The Influence of Maternal Parenting Style on the Neural Correlates of Emotion Processing in Children

Elena Pozzi; Julian G Simmons; Chad A Bousman; Nandita Vijayakumar; Katherine O Bray; Orwa Dandash; Sally Richmond; Orli Schwartz; Marc Seal; Lisa Sheeber; Marie B H Yap; Nicholas B Allen; Sarah L Whittle

doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2019.01.018

The Influence of Maternal Parenting Style on the Neural Correlates of Emotion Processing in Children

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2020 Feb;59(2):274-282. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2019.01.018. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, the University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: elena.pozzi@unimelb.edu.au.
² Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, the University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Australia; Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne.
³ University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and with the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, Alberta.
⁴ University of Oregon, Eugene.
⁵ Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne.
⁶ Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, the University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Australia.
⁷ Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital, the University of Melbourne.
⁸ Oregon Research Institute, Eugene.
⁹ School of Psychological Sciences, Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, and with the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne.

PMID: 30877054
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2019.01.018

Abstract

Objective: The importance of parenting in influencing mental health outcomes, particularly depression, during childhood and adolescence is well known. However, the mechanisms are unclear. Emotion processing impairments in children are believed to be influenced by negative parenting behaviors and fundamental to depression. As such, investigating the association between parenting behavior and the neural underpinnings of emotion processing in children could provide fundamental clues as to the link between parenting and depression.

Method: Eighty-six children (49 girls, mean age 10.1 years), as part of a longitudinal study, participated. Observational measures of maternal behavior were collected during 2 mother-child interactions. Children underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing an implicit emotion-processing task, and measures of child internalizing symptoms were collected.

Results: Maternal negative behavior exhibited during an event-planning interaction was associated with decreased activation in the lingual gyrus in girls, whereas maternal negative behavior during a problem-solving interaction was associated with increased amygdala activation in the entire sample during processing of angry and fearful faces. Maternal communicative behavior during the 2 mother-child interactions was associated with increased activity in the bilateral middle orbitofrontal cortex in the entire sample. Negative behavior during the problem-solving interaction was associated with connectivity between the amygdala and superior parietal lobe. Brain activity/connectivity was not related to internalizing symptoms.

Conclusion: Results suggest that, in children, maternal behavior could be associated with activity in brain regions involved in emotion processing. However, more research is needed to elucidate the link among parenting, emotion processing, and depressive symptoms in young people.

Keywords: brain function; childhood; emotions; internalizing symptoms; parenting.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Child
Emotions*
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Maternal Behavior
Mother-Child Relations
Parenting*