C57BL/6J offspring mice reared by a single-mother exhibit, compared to mice reared in a biparental parenting structure, distinct neural activation patterns and heightened ethanol-induced anxiolysis.

RATIONALE: Parenting experiences with caregivers play a key role in neurodevelopment. We recently reported that adolescents reared by a single-mother (SM) display an anxiety-prone phenotype and drink more alcohol, compared to peers derived from a biparental (BP) rearing condition. OBJECTIVES: To investigate if SM and BP offspring infant mice exhibit differential sensitivity to ethanol-induced locomotor activity and differential activity patterns in brain areas related to anxiety response. We also analyzed anxiety response and ethanol-induced anxiolysis in SM and BP adolescents. METHODS: Mice reared in SM or BP conditions were assessed for (a) ethanol-induced locomotor activity at infancy, (b) central expression of Fos-like proteins (likely represented mostly by FosB, a transcription factor that accumulates after chronic stimuli exposure and serves as a molecular marker of neural plasticity) and cathecolaminergic activity, and (c) anxiety-like behavior and ethanol-induced anxiolysis in adolescence. RESULTS: Infant mice were sensitive to the stimulating effects of 2.0 g/kg alcohol, regardless parenting structure. SM mice exhibited, relative to BP mice, a significantly greater number of Fos-like positive cells in the central amygdala and basolateral amygdala nuclei. Ethanol treatment, but not parenting condition, induced greater activation of dopaminergic neurons in ventral tegmental area. SM, but not BP, adolescent mice were sensitive to ethanol-induced anxiolysis. CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight the complex relationship between parenting experiences and neurodevelopment. The SM parenting may result in greater neural activation patterns in brain areas associated with anxiety response, potentially contributing to increased basal anxiety and alcohol sensitivity.

Fantastic voyage: Chasing oxytocin from the bedside to the bench and back again.

This is the story of my 50-year career in medicine and research, and the people who influenced and helped me most along the way. I recount the way in which I became interested in oxytocin early in my career as a child psychiatrist, and how it led me back to Columbia University, my alma mater, to study oxytocin's role in mother-child innate behaviors. I recount how oxytocin/oxytocin receptor signaling was central to my basic and clinical research and present a new theory on mother-infant emotional behaviors that challenges 400 years of brain-centric science. My history underscores the important and unique perspective women bring to science and why women are especially needed in the sciences. I hope to inspire young women (and young men) who are beginning their careers in research.

Infant hedonic/anhedonic processing index (HAPI-Infant): Assessing infant anhedonia and its prospective association with adolescent depressive symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Anhedonia, an impairment in the motivation for or experience of pleasure, is a well-established transdiagnostic harbinger and core symptom of mental illness. Given increasing recognition of early life origins of mental illness, we posit that anhedonia should, and could, be recognized earlier if appropriate tools were available. However, reliable diagnostic instruments prior to childhood do not currently exist. METHODS: We developed an assessment instrument for anhedonia/reward processing in infancy, the Infant Hedonic/Anhedonic Processing Index (HAPI-Infant). Exploratory factor and psychometric analyses were conducted using data from 6- and 12-month-old infants from two cohorts (N = 188, N = 212). Then, associations were assessed between infant anhedonia and adolescent self-report of depressive symptoms. RESULTS: The HAPI-Infant (47-items), exhibited excellent psychometric properties. Higher anhedonia scores at 6 (r = 0.23, p < .01) and 12 months (r = 0.19, p < .05) predicted elevated adolescent depressive symptoms, and these associations were stronger than for established infant risk indicators such as negative affectivity. Subsequent analyses supported the validity of short (27-item) and very short (12-item) versions of this measure. LIMITATIONS: The primary limitations of this study are that the HAPI-Infant awaits additional tests of generalizability and of its ability to predict clinical diagnosis of depression. CONCLUSIONS: The HAPI-Infant is a novel, psychometrically strong diagnostic tool suitable for recognizing anhedonia during the first year of life with strong predictive value for later depressive symptoms. In view of the emerging recognition of increasing prevalence of affective disorders in children and adolescents, the importance of the HAPI-Infant in diagnosing anhedonia is encouraging. Early recognition of anhedonia could target high-risk individuals for intervention and perhaps prevention of mental health disorders.

