ArticlePsychiatry research. Neuroimaging2023
Postnatal maternal distress, infant subcortical brain macrostructure and emotional regulation.
Article in Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Postnatal distress, neonatal cerebellar myelination and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18 months.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- The Earliest Impressions: A Systematic Review of Early-Life Exposures on Brain Structure and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- From expectation to strain: how pregnancy time perspective shapes postpartum stress in Poland and Italy.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The promise of infant MRI in psychiatry: toward a framework for neural network measures in early emotional and behavioral risk identification and new intervention targets.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Review
- The association between prenatal maternal anxiety, infant brain volumes, and temperament during the COVID-19 pandemic.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Early life stress impairs hippocampal subfield myelination.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Alteration in Cortical Structure Mediating the Impact of Blood Oxygen-Carrying Capacity on Gross Motor Skills in Infants With Complex Congenital Heart Disease.Human brain mapping · 2025Article
- Advances in fetal and neonatal neuroimaging and everyday exposures.Pediatric research · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMaternal distress is associated with an increased risk for adverse emotional development in infants, including difficulties with emotion regulation. Prenatal maternal distress has been associated with alterations in infant brain development. However, less is known about these associations with postnatal maternal distress, despite this being an important modifiable risk factor that can promote healthy brain development and emotional outcomes in infants. METHODS &
resultsInfants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and mothers completed standardized questionnaires concerning their levels of perceived distress 2-5 months postpartum. Infant emotion regulation was assessed at 8-11 months via maternal report. When examining the associations between maternal distress and infant macrostructure, maternal anxiety was associated with infant right pallidum volumes. Increased display of negative emotions at 8-11 months of age was associated with smaller hippocampal volumes and this association was stronger in girls than boys.
conclusionFindings suggest that postnatal maternal distress may be associated with early infant brain development and emphasize the importance of maternal mental health, supporting previous work. Furthermore, macrostructural properties of infant subcortical structures may be further investigated as potential biomarkers to identify infants at risk of adverse emotional outcomes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.