Down-regulation of amygdala response to infant crying: A role for distraction in maternal emotion regulation.

Infant crying elicits caregiving behaviors, which are indispensable for fulfilling the infant's needs. However, infant crying can also evoke negative and angry feelings in the caregiver. Therefore, parents need to regulate their own negative emotions to infant crying to sensitively respond to the distressed infant. Thus, the current study aims to examine the neural basis of emotional reactivity and emotional regulation in response to infant crying using functional MRI in primiparous mothers (N = 26). Amygdala activation in response to infant crying was negatively associated with maternal sensitivity and maternal nonhostility during mother-infant interaction. Furthermore, subjective emotional intensity and bilateral activations in the amygdala were decreased using distraction as emotion-regulation strategy. This finding adds neural evidence to the importance of maternal emotion-regulation in response to infant distress. This might be particularly important as some mothers may become overwhelmed by their infant's distress resulting in intense negative emotions that could potentially impair mother-child interaction and increase child abuse potential. (PsycINFO Database Record

Dual-Track Clearance of Circulating Bacteria Balances Rapid Restoration of Blood Sterility with Induction of Adaptive Immunity.

Efficient clearance of bacteremia prevents life-threatening disease. Platelet binding to intravascular bacteria, a process involving platelet glycoprotein GPIb and bacterial opsonization with activated complement C3, influences blood clearance and anti-infective immunity. Using intravital microscopy of the bloodstream of mice infected with Listeria monocytogenes, we show that bacterial clearance is not a uniform process but a "dual-track" mechanism consisting of parallel "fast" and "slow" pathways. "Slow clearance" is regulated by time-dependent bacterial opsonization, stochastic platelet binding, and capture of bacteria-platelet-complexes via the complement receptor of the immunoglobulin superfamily, CRIg. The mechanism spares some bacteria from "fast clearance" and rapid destruction in the liver via Kupffer cell scavenger receptors, keeping them available for adaptive immunity induction by splenic CD8α(+) dendritic cells. We consistently find "fast" and "slow" clearance patterns for a broad panel of other Gram+ and Gram- bacteria. Thus, dual-track clearance balances rapid restoration of blood sterility with induction of specific antibacterial immunity.

A mother-child intervention program in adolescent mothers and their children to improve maternal sensitivity, child responsiveness and child development (the TeeMo study): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Children of adolescent mothers present a high-risk group for child neglect and maltreatment. Previous findings suggest that early interventions can reduce maltreatment by improving the quality of mother-child interaction, particularly maternal sensitivity. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the effects of a mother-child intervention program using home visits and video-feedback regarding mother-child interaction (STEEP-b) plus psychiatric treatment of the mother in cases where mental illness is present compared with TAU (treatment as usual, that is, standardized support by the child welfare system) on enhancing maternal sensitivity and child responsiveness in adolescent, high-risk mothers. The second aim of the current project is to investigate behavioral and neural differences between adolescent and adult mothers at baseline and postintervention. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 120 high-risk adolescent mothers (<21 years old) and their 3- to 6-month-old children. Half of the participants will be randomized to receive STEEP-b in addition to their standard treatment for up to 12 to 18 sessions over 9 months. The other half will continue with treatment as usual. For further comparisons, 40 adult mothers with positive and negative rearing experiences (>25 years) will additionally be recruited to investigate behavioral and neural differences between the adolescent and adult group. Blind assessments will take place at T1 (pre-intervention), at the end of the 9-month intervention (T2, postintervention) and 6 months postintervention (T3, follow-up). Moderators of treatment outcomes and sociodemographic data will be assessed at T1. The primary outcome hypothesis is that STEEP-b added to treatment as usual will improve maternal sensitivity and child responsiveness compared with treatment as usual alone in high-risk adolescent mothers. The primary hypothesis will be evaluated at the end of the 9-month follow-up assessment based on the intention-to-treat principle. The trial is funded by the German Ministry for Research and Education (BMBF). Data collection started in October 2012. DISCUSSION: This is a randomized controlled trial that evaluates the effects of an early intervention program (STEEP-b) on the quality of mother-child interaction and child development in adolescent, high-risk mothers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: DRKS00004409 (27 September 2012).