Exploring the Potential of a Behavior Theory-Informed Digital Intervention for Infant Fall Prevention: Mixed Methods Longitudinal Study.

BACKGROUND: Falls are the most common hospitalized injury mechanism in children aged ≤1 years, and currently, there are no targeted prevention interventions. The prevention of falls in children of this age requires changes in the behavior of their caregivers, and theoretically informed digital behavior change interventions (DBCIs) may provide a unique mechanism for achieving effective intervention. However, user acceptance and the ability of DBCIs to effect the required changes in behavior are critical to their likelihood of success. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate a behavior theory-informed digital intervention developed following a user-centered approach for user experience, the potential for this intervention to prevent infant falls, and its impact on behavioral drivers underpinning fall risk in young children. METHODS: Parents of infants aged <1 year were recruited and asked to use the intervention for 3 months. A pre-post longitudinal design was used to examine the change in the potential to reduce the risk of falls after a 3-month exposure to the intervention. Postintervention data on behavioral drivers for fall prevention, user acceptability, and engagement with the app were also collected. Interviews were conducted to explore user experiences and identify areas for further improvement of the intervention. RESULTS: A total of 62 parents participated in the study. A statistically significant effect on the potential to reduce falls was observed after the intervention. This effect was higher for new parents. Parents agreed that the intervention targeted most of the target behavior drivers. The impact of behavior drivers and intervention on the potential for fall prevention had a positive correlation. The intervention demonstrated good levels of acceptability. Feedback from participants was mostly positive, and the primary area identified for further improvement was widening the scope of the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the promise of a newly developed digital intervention to reduce the risk of infant falls, particularly among new parents. It also showed a positive influence of the DBCI on the drivers of parental behaviors that are important for fall reduction among infants. The acceptability of the app was high, and important insights were gained from users about how to further improve the app.

Breastfeeding at Any Cost? Adverse Effects of Breastfeeding Pain on Mother-Infant Behavior.

Breast milk is considered the ideal infant nutrition, and medical organizations encourage breastfeeding worldwide. Moreover, breastfeeding is often perceived as a natural and spontaneous socio-biological process and one of the fundamental roles of new mothers. While breastfeeding is beneficial, little scientific consideration has been given to its potential psychological challenges. Here, we investigate the phenomenon of breastfeeding pain in mothers and its association with maternal and infant behavioral regulation. During the postpartum weeks, the mother-infant dyad can be considered one allostatic unit directed at infant regulation and development. We hypothesize that pain comprises an allostatic challenge for mothers and will thus impair the capacity for dyadic regulation. To test this, we recruited 71 mothers with varying levels of breastfeeding pain and videotaped them with their infants (2-35 weeks old) during spontaneous face-to-face interactions. We quantified the individual differences in dyadic regulation by behaviorally coding the second-by-second affective expressions for each mother and infant throughout their interactions. We tested the extent to which breastfeeding pain alters affect regulation during mother-infant interactions. We discovered that mothers with severe breastfeeding pain express less affective expressions and less infant-directed gaze during interactive moments of engagement and play than mothers with no or moderate pain. Moreover, infants of mothers experiencing pain during breastfeeding express less affective expressions and more mother-directed gaze while interacting with their mothers than infants of mothers who are not in pain. This demonstrates that the allostatic challenge of maternal pain interferes with the behavioral regulation of both mothers and infants. Since the mother-infant dyad is a codependent allostatic unit, the allostatic challenges of one partner can impact the dyad and thus potentially impact child development, bonding, and mother and infant well-being. The challenges of breastfeeding should be considered in addition to the nutritional advances.

Maternal psychological functioning mediates the association between infant behavior and subsequent child psychological functioning.

