life dyadic interaction. To this end, a modified still-face paradigm was designed, which consists of live face-to-face mother-infant, and stranger-infant, interaction episodes, including stressful, "still-face" and non-stressful, "happy-face" interaction blocks, combined with infant fNIRS imaging. RESULTS: Hemodynamic brain responses were collected in n = 10 (6 females, mean age 230.2 ±â€¯17.5 days), typically developing infants using the Hitachi ETG-4000 continuous-wave system (22 channels spanning the frontal cortex; 10 Hz system sampling frequency). Infants with usable data (n = 7) showed negative activations, indicated by a decrease in oxygenated hemoglobin, over the middle frontal gyrus in response to happy-face (reunion) interaction with their mothers compared to a female stranger; suggesting deactivation of brain regions associated with affect regulation. We also explored correlations between infant brain responses to maternal interaction and infant characteristics (temperament) as well as experiential/environmental factors (mothers' self-reported depression symptoms). CONCLUSIONS: Although the current results are very preliminary, they overall suggest that live design in infant populations is doable and offers unique opportunities to study the neural mechanisms underlying early caregiver(s)-child interaction in a more naturalistic context. Restrictions, and implications, of the methodology are critically discussed.

Pathways to social-emotional functioning in the preschool period: The role of child temperament and maternal anxiety in boys and girls.

Individual differences in social-emotional functioning emerge early and have long-term implications for developmental adaptation and competency. Research is needed that specifies multiple early risk factors and outcomes simultaneously to demonstrate specificity. Using multigroup longitudinal path analysis in a sample of typically developing children (N = 541), we examined child temperament dimensions (surgency, negative affectivity, and regulation/effortful control) and maternal anxiety in infancy and age 2 as predictors of child externalizing, internalizing, dysregulation, and competence behaviors at age 3. Four primary patterns emerged. First, there was stability in temperament dimensions and maternal anxiety from infancy to age 3. Second, negative affectivity was implicated in internalizing problems and surgency in externalizing problems. Third, effortful control at age 2 was a potent mediator of maternal anxiety in infancy on age 3 outcomes. Fourth, there was suggestive evidence for transactional effects between maternal anxiety and child effortful control. Most pathways operated similarly for boys and girls, with some differences, particularly for surgency. These findings expand our understanding of the roles of specific temperamental domains and postnatal maternal anxiety in a range of social-emotional outcomes in the preschool period, and have implications for efforts to enhance the development of young children's social-emotional functioning and reduce risk for later psychopathology.

Like mother, like child? Maternal determinants of children's early social-emotional development.

Social-Emotional competencies evolve early in life. For example, early emotion regulation is learned primarily in the context of mother-child interaction, which may allow for maternal influences to shape children's social-emotional development. The aim of the current study was to longitudinally examine maternal determinants of children's early social-emotional development in a community-based sample of first-time mothers (N = 61, aged 22-39 years). Specifically, we used structural equation modeling to examine how maternal emotion regulation difficulties and subclinical depression directly and indirectly, through sensitivity and postnatal bonding, assessed at 6 to 8 months predicted child outcomes at 12 to 16 months. We found that mothers' sensitivity predicted fewer social-emotional and behavioral problems and that stronger bonding predicted fewer problems and more social-emotional competencies. Emotion regulation difficulties were significantly associated with depressive symptoms; yet, when accounting for shared variances, both factors differentially predicted less positive child outcomes such that more difficulties indirectly, through poorer bonding, predicted greater delay in competencies, and more symptoms indirectly, through less sensitivity, predicted more problems. Current findings underline the significance of maternal factors impacting the quality of mother-child interaction for children's positive development. Potential implications for early prevention programs to support children who are otherwise at risk for negative emotional outcomes due to mothers' emotional state postpartum are discussed.

Las competencias sociales-emocionales evolucionan temprano en la vida. Por ejemplo, la temprana regulación de la emoción se aprende primariamente en el contexto de la interacción madre-niño, lo cual pudiera permitir que las influencias maternas den forma al desarrollo socio-emocional de los niños. El objetivo del presente estudio fue examinar longitudinalmente los determinantes maternos del temprano desarrollo socio-emocional de los niños en un grupo muestra con base comunitaria de madres primerizas (N = 61, edad 22-39 años). Específicamente, usamos modelos de ecuaciones estructurales para examinar cómo las dificultades de la regulación emocional materna y la depresión subclínica directa e indirectamente, a través de la sensibilidad y la vinculación posnatal, evaluada a los 6-8 meses predijeron los resultados en el niño a los 12-16 meses. (i) La sensibilidad de las mamás predijo menos problemas socio-emocionales y de conducta. (ii) Una más fuerte vinculación predijo menos problemas y más competencias socio-emocionales. (iii) Las dificultades de la regulación de la emoción estuvieron significativamente asociadas con síntomas depresivos, aunque cuando se toma en cuenta las variaciones compartidas, ambos factores diferencialmente predijeron menos positivos resultados en el niño de manera que más dificultades indirectamente, a través de una más pobre vinculación, predijeron mayor demora en las competencias y más síntomas indirectamente, a través de menos sensibilidad, predijeron más problemas. Los presentes resultados subrayan lo significativo de los factores maternos que impactan la calidad de la interacción madre-niño para el desarrollo positivo de los niños. Se discuten las posibles implicaciones para programas de temprana intervención para dar apoyo a los niños que de otra manera están bajo riesgo de resultados emocionales negativos debido al estado emocional de las madres después del parto.

