Neonatal Nucleus Accumbens Microstructure Modulates Individual Susceptibility to Preconception Maternal Stress in Relation to Externalizing Behaviors.

Objective: Maternal stress influences in utero brain development and is a modifiable risk factor for offspring psychopathologies. Reward circuitry dysfunction underlies various internalizing and externalizing psychopathologies. This study examined (1) the association between maternal stress and microstructural characteristics of the neonatal nucleus accumbens (NAcc), a major node of the reward circuitry, and (2) whether neonatal NAcc microstructure modulates individual susceptibility to maternal stress in relation to childhood behavioral problems.

Screen time, brain network development and socio-emotional competence in childhood: moderation of associations by parent-child reading.

Background: Screen time in infancy is linked to changes in social-emotional development but the pathway underlying this association remains unknown. We aim to provide mechanistic insights into this association using brain network topology and to examine the potential role of parent-child reading in mitigating the effects of screen time.

Methods: We examined the association of screen time on brain network topology using linear regression analysis and tested if the network topology mediated the association between screen time and later socio-emotional competence.

Associations Between Infant Screen Use, Electroencephalography Markers, and Cognitive Outcomes.

Importance: Research evidence is mounting for the association between infant screen use and negative cognitive outcomes related to attention and executive functions. The nature, timing, and persistence of screen time exposure on neural functions are currently unknown. Electroencephalography (EEG) permits elucidation of the neural correlates associated with cognitive impairments.