Researchers have found that greater brain network connectivity at 3 months could be linked to improved infant-mother dyadic flexibility at 6 months. Meanwhile, another study explored how brain network connections and infants’ stress recovery can have implications for their long-term emotional regulation and mental health.
The Infant Development Project at UIUC used functional MRI scans and interactive tasks to study early neural basis of social interactions and stress recovery in infants. Positive connectivity within specific brain networks at 3 months was associated with better infant-mother dyadic flexibility at 6 months. Infants’ ability to recover from stress is crucial for their long-term emotional health.
Caregivers witness many significant milestones in the first year of a baby’s life. During this time, the infant’s brain functioning sets the basis for crucial growth and development. The Interdisciplinary Lab for Social Development at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studied how early brain activity relates to flexibility in social interactions and stress recovery. Their findings were groundbreaking.
The project aimed to understand how infants’ neural functioning combines with environmental support, especially caregiver interactions, to shape their stress regulation abilities and attentiveness. An initial functional MRI session was conducted with 35 infants at 3 months old. Later, the infants completed interactive tasks at 3, 6, and 9 months involving their mothers.
The study published in Cerebral Cortex explored whether an infant’s brain activity is linked to their dyadic flexibility – the way they and their mother adapt to each other’s emotions and behavior. The study found that greater activity within specific brain networks at 3 months correlated with greater dyadic flexibility at 6 months.
In a second study published in Developmental Science, researchers delved into how brain network connectivity correlated with infants’ stress recovery. They discovered that increased connectivity between certain brain networks at 3 months led to a decreased ability to recover from stress at 6 months.
The project, involving expertise from human development and family studies, bioengineering, and neuroscience, pinpointed potential indicators of later emotion dysregulation and mental health issues among infants. This insight could revolutionize early mental health screening and intervention efforts. The Infant Development Project is a crucial step forward in understanding the developmental foundation for future emotional well-being.
Credits: Neuroscience News
