Integrative Neurosciences, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science and Technology, Brenner Centre for Molecular Medicine, Singapore 117609;
Centre for Research in Child Development, Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore S637616.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Aug 20;116(34):16787-16792. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1900362116. Epub 2019 Aug 5.
Attachment disorganization is a risk factor for difficulties in attention, social relationships, and mental health. Conceptually, attachment disorganization may indicate a breakdown in fear regulation resulting from repeated exposure to frightening maternal care. In addition, past research has examined the influence of stress-inducing contextual factors and/or child factors upon the development of disorganization. However, no past work has assessed whether infant neuroanatomy, important to stress regulation, moderates the association between maternal care and levels of disorganized behavior. Here, utilizing data from a subsample of 82 dyads taking part in the "Growing Up in Singapore towards Healthy Outcomes" (GUSTO) cohort, we assessed the prediction from maternal sensitive caregiving at 6 mo and levels of attachment disorganization at 1.5 y, as moderated by hippocampal and amygdala volume determined within the first 2 weeks of life. Results indicate a significant interaction between neonatal left hippocampal volume and maternal sensitivity upon levels of disorganized behavior. Although these results require substantiation in further research, if replicated, they may enable new strategies for the identification of processes important to child mental health and points for intervention. This is because neonatal neuroanatomy, as opposed to genetic variation and sociodemographic risk, may be more directly linked to stress responses within individuals.
依恋不组织是注意力、社会关系和心理健康困难的一个风险因素。从概念上讲，依恋不组织可能表明由于反复接触可怕的母性照顾而导致的恐惧调节的崩溃。此外，过去的研究已经检查了应激诱导的环境因素和/或儿童因素对不组织发展的影响。然而，过去的工作并没有评估婴儿神经解剖结构（对压力调节很重要）是否会调节母婴关系与不组织行为水平之间的关联。在这里，我们利用参加“新加坡成长为健康结果”（GUSTO）队列的 82 对双胞胎中的一个子样本的数据，评估了在 6 个月时母婴敏感照顾与 1.5 岁时的依恋不组织水平之间的预测关系，由生命头两周内确定的海马体和杏仁核体积调节。结果表明，新生儿左侧海马体体积和母婴敏感性对不组织行为水平的显著交互作用。尽管这些结果需要在进一步的研究中得到证实，但如果得到证实，它们可能为确定对儿童心理健康重要的过程和干预点提供新的策略。这是因为新生儿神经解剖结构与遗传变异和社会人口风险相反，可能与个体内部的应激反应更直接相关。
