title: Prenatal maternal depression alters amygdala functional connectivity in 6-month-old infants.
abstract: Prenatal maternal depression is associated with alterations in the neonatal amygdala microstructure, shedding light on the timing for the influence of prenatal maternal depression on the brain structure of the offspring. This study aimed to examine the association between prenatal maternal depressive symptomatology and infant amygdala functional connectivity and to thus establish the neural functional basis for the transgenerational transmission of vulnerability for affective disorders during prenatal development. Twenty-four infants were included in this study with both structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) at 6 months of age. Maternal depression was assessed at 26 weeks of gestation and 3 months after delivery using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Linear regression was used to identify the amygdala functional networks and to examine the associations between prenatal maternal depressive symptoms and amygdala functional connectivity. Our results showed that at 6 months of age, the amygdala is functionally connected to widespread brain regions, forming the emotional regulation, sensory and perceptual, and emotional memory networks. After controlling for postnatal maternal depressive symptoms, infants born to mothers with higher prenatal maternal depressive symptoms showed greater functional connectivity of the amygdala with the left temporal cortex and insula, as well as the bilateral anterior cingulate, medial orbitofrontal and ventromedial prefrontal cortices, which are largely consistent with patterns of connectivity observed in adolescents and adults with major depressive disorder. Our study provides novel evidence that prenatal maternal depressive symptomatology alters the amygdala's functional connectivity in early postnatal life, which reveals that the neuroimaging correlates of the familial transmission of phenotypes associated with maternal mood are apparent in infants at 6 months of age.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Biomedical Engineering and Clinical Imaging Research Center, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore [2] Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering and Clinical Imaging Research Center, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: T T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Anh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering and Clinical Imaging Research Center, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rifkin-Graboi
authors.affiliation: 1] Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Singapore, Singapore [2] Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: B F P
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Broekman
authors.affiliation: KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kwek
authors.affiliation: Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: S-M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Saw
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Y-S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.affiliation: Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Gluckman
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Fortier
authors.affiliation: 1] Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Singapore, Singapore [2] Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada [3] Sackler Program for Epigenetics and Psychobiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Meaney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D009929:Organ Size; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*