Symptoms of psychopathology that onset during childhood are often more severe, chronic, and difficult to treat than symptoms that first appear later in life. Maternal psychological symptoms are associated with the development of psychological symptoms in children. However, less research focuses on whether children's behaviors may presage maternal psychological difficulties that, in turn, contribute to the child's own psychological functioning. Identifying psychological difficulties in families and intervening in early life may lower risk for intergenerational transmission of subsequent psychological symptoms. Even at non-clinical or normative levels, exploring transactional models of parent-child behavior and psychological functioning may provide insight into the development of later psychological difficulties or symptoms within families. Thus, the current study examined whether difficult infant behavior (e.g., fussiness, unpredictability) is associated with future maternal psychological difficulties and subsequently, the child's own psychological functioning in early childhood. The current sample includes 847 dyads from a multi-wave birth cohort in England ('Born in Bradford'), who identified as predominantly non-White (62.2%) and socioeconomically diverse. Mothers reported on their child's behaviors at 6 months, their own psychological functioning during pregnancy and at 18 months postpartum, and their child's psychological functioning at age 3. Results of a mediation model revealed that the association between infant behavior at 6 months and child psychological functioning at 3 years is partially explained by maternal psychological functioning at 18 months, even after accounting for psychological difficulties during pregnancy, maternal age at birth, child sex, family income, and ethnicity. Post-hoc exploratory analyses revealed that the association between infant behavior, maternal psychological functioning, and subsequent child psychological functioning was significant for Pakistani British families but not White British families. These findings provide preliminary evidence that infant behaviors (e.g., temperament) may presage future maternal psychological difficulties and subsequent child psychological functioning, above and beyond previous maternal psychological functioning. Importantly, these results highlight infant behavior as a potential catalyst for later psychological difficulties within families.

Determinants of infant behavior and growth in breastfed late preterm and early term infants: a secondary data analysis.

BACKGROUND: Late preterm and early term infants are at increased risk of poor growth, behavioral problems, and developmental delays. This study aimed to investigate the impact of maternal and infant characteristics, feeding practices, and breastmilk composition on infant behavior following late preterm and early term delivery, and to evaluate the association between infant behavior and growth. METHODS: Data from 52 Chinese mothers and their late preterm/early term infants participating in the Breastfeed a Better Youngster study were used. Maternal and infant characteristics were collected using questionnaires at 1 week postpartum. Breastmilk macronutrient content was measured using a human milk analyzer, and infant behavior was assessed using a 3-day infant behavior diary at 8 weeks postpartum. Feeding practices were collected at both time points using questionnaires. Multivariate models were used to assess associations between potential predictors and infant behavior and between infant behavior and growth. RESULTS: Exclusive breastfeeding was associated with greater sleep duration (P = 0.02) and shorter crying duration (P = 0.01). Mothers with a vocational education reported greater distress duration (P = 0.006). Greater colic duration was associated with higher maternal annual income (P = 0.004). There was no significant association between infant behavior and growth (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Exclusive breastfeeding might promote more favorable infant behaviors in late preterm/early term infants, while the development of infant distress behaviors was associated with some maternal characteristics (maternal education and annual income). However, due to the limitations of diary methods, determinants of infant behavior should ideally be assessed using more objective measures in larger samples.

Associations between prenatal exposure to second hand smoke and infant self-regulation in a New York city longitudinal prospective birth cohort.

BACKGROUND: Prenatal exposure to active or passive maternal smoking -also referred to as second hand smoke (SHS) exposure - are associated with externalizing behaviors, hyperactivity and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, problems which derive in part from altered self-regulation. OBJECTIVES: Determine the influence of prenatal SHS on infant self-regulation using direct measures of infant behavior in 99 mothers from the Fair Start birth cohort followed at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health. METHODS: Self-regulation was operationalized with self-contingency, the likelihood of maintaining/changing behavior from second-to-second, measured via split-screen video recordings of mothers playing with their 4-month infants. Mother and infant facial and vocal affect, gaze-on/-off partner, and mother touch were coded on a 1 s time-base. Third trimester prenatal SHS was assessed via self-report of a smoker in the home. Weighted-lag time-series models tested conditional effects of SHS-exposure (vs. non-exposure) on infant self-contingency for eight modality-pairings (e.g., mother gaze-infant gaze). Individual-seconds time-series models and analysis of predicted values at t0 interrogated significant weighted-lag findings. Because prior findings link developmental risk factors with lowered self-contingency, we hypothesized that prenatal SHSSHS would predict lowered infant self-contingency. RESULTS: Relative to non-exposed infants, those who were prenatally exposed to SHS had lower self-contingency (more variable behavior) in all eight models. Follow-up analyses showed that, given infants were likely to be in the most negative facial or vocal affect, those with prenatal SHS were more likely to make larger behavioral changes, moving into less negative or more positive affect and to alternate between gaze-on and off mother. Mothers who were exposed to SHS during pregnancy (vs. non-exposed) showed a similar, albeit less prevalent, pattern of larger changes out of negative facial affect. CONCLUSION: These findings extend prior work linking prenatal SHS with youth dysregulated behavior, showing similar effects in infancy, a critically important period that sthe stage for future child development.

