Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2020

Abstract

Background

Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is associated with poor physical and mental health. Early-life adversity may dysregulate cortisol response to subsequent stress. This study examines the association between patterns of maternal behavior and infant stress response to a challenge. Specifically, we test whether infant exposure to unpredictable maternal sensory signals is related to the cortisol response to a painful stressor.

Method

Participants were 102 mothers and their children enrolled in a longitudinal study. Patterns of maternal sensory signals were evaluated at 6 and 12 months during a 10-min mother–infant play episode. Entropy rate was calculated as a quantitative measure of the degree of unpredictability of maternal sensory signals (visual, auditory, and tactile) exhibited during the play episode. Infant saliva samples were collected for cortisol analysis before and after inoculation at 12 months.

Results

Unpredictable patterns of maternal sensory signals were associated with a blunted infant cortisol response to a painful stressor. This relation persisted after evaluation of covariates including maternal sensitivity and maternal psychological distress.

Conclusions

This study provides evidence that unpredictable patterns of maternal sensory signals are one process through which caregiving affects the function of infant stress response systems.

Comments

This is the accepted version of the following article:

Noroña-Zhou, A. N., Morgan, A., Glynn, L. M., Sandman, C. A., Baram, T. Z., Stern, H. S., & Davis, E. P. (2020). Unpredictable maternal behavior is associated with a blunted infant cortisol response. Developmental Psychobiology, 62(6), 882–888. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.21964

which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.21964. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.

Copyright

Wiley

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.