Pictures of preterm infants elicit increased affective responses and reduced reward-motivation or perspective taking in the maternal brain

Preterm-birth increases the risk of several physical, cognitive, neuromotor, and psychosocial problems in children, and is also related to difficulties in the parent-child relationship. Research suggests that the development of early parent-child interactions in general is affected by deviations from typical infant facial characteristics, which may also be important in the case of small, preterm born infants. Therefore, we examined mothers' (N = 22, of whom 17 had no direct experience with preterm birth) neural responses to pictures of preterm and fullterm infants using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We also explored whether neural responses to preterm and full-term infants correlated with mothers' self-reported tendencies to be nurturing and protective with children, and with mothers' ratings of affection or aversion toward pictures of preterm infants. Results revealed that, compared to pictures of full-term infants, those of preterm infants elicited more activity in specific areas of the brain (dmPFC, right insula, left caudate, hippocampi, parahippocampi, and PAG), that have previously been associated with processing of negative emotions and with empathy. In addition, less activity was seen in one area of the brain (vmPFC) known to be associated with reward-motivation or mental state understanding and perspective-taking. Higher self-reported maternal nurturance was associated with increased activity to pictures of preterm infants vs full-term infants in the caudate, which might reflect approach- or reward-related processing. To conclude, neural responses to preterm infants are related to reward-motivation, mentalizing, negative emotions, and empathy. Future studies should examine whether such neural processing of preterm infant stimuli might underlie difficulties in the parent-child relationship of parents with a preterm child

What a cute baby! Preliminary evidence from a fMRI study for the association between mothers ? neural responses to infant faces and activation of the parental care system

Infant facial characteristics, i.e., baby schema, are thought to automatically elicit parenting behavior and affective orientation toward infants. Only a few studies, conducted in non-parents, have directly examined the neural underpinnings of this baby schema effect by manipulating distinctiveness of baby schema in infant faces. This study aims to further our understanding of the intuitive nature of parenting, by studying the baby schema effect in mothers of young children (at least one child aged between 2 and 6 years old). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine mothers’ (N = 23) neural responses to unfamiliar infant faces varying in distinctiveness of baby schema. Also, it was studied how this neural activation to infant faces was associated with maternal nurturance. Results revealed that infant faces elicited widespread activation in bilateral visual cortices, the hippocampus, sensory-motor areas, parietal and frontal cortices, and the insula, which was not modulated by the distinctiveness of baby schema in the infant faces. Furthermore, higher self-reported maternal nurturance was related to increased neural responses to infant faces in the putamen and amygdala, brain regions known to be associated with reward and salience processing. These findings could suggest that in our small sample of mothers some of the core networks involved in reward and salience processing might be less sensitive to variation in distinctiveness of baby schema. Also, unfamiliar infant faces seem to be rewarding only for mothers who report high nurturance. These findings should be considered preliminary, because they need to be replicated in studies with larger samples

Observing mother-child interaction in a free-play vs. a structured task context and its relationship with preterm and term born toddlers' psychosocial outcomes

IntroductionHigh quality of mother-child interaction is associated with better psychosocial outcomes in children. However, this association might depend on the context in which mother-child interaction is observed as well as specific child characteristics. In this study, we examine differences in the assessment of mother-child interaction in a free-play and a structured task context. In addition, it will be investigated whether the behaviors per context are differently associated with preterm vs. term born toddlers' psychosocial outcomes.MethodsA total of 201 Dutch mother-child dyads participated in the study, of whom 108 children were moderate to late preterm (MLP) and 93 were born at term. Mother-child interaction was observed in a free-play and a structured task context when the child was 18 months of (corrected) age. Six subscales of mother-child interaction were assessed using the Coding Interactive Behavior scheme: maternal stimulation, maternal warmth, child's negative affect, active mother and child engagement, dyadic synchrony and tense interaction. Psychosocial outcomes were assessed at 24 months of (corrected) age using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire – Social Emotional and the Child Behavior Checklist.ResultsMother-child interaction was reliably assessed (α > .60) in each context, except for tense interaction during free-play (α = .41) and child's negative affect when averaged across contexts (α = 0.55). Compared to the free-play context, during the structured task, more child's negative affect, tense interaction and active mother and child engagement was observed in MLP and term born children, and less dyadic synchrony in MLP children (p's < .01). Only during a structured task and for term born children, active mother and child engagement was related to less social-emotional difficulties, internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Only during free-play and for MLP children, active mother and child engagement was related to less externalizing behaviors. Dyadic synchrony during a structured task was associated with less social-emotional difficulties in MLP and term born children, and dyadic synchrony during free-play was only associated with less social-emotional difficulties in term born children (all p's < .05).DiscussionMost mother-child interactive behaviors can be reliably assessed in both contexts. The structured task context elicited more varied behaviors than the free-play context. With the observations in the structured task context, more associations with children's psychosocial outcomes were found than with the observations in the free-play context. Mother-child interactions characterized by active, engaged and synchronous behaviors were associated with better psychosocial outcomes in toddlers, with some differences observed for MLP vs. term born children and for the free-play vs. the structured task context. Suggestions for future research as well as clinical practice are provided