Les compétences socio-émotionnelles évoluent tôt dans la vie. Par exemple, la régulation précoce de l'émotion est apprise principalement dans le contexte de l'interaction mère-enfant, ce qui pourrait permettre aux influences maternelles de former le développement socio-émotionnel des enfants. Le but de cette étude était d'examiner longitudinalement les déterminants maternels du développement socio-émotionnel précoce des enfants dans un échantillon à l'échelle communautaire de mères primipares (N = 61, âgées de 22 à 39 ans). Plus spécifiquement, nous avons utilisé une modélisation d'équation structurelle afin d'examiner la manière dont les difficultés de régulation de l'émotion maternelle et la dépression sub-clinique directement et indirectement, à travers la sensibilité et le lien postnatal, évalués à 6-8 mois, a prédit les résultats de l'enfant à 12-16 mois. (i) La sensibilité des mères a prédit moins de problèmes socio-émotionnels et de problèmes de comportement. (ii) Un lien plus fort a prédit moins de problèmes et plus de compétences socio-émotionnelles. (iii) Les difficultés de régulation de l'émotion ont été fortement liées aux symptômes dépressifs, cependant, en tenant compte de la variance communie, les deux facteurs ont prédit différentiellement moins de résultats positifs pour l'enfant, de telle façon que plus de difficultés indirectement, à travers un lien plus appauvri, ont prédit un plus grand délai dans les compétences et plus de symptômes indirectement, à travers moins de sensibilité, ont prédit plus de problèmes. Les résultats présents soulignent l'importance des facteurs maternels qui impactent la qualité de l'interaction mère-enfant pour le développement positif des enfants. Les implications potentielles pour les programmes précoces de prévention pour soutenir les enfants qui sans eux sont à risque de résultats émotionnels négatifs du fait de l'état émotionnel postpartum des mères sont discutées.

Recognition of facial emotions of varying intensities by three-year-olds.

Early facial emotion recognition is hypothesized to be critical to later social functioning. However, relatively little is known about the typical intensity thresholds for recognizing facial emotions in preschoolers, between 2 and 4 years of age. This study employed a behavioral sorting task to examine the recognition of happy, fearful, and angry expressions of varying intensity in a large sample of 3-year-old children (N = 208). Thresholds were similar for all expressions; accuracy, however, was significantly lower for fear. Fear and anger expressions above threshold were significantly more confused with one another than with other expressions. In contrast, neutral faces were significantly more often interpreted as happy than as angry or fearful. These results provide a comparison point for future studies of early facial emotion recognition in typical and atypical populations of children in this age group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Motion correction for infant functional near-infrared spectroscopy with an application to live interaction data.

Correcting for motion is an important consideration in infant functional near-infrared spectroscopy studies. We tested the performance of conventional motion correction methods and compared probe motion and data quality metrics for data collected at different infant ages (5, 7, and 12 months) and during different methods of stimulus presentation (video versus live). While 5-month-olds had slower maximum head speed than 7- or 12-month-olds, data quality metrics and hemodynamic response recovery errors were similar across ages. Data quality was also similar between video and live stimulus presentation. Motion correction algorithms, such as wavelet filtering and targeted principal component analysis, performed well for infant data using infant-specific parameters, and parameters may be used without fine-tuning for infant age or method of stimulus presentation. We recommend using wavelet filtering with [Formula: see text]; however, a range of parameters seemed acceptable. We do not recommend using trial rejection alone, because it did not improve hemodynamic response recovery as compared to no correction at all. Data quality metrics calculated from uncorrected data were associated with hemodynamic response recovery error, indicating that full simulation studies may not be necessary to assess motion correction performance.

Postnatal Mother-to-Infant Attachment in Subclinically Depressed Mothers: Dyads at Risk?

BACKGROUND: Dyadic interactions between children and depressed mothers have been characterized as less synchronous and with lower maternal sensitivity, fostering an inharmonious, insecure attachment relationship between mother and child. Thus, these children may experience enhanced early life stress and are at higher risk of disturbed socioemotional development. Recently, this association has also been found in women with mild depressive symptoms. However, potential confounding effects of mother's history of own rearing experiences or infant temperament on the link between depressive symptoms and postnatal mother-to-infant attachment have not yet been investigated. METHODS: Differences in mother-to-infant attachment (e.g. quality of attachment, absence of hostility, and pleasure in interaction) between mothers with and without symptoms of depression 6-8 months postpartum were analyzed in a low-risk community sample (n = 38, 19 per group). Depressive symptomatology was measured with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Depressed mothers indicated mild-to-moderate depressive symptomatology (mean BDI-II 11.26 ± 3.86) but did not fulfill criteria for a major depressive episode and, thus, were referred to as 'subclinically' depressed. Potential confounders, namely maternal history of own rearing experiences and infant temperament, were explored by multivariate AN(C)OVA. RESULTS: Primiparous mothers with subclinical depression differed significantly from healthy control mothers, i.e. showed poorer mother-to-infant attachment and higher infant-related hostility 6-8 months postpartum. As expected, infant temperament and mother's history of own rearing experiences were both associated with mother-to-infant attachment but did not explain the negative effects of subclinical depression on the mother-infant relationship. CONCLUSIONS: Given the high prevalence of maternal depression, the current findings give reason for increased concern for the developing mother-child relationship. Therefore, early interventions are needed that focus on the mother-child dyad and target not only clinically but also subclinically depressed mothers.