Birth by cesarean section (CS) is associated with a higher incidence of dopamine (DA)-related disorders compared to vaginal delivery (VD). The mesolimbic (ML) system encompasses DAergic neurons that modulate processes underlying learning, motivation, and food intake. Previous work has found lower levels of DA in the prefrontal cortex and higher levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of CS offspring. Since alterations in the ML-DA system after CS birth may impact behavioral response to rewarding stimuli, we aimed to ascertain the behavioral and neurodevelopmental outcomes relevant to food reward in CS prairie vole offspring. This study utilized conditioned place preference (CPP) testing to assess learning, operant conditioning to assess motivation to receive a reinforcer, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to stain for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the NAc. Behavioral results showed no difference in preference for the conditioned chamber between CS offspring and their VD counterparts. CS prairie vole offspring had a lower average breakpoint during progressive ratio testing compared to VD offspring. IHC results showed CS offspring had lower levels of TH-immunoreactivity in the NAc core and shell. These findings further support that delivery by CS has long-term neurodevelopmental effects and that CS offspring have decreased food motivation independent of deficits in learning.

Infant face recognition shows plasticity, with recent evidence indicating enhancement by the presence of emotional facial expressions. The mechanisms and domain-generality of this effect remain largely unknown. This study tested whether auditory emotional cues (vocalizations) facilitated infants' recognition of other-race faces, a perceptual challenge during the first year of life. Infants (N = 89) were presented with emotionally neutral faces paired with happy, sad, or neutral vocal sounds in a within-subjects design. Experiment 1 assessed recognition using identical face images between the familiarization and test phases, while Experiment 2 examined face recognition across viewpoint changes. Across both experiments, infants exhibited successful face recognition only when they were learned with emotional sounds (happy and sad). This facilitative effect remained stable across the tested age range and did not differ between happy and sad vocalizations. Infants' eye movement data revealed comparable face-looking patterns across conditions, suggesting that the facilitation was not driven by changes in visual attention. Thus, incidental, cross-modal emotional signals significantly enhance infant face recognition. This underscores the early integrative nature of emotion processing and its catalytic role in cognitive development.

Sexual minority (SM) adolescents are at a higher risk of depression compared to their heterosexual peers, indicating a need for multimethod research to identify risk and resilience factors for SM youth. In a sample of 165 adolescents who completed an interview-based acute stress exposure assessment and an interpersonal emotional images task to elicit the late positive potential (LPP) derived from electroencephalogram (EEG), we aimed to investigate (1) differences in the severity of acute interpersonal stress exposure (including peer and family stressors) and depressive symptoms in SM relative to heterosexual adolescents, (2) neural responses to interpersonal emotional images as moderators of the association between SM identity and depressive symptoms, and (3) whether these interactions persist when accounting for disparities in exposure to recent interpersonal stressors. SM adolescents reported higher depressive symptoms and were exposed to more severe recent peer (but not family) stressors than heterosexual adolescents. LPP responses to both positive and negative interpersonal images moderated the association between SM identity and depressive symptoms, such that a relatively blunted LPP potentiated the association. Interactions remained significant when accounting for the severity of peer stressors, suggesting the unique role of neural responses to interpersonal emotional images in depressive symptoms in SM adolescents.

This study investigates the complex predictors of postpartum depression (PPD) among women affected by the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, focusing on the roles of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), psychological resilience, and mother-infant attachment. A cross-sectional study of 270 postpartum women utilized measures of PTSS (Impact of Event Scale-Revised [IES-R]), PPD (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale [EPDS]), psychological resilience (Brief Psychological Resilience Scale [BPRS]), and mother-infant attachment (Mother-Infant Attachment Scale [MIAS]). Initial analyses showed that disaster-related exposure (e.g., following news and losing relatives) was significantly associated with PTSS severity. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that PTSS was a significant positive predictor of PPD. Crucially, psychological resilience was found not only to be a direct negative predictor of PPD but also a significant moderator, weakening the positive relationship between PTSS and PPD. Furthermore, mother-infant attachment was a significant independent negative predictor of PPD, contributing to the variance beyond trauma and resilience. The findings confirm that in a post-disaster context, PTSS is a major risk factor for PPD, while psychological resilience serves a critical buffering function, and a strong mother-infant bond offers unique protection. These results underscore the necessity for integrated interventions that address trauma, foster resilience, and support the mother-infant relationship to mitigate PPD in vulnerable populations.

