Children's neurocognitive development can cast long shadows on their futures, dramatically influencing their occupational functioning and psychosocial adjustment. While it is increasingly recognized that normative variation in early environmental experiences (i.e. parenting style), plays a significant role in shaping cognitive development, evidence indicates that the impact of the environment on cognitive development begins in utero. Two common experiences during pregnancy, psychosocial stress and inadequate micronutrient intake - prominently, iron and zinc, affect outcomes. Prenatal anxiety predicts delayed mental and motor development on the Bayley Scales in infancy, and a reduction in gray matter in the middle temporal lobe based on brain imaging in school-age children. Animal models have demonstrated that antenatal corticosteroid administration is associated with neurocognitive disabilities (i.e. difficulty learning) and structural brain changes such as reduction in hippocampal volume. Infants born to Zinc-deficient mothers show signs of memory impairment. Across both prenatal exposures, what differentiates the animal from the human studies is access to the neonatal brain. The goal of this project is to assess the influence of maternal prenatal stress and poor nutrition on neonatal brain structure and function, and to relate the imaging measures to cognitive outcomes in early childhood. The pro- posed R01 study is a follow-up to an ARRA-funded R01 assessing biopsychosocial stress and nutrition during adolescent pregnancy. Specifically, we have three primary aims to be carried out with pregnant adolescents (ages 15 -19) and their infants: (1) To determine associations between maternal antenatal stress and nutrition, and variation in newborn brain development (from multi-modal imaging). (2) To determine the neural bases of deficits in specific learning and memory tasks, and a general index of cognitive development, associated with prenatal stress and inadequate nutrition. (3) To determine the bidirectional influences between maternal care (i.e. maternal sensitivity and mother-infant attachment style) and infants'emerging learning and memory capacities. Establishing brain-associated relationships between these prenatal exposures and infant cognition has the potential to help specify the in utero developmental effects of two experiences common to pregnancy, high stress and inadequate nutrition, potentially constraining children's future learning even before birth. Such results would have significant public health relevance with respect to policy and early intervention approaches. They also could contribute to the identification of exposure-related 'brain signatures'to be used for diagnostic and treatment purposes, much as is emerging in imaging studies of depression.

Public Health Relevance

The goal of this project is to assess the relationship between maternal prenatal stress and poor nutrition and newborn babies'brain structure and function, and to relate multi-modal imaging measures (MRI) of the new- born baby's brain to neurocognitive outcomes in early childhood. Establishing brain-associated relationships between these prenatal exposures and infant cognition has the potential to specify how women's experiences during pregnancy influence their baby's development, potentially affecting children's future learning even be- fore birth. These results could be very relevant to public health and could inform policy, early intervention approaches, and help to identify brain features that could inform diagnosis and treatment.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01MH093677-01A1
Application #
8239372
Study Section
Cognition and Perception Study Section (CP)
Program Officer
Zehr, Julia L
Project Start
2011-09-23
Project End
2016-06-30
Budget Start
2011-09-23
Budget End
2012-06-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$720,002
Indirect Cost
Name
Columbia University (N.Y.)
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
621889815
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10032
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Gustafsson, Hanna; Doyle, Colleen; Gilchrist, Michelle et al. (2017) Maternal abuse history and reduced fetal heart rate variability: Abuse-related sleep disturbance is a mediator. Dev Psychopathol 29:1023-1034
Merz, Emily C; McDonough, Laraine; Huang, Yong Lin et al. (2017) The mobile conjugate reinforcement paradigm in a lab setting. Dev Psychobiol 59:668-672
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Singh, Angelie; Trumpff, Caroline; Genkinger, Jeanine et al. (2017) Micronutrient Dietary Intake in Latina Pregnant Adolescents and Its Association with Level of Depression, Stress, and Social Support. Nutrients 9:
O'Connor, Thomas G; Monk, Catherine; Burke, Anne S (2016) Maternal Affective Illness in the Perinatal Period and Child Development: Findings on Developmental Timing, Mechanisms, and Intervention. Curr Psychiatry Rep 18:24
Walsh, Kate; Basu, Archana; Werner, Elizabeth et al. (2016) Associations Among Child Abuse, Depression, and Interleukin-6 in Pregnant Adolescents: Paradoxical Findings. Psychosom Med 78:920-930
Monk, Catherine; Georgieff, Michael K; Xu, Dongrong et al. (2016) Maternal prenatal iron status and tissue organization in the neonatal brain. Pediatr Res 79:482-8
Goodman, Jarid; Marsh, Rachel; Peterson, Bradley S et al. (2014) Annual research review: The neurobehavioral development of multiple memory systems--implications for childhood and adolescent psychiatric disorders. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 55:582-610
Horga, Guillermo; Kaur, Tejal; Peterson, Bradley S (2014) Annual research review: Current limitations and future directions in MRI studies of child- and adult-onset developmental psychopathologies. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 55:659-80

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