Dietary Habits of Children 0 - 23 Months in Rural Kansas: Early Life Diets of Rural Children.

Introduction: Children in rural areas face increased rates of obesity compared to their urban counterparts, and diet in early childhood may influence the development of diseases related to food intake. This study sought to determine current diet of children 0-23 months of age in rural Kansas. Methods: Medical students participating in 6-week, summer, rural clinical experiences offered the survey to caregivers of children 0-23 months, born at term as singletons without a specialized diet. The survey asked respondents to answer with the child's diet over the last seven days. The survey was in the style of a validated Food Frequency Questionnaire for infants with an image for estimating portion sizes. Diets were compared to guidelines set by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. Results: Of 44 responses, 21 children were aged 0-5 months, 7 aged 6-11 months, and 16 aged 12-23 months. Breastfeeding rates were nearly double reported national averages. All children aged 0-5 months met guidelines. None of the children 6-11 months or 12-23 months met guidelines. In the 6-11 month group, four consumed food in addition to breastmilk or formula (complementary foods). In the 12-23 month group, protein and dairy foods were lower than, and whole grains and vegetables were higher than, reported national averages, respectively. Conclusions: Children may fall short of meeting dietary recommendations due to foods consumed in addition to breastmilk. There is a need for improved survey methods to capture the diets of young children in the rural United States.

Infant AFAR: Automated facial action recognition in infants.

Automated detection of facial action units in infants is challenging. Infant faces have different proportions, less texture, fewer wrinkles and furrows, and unique facial actions relative to adults. For these and related reasons, action unit (AU) detectors that are trained on adult faces may generalize poorly to infant faces. To train and test AU detectors for infant faces, we trained convolutional neural networks (CNN) in adult video databases and fine-tuned these networks in two large, manually annotated, infant video databases that differ in context, head pose, illumination, video resolution, and infant age. AUs were those central to expression of positive and negative emotion. AU detectors trained in infants greatly outperformed ones trained previously in adults. Training AU detectors across infant databases afforded greater robustness to between-database differences than did training database specific AU detectors and outperformed previous state-of-the-art in infant AU detection. The resulting AU detection system, which we refer to as Infant AFAR (Automated Facial Action Recognition), is available to the research community for further testing and applications in infant emotion, social interaction, and related topics.

Effects of maternal trauma and associated psychopathology on atypical maternal behavior and infant social withdrawal six months postpartum.

Maternal psychopathology given a history of maltreatment and domestic violence exposure increases the risk for child psychopathology. Infant social withdrawal is one warning sign of adverse developmental outcomes including child anxiety and depression. It remains unclear how maternal trauma-related psychopathology might affect infant social withdrawal six-months postpartum. METHODS: One-hundred ninety-five women and their six-month-old infants were studied in an at-risk community sample. Maternal trauma history, posttraumatic stress (PTSD) and major depressive (MDD) disorders were assessed. Maternal and infant behaviors were coded from videotaped interactions. RESULTS: Maternal trauma was correlated with atypical maternal behavior (AMB) and infant social withdrawal (p ≤ .001). PTSD and MDD, and comorbid PTSD/MDD predicted increased AMB (p ≤ .001) but only maternal MDD was predictive of infant social withdrawal (p ≤ .001). Effects of maternal MDD on infant withdrawal were mediated by AMB. CONCLUSIONS: At six-months postpartum, maternal MDD was associated with infant withdrawal. AMB is an important target for early intervention.

