Infants' neural responses to emotional faces are related to maternal anxiety.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Postnatal maternal anxiety is common (estimates as high as 40% prevalence) and is associated with altered mother-infant interactions (e.g., reduced maternal emotional expression and engagement). Neural circuitry supporting infants' face and emotion processing develops in their first year. Thus, early exposure to maternal anxiety may impact infants' developing understanding of emotional displays. We examine whether maternal anxiety is associated with individual differences in typically developing infants' neural responses to emotional faces.

Methods

One hundred and forty two mother-infant dyads were assessed when infants were 5, 7, or 12 months old. Infants' electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded while passively viewing female happy, fearful, and angry fa

SUBMITTER: Bowman LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9644832 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature