title: Insensitive parenting may accelerate the development of the amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex circuit.
abstract: This study examined whether the association between age and amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) connectivity in typically developing 6- to 10-year-old children is correlated with parental care. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired from 124 children of the Generation R Study who at 4 years old had been observed interacting with their parents to assess maternal and paternal sensitivity. Amygdala functional connectivity was assessed using a general linear model with the amygdalae time series as explanatory variables. Higher level analyses assessing Sensitivity × Age as well as exploratory Sensitivity × Age × Gender interaction effects were performed restricted to voxels in the mPFC. We found significant Sensitivity × Age interaction effects on amygdala-mPFC connectivity. Age was related to stronger amygdala-mPFC connectivity in children with a lower combined parental sensitivity score (b = 0.11, p = .004, b = 0.06, p = .06, right and left amygdala, respectively), but not in children with a higher parental sensitivity score, (b = -0.07, p = .12, b = -0.06, p = .12, right and left amygdala, respectively). A similar effect was found for maternal sensitivity, with stronger amygdala-mPFC connectivity in children with less sensitive mothers. Exploratory (parental, maternal, paternal) Sensitivity × Age × Gender interaction analyses suggested that this effect was especially pronounced in girls. Amygdala-mPFC resting-state functional connectivity has been shown to increase from age 10.5 years onward, implying that the positive association between age and amygdala-mPFC connectivity in 6- to 10-year-old children of less sensitive parents represents accelerated development of the amygdala-mPFC circuit.
authors.affiliation: Leiden University.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thijssen
authors.affiliation: Erasmus University Medical Center,Rotterdam.
authors.forename: Ryan L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Muetzel
authors.affiliation: Leiden University.
authors.forename: Marian J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bakermans-Kranenburg
authors.affiliation: Erasmus University Medical Center,Rotterdam.
authors.forename: Vincent W V
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Jaddoe
authors.affiliation: Erasmus University Medical Center,Rotterdam.
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tiemeier
authors.affiliation: Erasmus University Medical Center,Rotterdam.
authors.forename: Frank C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Verhulst
authors.affiliation: Erasmus University Medical Center,Rotterdam.
authors.forename: Tonya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Leiden University.
authors.forename: Marinus H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Van Ijzendoorn
mesh_terms: D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D063132:Connectome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012737:Sex Factors