Variation in the Mu-Opioid Receptor (OPRM1) and Offspring Sex Are Associated With Maternal Behavior in Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta).

A µ-opioid receptor (OPRM1) single-nucleotide-polymorphism, found in both humans and rhesus macaques mediates the mother-infant attachment bond. Because mothers treat their sons and daughters differently, it is somewhat surprising that the role of infant sex has not been assessed in the context of a maternal-OPRM1-genotype-by-infant-sex interaction. The present study investigates the effect of maternal-OPRM1-genotype and infant sex on mother-infant behaviors. Over the first 6 months of offspring life, mother-infant behavioral data assessing attachment quality was collected twice weekly from a large number of rhesus monkey mother-infant pairs (N = 161 dyads; n = 64 female infants, n = 97 male infants). Mothers were genotyped for OPRM1 variation. Factor analysis of the observed behaviors showed two factors: Attachment (maternal-infant cradling, rejections, and infant approaches and leaves), and Maternal Restraints (mother restrains infant, preventing exploration). Further analyses showed a two-way, maternal-genotype-by-infant-sex interaction for both factors. For Attachment, mothers with the CC genotype cradled and restrained (Maternal Restraints) their female infants more and rejected them less, when compared to female infants of CG mothers. Perhaps as a consequence, female infants of CC genotype mothers approached and left their mothers less often, when compared to female infants of CG mothers, likely an indication that female infants from mothers with CG genotype play a greater role in maintaining the mother-infant bond than do female infants from CC genotype mothers. This finding may also indicate a more secure attachment in infants from CC genotype mothers. Unlike female infants, on average, the mother-infant relationship of dyads with a male infant was largely undifferentiated by maternal genotype. These findings suggest that, in contrast to female infants from CG mothers, CC mothers and their female infants appear to have a closer mother-infant relationship which may portend close life-long bonds, as mothers and female offspring remain together throughout life. Male offspring appear to have a more aloof mother-infant bond regardless of OPRM1-genotype. The results of this study indicate that maternal-OPRM1 variation mediates mother-infant attachment behaviors for female infants and has less effect for male infants. This suggests that offspring sex should be included in studies investigating the effect of maternal-OPRM1 genotype on the mother-infant attachment relationship.

Maternal dopamine encodes affective signals of human infants.

Mothers are highly responsive to their offspring. In non-human mammals, mothers secrete dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) in response to their pups. Yet, it is still unknown which aspect of the offspring behavior elicits dopaminergic responses in mothers. Here, we tested whether infants' affective signals elicit dopaminergic responses in the NAcc of human mothers. First, we conducted a behavioral analysis on videos of infants' free play and quantified the affective signals infants spontaneously communicated. Then, we presented the same videos to mothers during a magnetic resonance-positron emission tomography scan. We traced the binding of [11C]raclopride to free D2/3-type receptors to assess maternal dopaminergic responses during the infant videos. When mothers observed videos with many infant signals during the scan, they had less [11C]raclopride binding in the right NAcc. Less [11C]raclopride binding indicates that less D2/3 receptors were free, possibly due to increased endogenous dopamine responses to infants' affective signals. We conclude that NAcc D2/3 receptors are involved in maternal responsiveness to affective signals of human infants. D2/3 receptors have been associated with maternal responsiveness in nonhuman animals. This evidence supports a similar mechanism in humans and specifies infant-behaviors that activate the maternal dopaminergic system, with implications for social neuroscience, development and psychopathology.

Effects of visual and visual-haptic perception of material rigidity on reaching and grasping in the course of development.

