title: Normal variation in early parental sensitivity predicts child structural brain development.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Early caregiving can have an impact on brain structure and function in children. The influence of extreme caregiving experiences has been demonstrated, but studies on the influence of normal variation in parenting quality are scarce. Moreover, no studies to date have included the role of both maternal and paternal sensitivity in child brain maturation. This study examined the prospective relation between mothers' and fathers' sensitive caregiving in early childhood and brain structure later in childhood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were enrolled in a population-based prenatal cohort. For 191 families, maternal and paternal sensitivity was repeatedly observed when the child was between 1 year and 4 years of age. Head circumference was assessed at 6 weeks, and brain structure was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements at 8 years of age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher levels of parental sensitivity in early childhood were associated with larger total brain volume (adjusted β = 0.15, p = .01) and gray matter volume (adjusted β = 0.16, p = .01) at 8 years, controlling for infant head size. Higher levels of maternal sensitivity in early childhood were associated with a larger gray matter volume (adjusted β = 0.13, p = .04) at 8 years, independent of infant head circumference. Associations with maternal versus paternal sensitivity were not significantly different.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Normal variation in caregiving quality is related to markers of more optimal brain development in children. The results illustrate the important role of both mothers and fathers in child brain development.
authors.affiliation: Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Generation R Study Group, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Rianne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kok
authors.affiliation: Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Generation R Study Group, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thijssen
authors.affiliation: Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marian J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bakermans-Kranenburg
authors.affiliation: Generation R Study Group, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Erasmus MC: University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Vincent W V
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Jaddoe
authors.affiliation: Erasmus MC: University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frank C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Verhulst
authors.affiliation: Erasmus MC: University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Tonya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marinus H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: van IJzendoorn
authors.affiliation: Erasmus MC: University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address: h.tiemeier@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tiemeier
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
keywords: MRI; brain structure; father; mother; sensitivity