Recent calls emphasize the need to diversify samples in developmental psychobiology regarding race and ethnicity. However, there is limited guidance on effective methods to involve individuals from marginalized communities in research, or which issues these participants prioritize when considering involvement in studies with neurobiological data collection. Here, we explore these motivations for caregivers with children of color who participated in developmental psychobiology research and how their racial/ethnic identities influenced their experience. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 caregivers whose children participated in a study exploring adversity and brain development (61.5% self-identify as Black; 100% self-identifying as a woman). Using thematic analysis, we observed that caregivers participated to spend quality time with their child, gain insights to inform their parenting, diversify research, and satisfy their own scientific curiosity. While caregivers generally reported enjoying their participation, they additionally reported remaining mindful of how they present themselves among research staff to mitigate negative stereotypes and keep their families safe, consistent with known historical harm from the scientific community. Lastly, caregiver's feedback on how to increase representation and better disseminate study findings are reported. These results emphasize the importance of centering participants of color to improve representation and minimize harm in psychobiological study procedures.

Cumulative family stress (cumulative FS), characterized by mother-reported co-occurring stressors in a family context, may be biologically embedded through DNA methylation (DNAm) and contribute to later health outcomes, including psychopathology. To illuminate tissue specificity in association with cumulative FS across two accessible tissues, we compared epigenome-wide DNAm associations in buccal epithelial cells (BECs; n = 218) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs; n = 51) from 7- to 13-year-old children in Canada, accounting for sex, age, predicted cell-type proportion, and genetic ancestry. We found that higher levels of cumulative FS were associated with DNAm at seven sites, primarily in stress- and immune-related genes, only in PBMCs but not in BECs. Matched tissue samples (n = 50) also indicated limited cross-tissue concordance. These associations were partly explained by negative but not positive mother-child relationship. Our findings suggested that PBMC DNAm can be used as a marker for biological embedding of cumulative FS and highlighted cross-tissue specificity of the associations of DNAm with cumulative FS.

Parent-child synchrony, or coordination of behavioral, affective, and physiological responding during dyadic interactions, is associated with numerous positive child outcomes. Research considering how parental psychopathology influences synchrony, however, has failed to assess cooccurring parenting behaviors and styles that may influence synchrony. The current study assessed how parental history of depressive disorders, parenting styles and behaviors, and child behaviors during a dyadic interaction influence parent-child adrenocortical synchrony (PCAS). Participants included 40 parent-child dyads with children aged between 8 and 13 years (M = 10 years), with about half (47%) of parents meeting criteria for lifetime depressive disorders. Parent and child cortisol levels were measured before, during, and after children completed a challenging task with parents observing nearby. Dyads completed questionnaire measures of parenting styles, and video recordings were coded to assess parent and child behaviors during the task. Using multilevel regression analyses, we found that both parent- and child-reported greater parental firmness were associated with negative PCAS. Furthermore, fewer child help-seeking behaviors during the challenging task were associated with negative PCAS. Parental history of depressive disorders, however, did not influence PCAS. These results suggest that parent and child behaviors may influence the direction and magnitude of PCAS during middle childhood over and above parental psychopathology.

Racial discrimination (RD) increases the risk of fear-based disorders, such as anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and alters activity in brain regions important for fear extinction in adults. However, little is known about these associations in adolescence-a key period for the emergence of these disorders-especially among Black youth, who frequently experience RD. This study examined RD's links to anxiety, PTSD symptoms, fear extinction, and brain activity in 54 Black youth (54% female; M ± SD age = 13 ± 2.27 years). Participants completed questionnaires and an fMRI-based Pavlovian fear extinction task. Conditioned fear was measured via skin conductance responses (SCRs), behavioral avoidance, and self-reported fear. Neural activation was examined in the amygdala, hippocampus, and anterior cingulate cortex. Regressions examined associations between RD, symptoms, conditioned fear, and brain activity during extinction. Higher RD was linked to higher anxiety and PTSD symptoms, as well as differential patterns of behavioral avoidance. There were no effects of RD on SCRs or self-reported fear. RD was associated with greater right hippocampal activity to the threat cue relative to the safety cue, and hippocampal activity had an indirect effect on the link between RD and behavioral avoidance. RD-related differences in avoidance behavior and hippocampal activity are associated with fear-based symptoms in Black adolescents, highlighting potential pathways for further investigation.

Newborn neurobehavior is a critical indicator of early childhood development. Therefore, we examined perinatal predictors of neurobehavioral patterns among healthy, medically low-risk infants. Participants include 385 mothers and infants. Self-reported emotion dysregulation and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) data were collected during the third trimester. Infant neurobehavior was measured approximately 24-h after birth (M = 3.61, SD = 8.39, range = 1-61 days) using the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS). Latent profile analysis identified three NNNS profiles. Infants in the high-arousal, high-stress profile (P3) demonstrated more dysregulated neurobehavior than infants in the high-attention, moderate-regulation profile (P1) or the low-arousal, high-lethargy profile (P2). There were no differences between profiles on infant sex, head circumference, or APGAR scores. Differences in birth gestational age were minimal. Expectant mothers with lower emotion dysregulation were more likely to have infants in P3 than P2. Mothers with more flexible autonomic responses-RSA decreases to a stress task and better recovery-were more likely to have infants in P1 and P2 than P3. We successfully replicated low-risk NNNS profiles, suggesting that the NNNS is a reliable assessment tool for healthy, term infants. Our findings also underscore unexpected and varied associations between maternal emotional wellbeing and fetal development.

As more psychologists engage with marginalized communities for research, the lack of diversity in the academic workforce and inadequate cultural sensitivity training often leads to relying on trainees from underrepresented communities to bridge these gaps-a phenomenon we term "academic brokering." Academic brokering disproportionately burdens underrepresented trainees, tasking them with facilitating their mentors' research by serving as intermediaries between the mentor and the marginalized community to which the mentee belongs, while simultaneously navigating their academic and professional development. This practice introduces significant challenges for trainees, including balancing institutional barriers, cultural expectations, community service pressures, and advocacy efforts. This added burden can exacerbate existing stressors, leading to burnout, impeded productivity, and higher attrition rates among underrepresented trainees. Reliance on academic brokering not only places undue pressure on trainees but also risks compromising the quality and authenticity of research with marginalized communities, as it fails to address the systemic issues of cultural sensitivity and workforce diversity. This paper explores the concept of academic brokering and its impact on trainees, concluding with practical recommendations for increasing diversity in scientific training programs, integrating culturally responsive mentoring, fostering resilience among underrepresented trainees, and advocating for training program-level policies to create more equitable academic environments.

The pre-locomotor version of the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB) provides one of the most widely used observational measures of fear based on the infant's reactivity to a series of four novel masks. Resulting indicators of facial and bodily fear intensity, as well as latency to exhibit a fearful response, have been associated with maternal reports of infant fear as well as frontal electroencephalography (EEG) reactivity. While these measures have been used extensively since the introduction of Lab-TAB, they are typically averaged across the procedure, and differences between the four mask stimuli have not been sufficiently examined. This study addressed this gap in research by examining specific infant reactions, both behaviorally and from a neurophysiological standpoint, to each presentation of the fear-provoking stimuli to better understand factors that impact the expression of fear during this task. Our findings indicated significant differences in behavioral observations of distress and regulation, with the final/fourth mask eliciting stronger reactions; however, there were no such differences in the infants' neurophysiological response. Additionally, neither the fear subscale of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R) nor the Negative Emotionality factor was predictive of infant's neurophysiological changes, distress, or regulation during the episode until examining subgroups based on age or sex. Further analyses of frontal alpha asymmetry across masks indicated that infants may become attuned to these stimuli over the course of the task, leading to less predictive utility than earlier neurophysiological markers. Results also revealed that older infants had differing neurophysiological reactions across the paradigm, whereas no significant differences were noted for younger infants. Finally, differences based on infant sex emerged with regard to temperament predictors of asymmetry. Implications of the discrepancy between results for the EEG asymmetry markers and observed distress/regulation in trial comparisons are discussed.