The development of material property perception for grasping objects is not well explored during early childhood. Therefore, we investigated infants', 3-year-old children's, and adults' unimanual grasping behavior and reaching kinematics for objects of different rigidity using a 3D motion capture system. In Experiment 1, 11-month-old infants and for purposes of comparison adults, and in Experiment 2, 3-year old children were encouraged to lift relatively heavy objects with one of two handles differing in rigidity after visual (Condition 1) and visual-haptic exploration (Condition 2). Experiment 1 revealed that 11-months-olds, after visual object exploration, showed no significant material preference, and thus did not consider the material to facilitate grasping. After visual-haptic object exploration and when grasping the contralateral handles, infants showed an unexpected preference for the soft handles, which were harder to use to lift the object. In contrast, adults generally grasped the rigid handle exploiting their knowledge about efficient and functional grasping in both conditions. Reaching kinematics were barely affected by rigidity, but rather by condition and age. Experiment 2 revealed that 3-year-olds no longer exhibit a preference for grasping soft handles, but still no adult-like preference for rigid handles in both conditions. This suggests that material rigidity plays a minor role in infants' grasping behavior when only visual material information is available. Also, 3-year-olds seem to be on an intermediate level in the development from (1) preferring the pleasant sensation of a soft fabric, to (2) preferring the efficient rigid handle.

Maternal Perceptions of Infant Behavior as a Potential Indicator of Parents or Infants in Need of Additional Support and Intervention.

The goal of the present study is to examine the relationship between early infant behaviors, which can be easily reported by parents, with parent-infant bonding and maternal mental health. It has long been established that child characteristics and behaviors have a significant impact on parent well-being and how parents respond to their infants. Examining parent perceptions of challenging infant behaviors may help health professionals identify high risk infants in need of intervention and mothers in need of additional support. Mothers of 73 infants between the ages of 3.5 weeks and 6 months filled out questionnaires. Infant stomach issues were positively correlated with bonding issues, maternal anxiety and maternal depression. Infant crying issues were also positively correlated with bonding issues, maternal anxiety and maternal depression. Potential clinical and research applications of the instrument include early identification of caregivers in need of support and screening for further clinical assessment and care.

Effect of tactile-kinesthetic stimulation on growth, neurobehavior and development among preterm neonates.

BACKGROUND: Preterm neonates are at risk of delayed growth and development. Hence, early tactile-kinesthetic stimulation (TKS) is required to improve their growth and development. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of TKS on growth, neurobehavior and development among preterm neonates. METHOD: An interventional study was conducted from August 2015 to July 2017 in the neonatal unit of Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital. Preterm neonates were recruited via random sampling and divided into two groups (the intervention group and control group). TKS was performed for 15 min, three times a day, for 10 days. The anthropometric measurements, neurobehavior (Dubowitz score) and development (Capute Scale score) of neonates in both groups were assessed. RESULTS: There were 126 preterm neonates (n = 63 in each group). During the 10-day TKS period, the intervention group had a significant increment in weight and length compared to the control group (p < 0.05) at 11-14 days, at term and 3 months. Moreover, increased tone, reflexes, and improvement in behavior based on the Dubowitz score were observed during monitoring. However, the result did not differ significantly (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference in terms of cognitive and language development in both groups (Developmental Quotient of Clinical Linguistic Adaptive Milestone Scale, Developmental Quotient of Clinical Adaptive Test and Full Scale Developmental Quotient scores, p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: TKS was significantly effective in promoting growth, particularly weight and length, among preterm neonates. However, it did not significantly influence neurobehavior and development at 3 months of chronological age.

Association Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Infant Neurodevelopment: A Comparison Before and During COVID-19.

Aim: To investigate the association between the experience of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and neurodevelopment of 6-month-old and 1-year-old children and explore the differences in the association by birth order. Methods: This comparison study was embedded in the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study in China. The exposed group included 546 6-month-old and 285 1-year-old children who attended neurodevelopment assessments between March 1 and May 15, 2020, and the non-exposed group included 3,009 6-month-old and 2,214 1-year-old children during the same months from 2015 to 2019. Neurodevelopment at age 6 months and 1 year was assessed by trained clinical staff using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires, third edition (ASQ-3) and the Gesell Developmental Schedules (GDS). Results: The experience of the pandemic in 2020 was associated with a higher risk of delay in the fine motor (adjusted OR: 2.50, 95% CI: 1.25, 4.99; estimated by logistic regression) and communication (adjusted RR [aRR]: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.25; estimated by log-binomial regression) domains at age 1 year. The association between the experience of the pandemic and communication delay at age 1 year only existed in first-born children (aRR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.30) but not in later-born children (aRR: 1.02, 95% CI: 0.84, 1.25). No associations were observed in any domain among 6-month-olds. Conclusion: Experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health strategies might be associated with a higher risk of delay in the development of fine motor and communication in 1-year-old children; the association observed in the communication domain only existed in first-born children.

