Exposure to unpredictable maternal sensory signals influences cognitive development across species.

ABSTRACT: Maternal care is a critical determinant of child development. However, our understanding of processes and mechanisms by which maternal behavior influences the developing human brain remains limited. Animal research has illustrated that patterns of sensory information is important in shaping neural circuits during development. Here we examined the relation between degree of predictability of maternal sensory signals early in life and subsequent cognitive function in both humans (n = 128 mother/infant dyads) and rats (n = 12 dams; 28 adolescents). Behaviors of mothers interacting with their offspring were observed in both species, and an entropy rate was calculated as a quantitative measure of degree of predictability of transitions among maternal sensory signals (visual, audit

SUBMITTER: Davis EP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5625898 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature