title: Tobacco Smoking and the Resting Maternal Brain: A Preliminary Study of Frontal EEG.
abstract: Tobacco smoking has been attributed to a wide range of detrimental health consequences for both women and their children. In addition to its known physical health effects, smoking may also impact maternal neural responses and subsequent caregiving behavior. To begin investigating this issue, we employed electroencephalography (EEG) to examine resting neural oscillations of tobacco-smoking mothers (n = 35) and non-smoking mothers (n = 35). We examined seven EEG frequency bands recorded from frontal electrode sites (delta, theta, alpha, alpha1, alpha2, beta, and gamma). While no between-group differences were present in high-frequency bands (alpha2, beta, gamma), smokers showed greater spectral power in low-frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, alpha1) compared to non-smokers. This increased power in low-frequency bands of tobacco-smoking mothers is consistent with a less aroused state and may be one mechanism through which smoking might affect the maternal brain and caregiving behavior.
authors.affiliation: Sewanee: The University of the South, Departments of Biology and Chemistry, Sewanee, TN, USA; Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Haley E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Wilbanks
authors.affiliation: Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Von Mohr
authors.affiliation: Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Departments of Psychiatry and Neurobiology and CASAColumbia, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Marc N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Potenza
authors.affiliation: Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Linda C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Mayes
authors.affiliation: Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Helena J V
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Rutherford
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Tobacco smoking; electroencephalography; motherhood