Maternal mental health has been linked to early physiological regulation in infants, with depression, anxiety, and PTSD shaping autonomic nervous system development. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of parasympathetic control, reflects infants' ability to regulate arousal and predicts later self-regulation. While maternal prenatal distress has been implicated in fetal autonomic programming, the extent to which these effects persist postnatally remains unclear. In the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh, home to nearly 1 million people fleeing genocide, children are exposed to extreme conditions that can undermine biopsychosocial development. This study examines associations between prenatal and postnatal mental health and infant RSA at 6 weeks of age in a sample of Rohingya refugee and Bangladeshi host community mothers in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Findings indicate that postnatal-but not prenatal-distress is associated with lower infant RSA, with postnatal anxiety predicting lower RSA when infants were held and postnatal depression predicting lower RSA across both held and alone conditions. PTSD symptoms were not significantly associated with RSA. These results suggest that postnatal maternal distress may play a more proximal role in shaping infant autonomic function than prenatal exposure alone, underscoring the need for perinatal mental health interventions in displaced populations to support resilience.

Cholesterol has previously been implicated in mental health outcomes but is less frequently studied during adolescence-a period of greater biological sensitivity and heightened risk for depression. In this study, 59 adolescents (ages 13-17) participated in two laboratory visits 3 months apart, during which they completed interviews to assess depressive symptoms and provided blood from which high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were assayed. Multilevel models probed associations between depressive symptoms in relation to between-person and within-person differences in HDL and LDL above and beyond contributions associated with demographic characteristics. Results revealed that, across participants, higher levels of HDL and LDL were independently associated with higher depressive symptom scores. When considering associations within participants, higher levels of LDL relative to the participant's average were likewise associated with more depressive symptoms. Secondary analyses suggested that observed associations were largely not accounted for by BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, pubertal development, or physical activity. Taken together, this study provides preliminary evidence that cholesterol may be associated with depressive symptoms during an important period of development.

Although both vagal regulation and parental marital conflict have been demonstrated to influence individuals' prosociality, research on their interactive influences is almost silent, especially in adolescents. The present study examined the potential quadratic association between resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and adolescents' prosociality and the moderating role of parental marital conflict in this association. Three hundred and twenty-seven junior high school students (M = 13.24 years, SD = 0.47, 45.3% female) participated in this study. The Agreeableness Subscale from the NEO Five Factor Inventory and the Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale were administered to participants to assess their prosociality and parental marital conflict. The electrocardiogram (ECG) data were collected to calculate resting RSA during the resting state. Results indicated a significant quadratic association between resting RSA and adolescents' prosociality, and parental marital conflict played a moderating role in this quadratic association. Specifically, under low and medium levels of parental marital conflict, the quadratic association between resting RSA and adolescents' prosociality was significant, but it was not significant under high levels of parental marital conflict. The findings provide evidence for the quadratic association between resting RSA and prosociality, further deepening the understanding of the biopsychosocial foundations of prosociality.

Maternal experiences of childhood abuse and neglect are increasingly shown to undermine healthy brain development and increase risk for neuropsychiatric problems in offspring. Emerging work suggests that neurobiological consequences of childhood maltreatment may extend across generations, though the mechanisms remain unclear. We examined associations between maternal report of childhood maltreatment, measured by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and offspring white matter (WM) structural connectivity, measured by fractional anisotropy (FA) from diffusion-weighted imaging with a 3T Siemens scanner. Our sample included 58 mothers and their children (ages 4-7, 50% female) from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Maternal report of child maltreatment was associated with greater FA in offspring WM involving the limbic circuitry (i.e., stria terminalis and cingulum) and lower FA in broader projection fibers related to higher cognitive functions (i.e., posterior corona radiata). Child behavior was also evaluated using the Conners Early Childhood (CEC) Parent Rating Scale, revealing increased behavioral concerns associated with maternal childhood maltreatment. These findings are consistent with prior research emphasizing that caregiving adversity may lead to precocial development of limbic systems and less efficient broader cortical maturation. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore maternal childhood maltreatment on offspring's early childhood WM integrity.

The lateralization of brain activity is important for language processing and attention, and atypical patterns of lateralization have been linked to many neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the developmental timing of these patterns and their relationship to emerging ASD characteristics are unclear. In this study, we used data from EEG-IP (International Infant EEG Data Integration Platform), a longitudinal cohort bringing together infants at elevated likelihood for ASD and age-equivalent controls across two sites. We examined brain lateralization in electroencephalography (EEG) power during the first year of life. Overall, we identified differences in gamma band lateralization in infants later diagnosed with ASD at 12 months but not at 6 months. Additionally, we observed a shift from high left gamma band asymmetry at 6 months toward more symmetry by 12 months in our control group, highlighting between-group differences in developmental trajectories in brain oscillatory activity. We found key differences in the lateralization across groups in brain regions within the auditory network, which is thought to be important for language learning. Overall, examining the developmental trajectories of lateralization is a crucial step toward creating more accurate models of brain development and better understanding the underlying mechanisms of neurodevelopmental disorders.

