Publications by authors named "Mercedes Hoeflich Haase"
Article Synopsis
- Poor prenatal sleep quality in mothers is linked to negative outcomes for both the mother and infant, including changes in brain development and increased anxiety-like behaviors.
- A study involving 116 mother-infant pairs used surveys to assess maternal sleep quality and MRI scans to examine neonatal brain development, specifically focusing on the uncinate fasciculus.
- Results showed that poorer maternal sleep during pregnancy correlated with higher levels of white matter in infants, which then related to greater infant negative emotionality, indicating that maternal sleep is an important environmental factor influencing child development.
Article Synopsis
- Maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) significantly impact both maternal mental health and infant brain development, specifically affecting emotional and sensory processing circuits.
- The study analyzed 101 mother-infant pairs and found that infants of mothers with high ACEs (2 or more) had decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), suggesting potential issues in neural circuit development.
- Additionally, exploratory analyses indicated differences in visual processing networks and other brain circuits, highlighting the broader implications of maternal ACEs on infant brain structure and development.
Background: A large body of research supports the deleterious effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on disease susceptibility and health for both the exposed individual and the next generation. It is likely that there is an intergenerational transmission of risk from mother to child; however, the mechanisms through which such risk is conferred remain unknown. The current study evaluated the association between maternal ACEs, neonatal brain development of the amygdala and hippocampus, and later infant negative emotionality at six months of age.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The rapid maturation of the fetal brain renders the fetus susceptible to prenatal environmental signals. Prenatal maternal sleep quality is known to have important health implications for newborns including risk for preterm birth, however, the effect on the fetal brain is poorly understood.
Method: Participants included 94 pregnant participants and their newborns (53% female).