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. 2018 Nov:34:53-62.
doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.06.003. Epub 2018 Jul 21.

Quality of maternal behaviour during infancy predicts functional connectivity between default mode network and salience network 9 years later

Affiliations

Quality of maternal behaviour during infancy predicts functional connectivity between default mode network and salience network 9 years later

Fanny Dégeilh et al. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2018 Nov.

Abstract

Infants' experiences are considered to determine to a large degree the strength and effectiveness of neural connections and fine tune the development of brain networks. As one of the most pervasive and potent relational experiences of infancy, parent-child relationships appear to be prime candidates to account for experience-driven differences in children's brain development. Yet, studies linking parenting and functional connectivity are surprisingly scarce, and restricted to the connectivity of limbic structures. Accordingly, this longitudinal study explored whether normative variation in the quality of early maternal behaviour predicts the functional connectivity of large-scale brain networks in late childhood. Maternal mind-mindedness and autonomy support were assessed with 28 children when they were 13 and 15 months old respectively. When children were 10 years of age, children underwent a resting-state functional MRI exam. Functional connectivity was assessed between key regions of the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and frontal-parietal central executive network (CEN). Results revealed that higher mind-mindedness and autonomy support predicted stronger negative connectivity between DMN and SN regions. These findings are the first to provide preliminary evidence suggestive of a long-lasting impact of variation within the normative range of early maternal behaviour on functional connectivity between large-scale brain networks.

Keywords: Autonomy support; Cortico-cortical networks; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Mind-mindedness; Parenting; Resting state.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Default mode network (magenta), salience network (orange) and fronto-parietal central executive network (green). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article). Abbreviations: AI, anterior insula; dACC, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex; dlPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; PCC, posterior cingulate cortex; PP, posterior parietal cortex; vmPFC, ventromedial prefrontal cortex. *These seeds are medial.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mind-mindedness at 13 months predicts stronger negative functional connectivity between regions of the default mode network and salience network. Connectivity between vmPFC and right AI (1), and right angular and right AI (2). Abbreviations: AI, anterior insula; vmPFC, ventromedial prefrontal cortex. *These seeds are medial.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal time courses for each pair of seed regions for which functional connectivity is predicted by mind-mindedness or autonomy support (1. vmPFC and right AI, 2. right angular and right AI, 3. vmPFC and left AI, and 4. vmPFC and dACC). The default mode network regions (vmPFC and right angular) are represented by the magenta lines and the salience network regions (dACC and bilateral AI) by the orange lines. Abbreviations: AI, anterior insula; BOLD, blood-oxygen-level dependent; dACC, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex; vmPFC, ventromedial prefrontal cortex.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Autonomy support at 15 months predicts stronger negative functional connectivity between vmPFC and the salience network. Connectivity between vmPFC and dACC (1), vmPFC and left AI (2), and vmPFC and right AI (3). Abbreviations: AI, anterior insula; dACC, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex; vmPFC, ventromedial prefrontal cortex. *These seeds are medial.

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