•Prenatal maternal attention bias to unfamiliar infant face distractors is related to the quality of parenting.•Behavioral and neural processing of unfamiliar infant faces during pregnancy predicts ...maternal sensitivity to their own infant.•Greater neural decoding of sad vs. happy infant faces predicts greater maternal sensitivity.•Maternal attention bias to and the perceived salience of unfamiliar infant faces operate independently of caregiving experience.
While research has shown that attention bias to infant faces is linked to parenting, this work is largely cross–sectional and limited to the postpartum period. Because the transition to motherhood from pregnancy to birth constitutes a sensitive period in cortical reorganization linked to the quality of mother–infant interactions, evaluating attention processes in the maternal cortex prior to the experience of mother-infant face-to-face interactions is critical. To assess behavioural attention and neural responses to infant faces in pregnant mothers, behavioral and electrocortical indices were collected using a Go/No Go task, in which infant and adult faces served as distractors. Results showed that heightened processing of infant faces relative to adult faces (behavioral and electrocortical indices) was related to observations of greater maternal sensitivity. These findings show that prenatal maternal attention bias to and the perceived salience of infant faces serves as an individual cognitive hallmark of maternal sensitivity that acts independently of caregiving experience.
The transition to motherhood triggers changes in human brain structure that may facilitate mother–infant bonding. Although much research on maternal cortical responses to infant faces has focused on ...the postpartum period, no previous study has examined whether longitudinal functional changes in the maternal cortex during pregnancy and postpartum are associated with mother–infant bonding. Using electroencephalography, prenatal to postnatal changes in cortical sensitivity (P1, P2, late positive potential, N170 event‐related potentials) to infant and adult faces were examined in relation to reported mother–infant bonding in 40 mothers (Mage = 30.5 years). Prenatal to postnatal increases in P1 and P2 responses to infant faces predicted stronger bonding. Findings suggest that cortical changes in attention allocation rather than in face‐specific encoding enhance bonding.
The attention-grabbing quality of the infant cry is well recognized, but how the emotional valence of infant vocal signals affects adult cognition and cortical activity has heretofore been unknown. ...We examined the effects of two contrasting infant vocalizations (cries vs. laughs) on adult performance on a Stroop task using a cross-modal distraction paradigm in which infant distractors were vocal and targets were visual. Infant vocalizations were presented before (Experiment 1) or during each Stroop trial (Experiment 2). To evaluate the influence of infant vocalizations on cognitive control, neural responses to the Stroop task were obtained by measuring electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERPs) in Experiment 1. Based on the previously demonstrated existence of negative arousal bias, we hypothesized that cry vocalizations would be more distracting and invoke greater conflict processing than laugh vocalizations. Similarly, we expected participants to have greater difficulty shifting attention from the vocal distractors to the target task after hearing cries vs. after hearing laughs. Behavioral results from both experiments showed a cry interference effect, in which task performance was slower with cry than with laugh distractors. Electrophysiology data further revealed that cries more than laughs reduced attention to the task (smaller P200) and increased conflict processing (larger N450), albeit differently for incongruent and congruent trials. Results from a correlation analysis showed that the amplitudes of P200 and N450 were inversely related, suggesting a reciprocal relationship between attention and conflict processing. The findings suggest that cognitive control processes contribute to an attention bias to infant signals, which is modulated in part by the valence of the infant vocalization and the demands of the cognitive task. The findings thus support the notion that infant cries elicit a negative arousal bias that is distracting; they also identify, for the first time, the neural dynamics underlying the unique influence that infant cries and laughs have on cognitive control.
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Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This study examined infant response and recovery from a social challenge and parent responses. Behavioral and physiological responses were measured from forty-three 5- and 6-month-olds infants during ...a modified still-face procedure that used an additional still-face reunion sequence. Results confirm the hypothesis that infants of more responsive parents show more regulation than infants of less responsive parents. Infants of more responsive parents showed greater regulation of heart rate and negative affect during the final episode of the procedure than infants of less responsive parents. In addition, this procedure elicited a cortisol response (from .22 µg/dl to .31 µg/dl). Findings suggest important links between parent behavior and infant stress reactivity and regulation.
Despite the well-established protective functions of guilt across childhood, its underlying physiological mechanisms have received little attention. We used latent difference scores (LDS) to model ...changes in children's (N = 267; 4- and 8-year-olds, 51% girls) skin conductance (SC) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) while they imagined themselves committing antisocial acts. We then tested if their later reports of guilt, caregiver-reported aggressive behavior, and age were associated with these physiological changes. For 8-year-olds, changes in RSA leading up to and during transgressions were uniquely associated with the intensity of guilt feelings after transgressions. Eight-year-olds with higher guilt were rated lower in aggression, although children's physiology and aggression were not directly related. We discuss how fluctuations in physiology while transgressing may prepare children to mount adaptive guilt responses afterward and-more broadly-implications for understanding the mechanisms behind guilt and related behavior in early and middle childhood.
The COVID-19 pandemic offers an historic precedent to review and challenge the values of social, economic, environmental, and cultural belief systems. The concept of the “New Normal” and the ...experience of the global pandemic provide points of transition in thinking about our relationship to our planet and to each other. These include the fragility of contemporary economics, dependency on industrialized urban infrastructures, and reliance on top-down governance, vulnerability to climate disasters, dislocation from the natural world, societal inequalities, and the loss of cultural memory. The paper considers the potential role of systems thinking in attempting to manage societies’ responses to the pandemic. To provide the methodological context in which some systems thinking can be applied to alleviate the pandemic, we conduct a focused literature review of systemic frameworks, and using examples from Brazil and England, the paper questions the validity of existing disaster management systems and proposes an integrated critical systems approach. Reflecting on these experiences, questions of systems criticality are further developed and considered in relation to critical recovery from disasters and as integral critical systems (ICS) to interrogate the intention of systems. Finally, the paper reflects upon the value of systems and the values embedded in systems that may or may not promote equitable well-being in recovery from disasters such as COVID-19.
Objective Little is known about the developmental trajectory of cortisol levels in preterm infants after hospital discharge. Study design In a cohort of 225 infants (gestational age at birth <33 ...weeks) basal salivary cortisol levels were compared in infants born at extremely low gestational age (ELGA, 23-28 weeks), very low gestational age (29-32 weeks), and term (37-42 weeks) at 3, 6, 8, and 18 months corrected age (CA). Infants with major neurosensory or motor impairment were excluded. Results At 3 months CA, salivary cortisol levels were lower in both preterm groups compared with the term infants ( P = .003). Conversely, at 8 and 18 months CA, the ELGA infants had significantly higher basal cortisol levels than the very low gestational age and term infants ( P = .016 and P = .006, respectively). Conclusions In ELGA infants, the shift from low basal cortisol levels at 3 months to significantly high levels at 8 and 18 months CA suggests long-term “resetting” of endocrine stress systems. Multiple factors may contribute to these higher cortisol levels in the ELGA infants, including physiological immaturity at birth, cumulative stress related to multiple procedures, and mechanical ventilation during lengthy hospitalization. Prolonged elevation of the cortisol “set-point” may have negative implications for neurodevelopment and later health.
Background: Animal studies have shown that prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is linked to alterations in the stress response systems. To date, little is known about the impact of PAE on stress systems ...in human infants. The current study examined PAE effects on the stress response, as evidenced by the activation of the limbic–hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (L‐HPA) axis and autonomic system and changes in negative affect during a social‐emotional challenge in human infants. We also examined whether the effects of PAE on infant responsiveness differed in boys and girls.
Methods: Measures of cortisol, heart rate, and negative affect were obtained during a modified version of Tronick's still‐face procedure, a standardized developmental paradigm used to study emotion and stress regulation. Our sample included fifty‐five 5‐ to 7‐month‐old infants whose mothers were enrolled in an alcohol intervention study. Measures of maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and after delivery were obtained using Timeline Followback interviewing methods. Relationships between prenatal alcohol consumption and infant outcomes were examined. In addition, mothers were divided into high and low‐frequency drinkers, based on the mean percent of prenatal drinking days (PDD) to facilitate between‐group comparisons of infant stress measures.
Results: Mothers enrolled in our study reported significant reductions in alcohol consumption after learning of their pregnancies. Nevertheless, PDD from conception to pregnancy recognition was related to increases in cortisol reactivity, elevated heart rate, and negative affect in their infants. The effects of PAE on infant responsiveness were significant after controlling for the effects of maternal depression and annual income. In addition, the effects of PAE on cortisol reactivity differed for boys and girls.
Conclusions: Greater PAE was related to greater activation of stress response systems. Our findings suggest that PAE affects the development of infant stress systems and that these effects differ in boys and girls. This work supports the possibility that PAE is related to alterations in infant stress systems, which could underlie problems in cognitive and social–emotional functioning that are common among persons exposed prenatally to alcohol.
<verse-group> <verse-line>between home and school</verse-line> <verse-line>walking a way to learning</verse-line> <verse-line>life through the city.</verse-line> (David Haley) </verse-group>This ...article
takes the reader for a stroll through a programme of ecological arts-led, performance-based research. The style is more poetic than scientific, although much ecological science is embedded within the art form. Indeed, Charles Darwin was known for his regular walks, as time and space for his
reflections on evolution and his grandfather Erasmus Darwin was noted for the poetic form of his scientific treatises. Here also, the author breaks with academic convention to engage with walking and research as creative activities to deal with ecological issues. Of course, other artists like
Richard Long and Hamish Fulton have walked as part of their practice, and there are a growing number of artists who consider walking as practice-as-research. In this article, the focus is specifically on walking as a creative form of inquiry, through community participation within urban contexts
to create a critical dialogue focused on ecology in action.
Understanding the relative and joint prioritization of age- and valence-related face characteristics in adults' cortical face processing remains elusive because these two characteristics have not ...been manipulated in a single study of neural face processing. We used electroencephalography to investigate adults' P1, N170, P2 and LPP responses to infant and adult faces with happy and sad facial expressions. Viewing infant vs adult faces was associated with significantly larger P1, N170, P2 and LPP responses, with hemisphere and/or participant gender moderating this effect in select cases. Sad faces were associated with significantly larger N170 responses than happy faces. Sad infant faces were associated with significantly larger N170 responses in the right hemisphere than all other combinations of face age and face valence characteristics. We discuss the relative and joint neural prioritization of infant face characteristics and negative facial affect, and their biological value as distinct caregiving and social cues.
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