Is maternal negative affectivity related to psychosocial behavior of preterm and term-born toddlers through mother–child interaction?

Introduction: Children born moderately to late preterm (MLP) are more prone to psychosocial difficulties than their term-born counterparts. Maternal negative affectivity (NA)–a relatively stable personality trait characterized by the tendency to experience negative thoughts, feelings and emotions–has been related to more psychosocial problems in their offspring, and to a lower quality of mother–child interactions. As MLP children seem more sensitive to their early caregiving environment, they might be more affected by maternal NA and interaction style than their term-born peers. The current study investigated whether maternal NA predicted child’s psychosocial outcomes through quality of mother–child interaction, and if these associations differed between MLP and term-born children. Methods: The sample consisted of 108 MLP and 92 term-born children and their mothers. At 18 months corrected age, maternal NA was measured using a self-report questionnaire and mother–child interaction was observed during two structured tasks. Five subscales of mother–child interaction were assessed: negative interaction, reciprocal engagement, emotional support, maternal stimulation and mother-led interaction. At 24 months corrected age, social–emotional difficulties, internalizing, and externalizing problems were assessed using mother-report. Results: For MLP children, maternal NA directly, positively, predicted social–emotional difficulties (b = 0.57) and internalizing problems (b = 0.45), but no mediation effect of mother–child interaction was found. For term-born children, no direct effect but a mediation effect of mother-led interaction was found. Higher levels of maternal NA predicted less mother-led interaction which in turn predicted more problems. Birth status did not moderate any of the relationships, showing that the differences in patterns of effects found within the MLP and term-born group did not reach statistical significance. Discussion: Maternal NA was found to be a risk factor for psychosocial outcomes in toddlers, either directly for MLP children or indirectly through mother-led interaction for term-born children. These findings suggest that the process through which maternal NA affects psychosocial outcomes may be different for MLP and term-born children. However, as the examined moderation effects of birth status did not reach statistical significance, more research using larger sample sizes is needed to study mother–child interaction in greater detail

Sediment Transport of Fine Sand to Fine Gravel on Transverse Bed Slopes in Rotating Annular Flume Experiments

Large‐scale morphology, in particular meander bend depth, bar dimensions, and bifurcation dynamics, are greatly affected by the deflection of sediment transport on transverse bed slopes due to gravity and by secondary flows. Overestimating the transverse bed slope effect in morphodynamic models leads to flattening of the morphology, while underestimating leads to unrealistically steep bars and banks and a higher braiding index downstream. However, existing transverse bed slope predictors are based on a small set of experiments with a minor range of flow conditions and sediment sizes, and in practice models are calibrated on measured morphology. The objective of this research is to experimentally quantify the transverse bed slope effect for a large range of near‐bed flow conditions with varying secondary flow intensity, sediment sizes (0.17–4 mm), sediment transport mode, and bed state to test existing predictors. We conducted over 200 experiments in a rotating annular flume with counterrotating floor, which allows control of the secondary flow intensity separate from the streamwise flow velocity. Flow velocity vectors were determined with a calibrated analytical model accounting for rough bed conditions. We isolated separate effects of all important parameters on the transverse slope. Resulting equilibrium transverse slopes show a clear trend with varying sediment mobilities and secondary flow intensities that deviate from known predictors depending on Shields number, and strongly depend on bed state and sediment transport mode. Fitted functions are provided for application in morphodynamic modelin