Are our samples representative? Understanding whether temperament influences infant dropout rates at 3 and 7 months.

In this study, we examined whether infant temperament predicted study dropout at 3.5 and 7 months and whether dropout was stable across time. Dropout was measured across four experimental tasks (free-play, ERP, still-face, and eye tracking). Temperament was not related to dropout at either timepoint. Dropout was not stable across time, nor was it stable across tasks. These findings suggest that individual differences in temperament are not systematically related to study completion across experimental tasks with varied requirements. These findings additionally suggest that dropout is not consistent across tasks, which may support the utility of multi-study data collection methods.

Co-occurring risk and protective factors and regulatory behavior of infants living in low-income homes.

Early self-regulation is a foundation for lifelong wellness and can be shaped by the interplay among several vital exposures. In this study, we examined the emergence of reliable profiles based upon exposure to risk and protective factors in infancy, determined if sociodemographic resources predict profile membership, and determined if these profiles predict early regulatory behaviors in a sample of infants reared in low-income homes. Data were collected from a sample of primarily Black or White mother-infant dyads living in low-income homes in the Midwest (n = 222) during the infants' first year of life (mean maternal age at enrollment: 26.29 years; range 18-43 years). Exposures included mother-infant interactions; father support; maternal depression, stress, and self-efficacy; home environment; food security; and breastfeeding duration. Sociodemographic resources included poverty status; economic hardship; maternal education, employment, and age; parental marital status; and infant race and sex. Infant regulatory behaviors were measured with the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised Very Short Form effortful control subscale (mean age 11 months; range 8.5-14.3 months). Latent profile analysis was used to profile infants by risk and protective exposures. Regression was used to differentiate profiles by sociodemographic resources and to predict infant regulatory behavior from profiles. Three profiles emerged: low father support, good maternal mental health, and poor maternal mental health. A married mother, less economic hardship, and working mothers predicted infant exposure to good maternal mental health. Infant regulatory behavior was best when the infant was exposed to the good maternal mental health profile. Implications for future research are discussed.

Hyper-Reactivity to Salience Limits Social Interaction Among Infants Born Pre-term and Infant Siblings of Children With ASD.

The ability to engage attention with selected stimuli is essential for infants to explore the world and process information relating to their surroundings. There are two main populations with a higher risk to develop attentional and social deficits whose deficits may arise from difficulties in regulating attention to salient cues: (1) siblings of children diagnosed with Autism; and (2) infants who were born pre-term. This study investigated infants' (N = 97) attention-engagement and pupil-dilation (PD) at 9 months of age, using a gaze-contingent paradigm and a structured social interaction. Specifically, we explored attention to stimuli with simple salient features (e.g., clear defined shapes, colors, and motions) vs. more complex non-social cues (amorphous shapes, colors, and motions) and social interaction in typically developing infants (TD, N = 25) and among two groups of infants at-risk to develop social difficulties (pre-terms, N = 56; siblings of children with Autism, N = 16). Findings show that the two risk groups preferred stimuli with simple features (F = 11.306, p < 0.001), accompanied by increased PD (F = 6.6, p < 0.001). Specifically, pre-term infants showed increased PD toward simple vs. complex stimuli (p < 0.001), while siblings showed a pervasive hyper-arousal to both simple and complex stimuli. Infants in the TD group preferred complex stimuli with no change in PD. Finally, the preference for the simple stimulus mediated the relationship between increased risk for social difficulties and decreased engagement duration in face-to-face interaction with the experimenter. Results suggest that activation of the attention-salience network shapes social abilities at infancy. Further, hyper-reactivity to salient stimuli limits social interaction among infants born pre-term and siblings of children with ASD.