This study examined the effects of two emotion regulation (ER) strategies: reappraisal and distraction on the late positive potential (LPP) in a sample of Latinx children (n = 78, ages 8-11, 50% girls) across sadness, fear, and happiness contexts. We aimed to expand our understanding of ER strategies by (1) examining distraction as a regulatory strategy, (2) assessing discrete emotional contexts rather than aggregating negative emotions, and (3) including Latinx children, an underrepresented demographic in neuroscience and developmental work. Results showed that sadness elicited larger LPP amplitudes than other emotions, highlighting sadness as particularly salient emotion. ER strategies effectively reduced LPP amplitudes for sadness in the early processing window (300-700 ms) but failed to sustain this effect over time (700-3500 ms) and even appeared to intensify neural responses to sadness in later windows, suggesting developmental limitations in children's ability to maintain ER strategies across extended periods. Our findings add to existing work and offer novel and needed evidence of the discrete emotion-dependent effects of ER strategies on the LPP in children.

Wearable sensor technology, particularly accelerometry, is an emerging tool to measure infant motor behavior. We evaluated (1) differences and relationships between accelerometry-derived variables in structured versus unstructured contexts and (2) the convergent validity of accelerometer-derived variables with coded motor behavior during structured motor tasks and with caregiver reports of infant motor behavior. Typically developing infants (n = 176, 6 months adjusted age) were evaluated via bilateral wrist-worn accelerometers during structured, laboratory toy play tasks and at home for 2 days, unstructured. Eleven accelerometer variables quantifying duration, intensity, and variability of movement were extracted from each context and analyzed with respect to five variables from the video-coded structured toy play task and caregiver report (Ages and Stages Questionnaire motor subscales). Infants and parents tolerated the devices as indicated by a usable data rate equivalent to the questionnaire response rate. Accelerometry values from the structured context were generally larger than those from the unstructured context, except for the variance variables. Values across the contexts were moderately and consistently related. Accelerometry variables were related to video-coded variables but were only minimally related to caregiver reports of fine motor behavior. Upper limb accelerometry is a feasible, valid addition to the infant motor measurement toolbox.

Infant-mother attachment relationships play a crucial role in shaping children's psychological and physiological well-being. This study examined whether attachment quality at 12 months is associated with infant psychophysiological responses to mild stress at 6 months. Participants were 222 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse mother-infant dyads followed from the third trimester of pregnancy through the infant's first year. At 6 months, dyads participated in a free play session followed by the Face-to-Face Still-Face Paradigm (FFSFP). Infant saliva samples were collected before and after free play and at 1, 20, and 30 min post-FFSFP to measure oxytocin, cortisol, and salivary α-amylase (sAA), biomarkers associated with stress and social regulation. Maternal blood samples were collected at 10, 20, and 30 min post-FFSFP and analyzed for oxytocin and cortisol. Attachment quality was assessed at 12 months using the Ainsworth Strange Situation Paradigm. Linear mixed-effects models showed that securely attached infants had significantly higher oxytocin and lower sAA levels than insecurely attached infants, with sAA decreasing over time only in the secure group. No significant differences emerged in infant cortisol reactivity or maternal hormone levels. Findings suggest a potential link between infant attachment quality and stress regulation, particularly involving oxytocin and sympathetic nervous system activity.

Parent-child play is crucial in shaping child development, where play also facilitates autonomic nervous system integration. However, less is known about how parental perceptions of play impact childhood autonomic profiles, which have been associated with enhanced feelings of safety, responsiveness, comfort, and improved learning. This study recorded heart rate variability (HRV) among a sample of young children aged 3-7 years old (N = 45; 42% girls; 62% African American) while they performed neurocognitive tests and play activities, including tickling by a caregiver. Caregivers also completed questionnaires on parent-child play dynamics. Utilizing HRV recovery after play as a marker of autonomic regulation, correlation and multiple regression analyses showed that caregiver attitudes towards parent-child play correlated with the children's autonomic recovery profiles. These findings suggest children's autonomic outcomes are linked to parental attitudes and behaviors related to play.