Mercury in the Black Sea:New Insights From Measurements and Numerical Modeling

Redox conditions and organic matter control marine methylmercury (MeHg) production. The Black Sea is the world's largest and deepest anoxic basin and is thus ideal to study Hg species along the extended redox gradient. Here we present new dissolved Hg and MeHg data from the 2013 GEOTRACES MEDBlack cruise (GN04_leg2) that we integrated into a numerical 1-D model, to track the fate and dynamics of Hg and MeHg. Contrary to a previous study, our new data show highest MeHg concentrations in the permanently anoxic waters. Observed MeHg/Hg percentage (range 9-57%) in the anoxic waters is comparable to other subsurface maxima in oxic open-ocean waters. With the modeling we tested for various Hg methylation and demethylation scenarios along the redox gradient. The results show that Hg methylation must occur in the anoxic waters. The model was then used to simulate the time evolution (1850-2050) of Hg species in the Black Sea. Our findings quantify (1) inputs and outputs of Hg-T (similar to 31 and similar to 28 kmol yr(-1)) and MeHgT (similar to 5 and similar to 4 kmol yr(-1)) to the basin, (2) the extent of net demethylation occurring in oxic (similar to 1 kmol yr(-1)) and suboxic water (similar to 6 kmol yr(-1)), (3) and the net Hg methylation in the anoxic waters of the Black Sea (similar to 11 kmol yr(-1)). The model was also used to estimate the amount of anthropogenic Hg (85-93%) in the Black Sea

Enhanced ocean carbon storage from anaerobic alkalinity generation in coastal sediments

The coastal ocean is a crucial link between land, the open ocean and the atmosphere. The shallowness of the water column permits close interactions between the sedimentary, aquatic and atmospheric compartments, which otherwise are decoupled at long time scales (≅ 1000 yr) in the open oceans. Despite the prominent role of the coastal oceans in absorbing atmospheric CO2 and transferring it into the deep oceans via the continental shelf pump, the underlying mechanisms remain only partly understood. Evaluating observations from the North Sea, a NW European shelf sea, we provide evidence that anaerobic degradation of organic matter, fuelled from land and ocean, generates total alkalinity (AT) and increases the CO2 buffer capacity of seawater. At both the basin wide and annual scales anaerobic AT generation in the North Sea's tidal mud flat area irreversibly facilitates 7–10%, or taking into consideration benthic denitrification in the North Sea, 20–25% of the North Sea's overall CO2 uptake. At the global scale, anaerobic AT generation could be accountable for as much as 60% of the uptake of CO2 in shelf and marginal seas, making this process, the anaerobic pump, a key player in the biological carbon pump. Under future high CO2 conditions oceanic CO2 storage via the anaerobic pump may even gain further relevance because of stimulated ocean productivity

Effectiveness and moderators of individual cognitive behavioral therapy versus treatment as usual in clinically depressed adolescents:A randomized controlled trial

We examined if manualized cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) was more effective than Treatment As Usual (TAU) for clinically depressed adolescents within routine care. This multisite Randomized controlled trail included 88 clinically depressed adolescents (aged 12-21 years) randomly assigned to CBT or TAU. Multiple assessments (pre-, post treatment and six-month follow-up) were done using semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and ratings and multiple informants. The primary outcome was depressive or dysthymic disorder based on the KSADS. Completers, CBT (n = 19) and TAU (n = 26), showed a significant reduction of affective diagnoses at post treatment (76% versus 76%) and after six months (90% versus 79%). Intention-to-treat analyses on depressive symptoms showed that 41.6% within CBT and 31.8% within the TAU condition was below clinical cut-off at post treatment and after six-months, respectively 61.4% and 47.7%. No significant differences in self-reported depressive symptoms between CBT and TAU were found. No prediction or moderation effects were found for age, gender, child/parent educational level, suicidal criteria, comorbidity, and severity of depression. We conclude that CBT did not outperform TAU in clinical practice in the Netherlands. Both treatments were found to be suitable to treat clinically referred depressed adolescents. CBT needs further improvement to decrease symptom levels below the clinical cut-off at post treatment