Infant autonomic nervous system response and recovery: Associations with maternal risk status and infant emotion regulation

Abstract

This study examined whether risk status and cumulative risk were associated with autonomic nervous system reactivity and recovery, and emotion regulation in infants. The sample included 121 6-month-old infants. Classification of risk status was based on World Health Organization criteria (e.g., presence of maternal psychopathology, substance use, and social adversity). Heart rate, parasympathetic respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and sympathetic preejection period were examined at baseline and across the still face paradigm. Infant emotion regulation was coded during the still face paradigm. Infants in the high-risk group showed increased heart rate, parasympathetic withdrawal, and sympathetic activation during recovery from the still face episode. Higher levels of cumulative risk were associated with increased sympathetic nervous system activation. Moreover, increased heart rate during recovery in the high-risk group was mediated by both parasympathetic and sympathetic activity, indicating mobilization of sympathetic resources when confronted with socioemotional challenge. Distinct indirect pathways were observed from maternal risk to infant emotion regulation during the still face paradigm through parasympathetic and sympathetic regulation. These findings underline the importance of specific measures of parasympathetic and sympathetic response and recovery, and indicate that maternal risk is associated with maladaptive regulation of stress early in life reflecting increased risk for later psychopathology.

Prenatal risk and physical aggression during the first years of life: The gender‐specific role of inhibitory control

“…(); Suurland et al. ()). The prenatal cumulative risk score ranged from 0 to 3: 59.9% had no risk factors, 21.1% had one risk factor, 14.9% had two risk factors, and 4.3% had three risk factors.…”

“…Prenatal cumulative risk was computed by adding the number of risk factors present during the first data wave (Mejdoubi et al, 2011;World Health Organization, 2005) (Norbeck, Lindsey, & Carrieri, 1981, 1983, and (j) being single (see for more detailed information about the criteria: Smaling et al (2015); Suurland et al (2017)). The prenatal cumulative risk score ranged from 0 to 3: 59.9% had no risk factors, 21.1% had one risk factor, 14.9% had two risk factors, and 4.3% had three risk factors.…”

Aggression in toddlerhood: The roles of parental beliefs, parenting behavior and precursors of theory of mind

“…For the current study, data from the Mother–Infant Neurodevelopment Study in Leiden (MINDS‐Leiden, The Netherlands; Smaling et al, ; Suurland et al, ) were used. MINDS‐Leiden is a longitudinal study examining the neurobiological and neurocognitive predictors of early behavior problems.…”

Infant emotional responses to challenge predict empathic behavior in toddlerhood

“…Sympathetic activity can be measured by pre‐ejection period, which represents the time between the depolarization of the left ventricle (onset of the heartbeat) and the onset of the left ventricular ejection of blood into the aorta. Although measurement of sympathetic activity by skin conductance level is more common, pre‐ejection period is considered a more direct indicator of cardiac sympathetic activity that can reliably be used in infancy (Alkon et al, ; Cacioppo et al, ; Suurland et al, ). Increased sympathetic activity in response to emotional challenge, which is reflected by shortening of the pre‐ejection period, has been associated with fewer behavioral problems (Boyce et al, ; Stifter et al, ).…”

“…Our aim was to predict empathy from emotional responses in early infancy. Although emotional responses are present from birth, they were examined at age 6 months because previous studies indicated that physiological measurements can only be considered reliable from age 6 months (Alkon et al, ; Cacioppo et al, ; Suurland et al, ). As discussed above, empathic distress (ie, personal distress and comfort seeking) is clearly present early in development, but becomes relatively less important in early childhood.…”