Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2019 Feb;136:64-72. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.03.018. Epub 2018 Mar 24.
In animals, adverse early experience alters oxytocinergic and glucocorticoid activity and maternal behavior in adulthood. This preliminary study explored associations among childhood trauma (loss of a parent or sexual abuse in childhood), maternal self-efficacy, and leukocyte gene expression (mRNA) of oxytocin and glucocorticoid receptors (OXTR and NR3C1) in mothers of infants.
62 mothers (20 with early life trauma) with healthy 3-month old infants reported maternal self-efficacy, depression, infant temperament, and overall social support; the effects of early trauma on these measures were assessed. Of these, 35 mothers (14 with early trauma) underwent blood draws after 2 infant feeding times; their OXTR and NR3C1 mRNA was compared to a control group of 25 no-infant women without early trauma, and also was examined for associations with self-efficacy.
OXTR mRNA was increased in mothers of infants versus no-infant controls (p < 0.0003), and mothers with greatest prior maternal experience had higher OXTR than those with less experience (0-2 vs. 3+ older children, p < 0.033). Mothers with early trauma and less maternal experience had lower OXTR mRNA than no-trauma mothers (p < 0.029) and lower NR3C1 mRNA than controls (p < 0.004). Mothers with depression also had lower NR3C1 than other mothers (p < 0.003) but did not differ in OXTR. Mothers with early trauma also reported their support network to be less helpful and more upsetting and unpredictable than other mothers (p < 0.035-p < 0.005). Regarding maternal behavior, in mothers with early trauma, helpful support networks increased self-reported nurturing self-efficacy when babies were not fussy but decreased it with fussy babies (p < 0.05). Support was unrelated to self-efficacy in no-trauma mothers. Similarly, among mothers with low OXTR or NR3C1 (-1SD, most having early trauma and lower maternal experience), greater support was associated with lower self-efficacy (p < 0.05), while mothers with high OXTR or NR3C1 (+1SD) tended to have higher self-efficacy with greater support.
These preliminary findings need confirmation in a larger sample but suggest that childhood trauma influences maternal behavior and both OXTR and NR3C1 pathways in mothers of infants, and that both depression and prior maternal experience may be other important factors. Effects on maternal behavior appear to require more complex modeling.
在动物中，早期的不良经历会改变成年后的催产素能和糖皮质激素活性以及母性行为。这项初步研究探讨了童年创伤（失去父母或性虐待）、母亲自我效能感与白细胞催产素和糖皮质激素受体（OXTR 和 NR3C1）基因表达之间的关联，研究对象为婴儿的母亲。
62 名母亲（20 名有早期生活创伤）报告了母亲自我效能感、抑郁、婴儿气质和整体社会支持情况；评估了早期创伤对这些指标的影响。其中，35 名母亲（14 名有早期创伤）在两次婴儿喂养后进行了血液抽取；将她们的 OXTR 和 NR3C1mRNA 与 25 名没有婴儿的无早期创伤女性对照组进行比较，并与自我效能感进行了相关性分析。
与无婴儿对照组相比，婴儿母亲的 OXTRmRNA 升高（p<0.0003），并且具有更多先前母婴经验的母亲的 OXTR 高于经验较少的母亲（0-2 岁 vs. 3+岁以上儿童，p<0.033）。有早期创伤和较少母婴经验的母亲的 OXTRmRNA 低于无创伤母亲（p<0.029），NR3C1mRNA 也低于对照组（p<0.004）。有抑郁的母亲的 NR3C1 也低于其他母亲（p<0.003），但 OXTR 则不然。有早期创伤的母亲还报告说，她们的支持网络比其他母亲更不有用、更令人不安和不可预测（p<0.035-p<0.005）。关于母婴行为，在有早期创伤的母亲中，当婴儿不挑剔时，有益的支持网络会增加自我报告的养育自我效能感，但当婴儿挑剔时，这种自我效能感会降低（p<0.05）。在无创伤母亲中，支持与自我效能感无关。同样，在 OXTR 或 NR3C1 较低的母亲（-1SD，大多数有早期创伤和较少的母婴经验）中，更大的支持与更低的自我效能感相关（p<0.05），而 OXTR 或 NR3C1 较高的母亲（+1SD）在有更大支持时自我效能感往往更高。
这些初步发现需要在更大的样本中得到证实，但表明童年创伤会影响婴儿母亲的母婴行为以及 OXTR 和 NR3C1 途径，并且抑郁和先前的母婴经验可能是其他重要因素。对母婴行为的影响似乎需要更复杂的建模。
