Mother–infant interaction and child brain morphology : a multidimensional approach to maternal sensitivity

Emerging research suggests that normative variation in parenting quality relates to children's brain development. However, although the young brain is presumed to be especially sensitive to environmental influence, to our knowledge only two studies have examined parenting quality with infants as it relates to indicators of brain development, and both were cross‐sectional. This longitudinal study investigated whether different components of maternal sensitivity in infancy predicted the volume of two brain structures presumed to be particularly sensitive to early experience, namely the amygdala and the hippocampus. Three dimensions of sensitivity (Cooperation/Attunement, Positivity, Accessibility/Availability) were observed in 33 mother–infant dyads at 1 year of age and children underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging at age 10. Higher maternal Accessibility/Availability during mother–infant interactions was found to be predictive of smaller right amygdala volume, while greater maternal positivity was predictive of smaller bilateral hippocampal volumes. These longitudinal findings extend those of previous cross‐sectional studies and suggest that a multidimensional approach to maternal behavior could be a fruitful way to further advance research in this area, given that different facets of parenting might be differentially predictive of distinct aspects of neurodevelopment

Postconcussive Symptoms After Early Childhood Concussion

IMPORTANCE: Research on postconcussive symptoms (PCS) following early childhood concussion has been hindered by a lack of measures suitable for this age group, resulting in a limited understanding of their evolution in young children. OBJECTIVE: To document PCS in the first 3 months after early childhood concussion using a developmentally appropriate measure. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study used data collected at 3 Canadian and 1 US urban pediatric emergency departments (EDs) and 8 Canadian daycares from December 2018 to December 2022 as part of the Kids\u27 Outcomes and Long-Term Abilities (KOALA) project, a prospective, multicenter, longitudinal cohort study. Participants included children aged 6 to 72 months with early childhood concussion or orthopedic injury (OI) or uninjured children from the community to serve as controls. Data were analyzed from March 2023 to January 2024. EXPOSURE: Concussion sustained between ages 6 and 72 months. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Primary outcomes were cognitive, physical, behavioral and total PCS assessed prior to injury (retrospectively), acutely (within 48 hours), and at 10 days, 1 month, and 3 months after injury or recruitment through caregiver observations using the Report of Early Childhood Traumatic Injury Observations & Symptoms inventory. Group comparisons were analyzed using ordinal regression models. RESULTS: The study included 303 children (mean [SD] age, 35.8 [20.2] months; 152 [50.2%] male). Of these, 174 children had a concussion (mean [SD] age,  33.3 [19.9] months), 60 children had an OI (mean [SD] age, 38.4 [19.8] months) and 69 children were uninjured controls (mean [SD] age, 39.7 [20.8] months). No meaningful differences were found between the concussion and comparison groups in retrospective preinjury PCS. Significant group differences were found for total PCS at the initial ED visit (concussion vs OI: odds ratio [OR], 4.33 [95% CI, 2.44-7.69]; concussion vs control: OR, 7.28 [95% CI, 3.80-13.93]), 10 days (concussion vs OI: OR, 4.44 [95% CI, 2.17-9.06]; concussion vs control: OR, 5.94 [95% CI, 3.22-10.94]), 1 month (concussion vs OI: OR, 2.70 [95% CI, 1.56-4.68]; concussion vs control: OR, 4.32 [95% CI, 2.36-7.92]), and 3 months (concussion vs OI: OR, 2.61 [95% CI, 1.30-5.25]; concussion vs control: OR, 2.40 [95% CI, 1.36-4.24]). Significant group differences were also found for domain-level scores (cognitive, physical, behavioral) at various time points. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this early childhood cohort study, concussion was associated with more PCS than OIs or typical development up to 3 months after injury. Given the limited verbal and cognitive abilities typical of early childhood, using developmentally appropriate manifestations and behaviors is a valuable way of tracking PCS and could aid in concussion diagnosis in young children

L'impact du traumatisme psychique sur la mémoire : une approche transdisciplinaire

The main aim of this thesis was to study the impact of trauma on memory in a transdisciplinary way to better understand the relationships between memory, emotion and Self. Firstly, we used textometry to explore memories from 1 week to 10 years after the 9/11 attacks, and showed the progressive changes of the content of emotional memories over time. In addition, our results revealed that the intensity of the emotional response at the time of the event could modulate the content of memories and their change over time. Secondly, we developed and used a new method of automated meta-analysis, LinkDisorder, which combines lexical analyses and neuroimaging to explore neurocognitive correlates of adult posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our meta-analysis highlights that while PTSD is characterized by functional alterations in prefrontal, amygdala and hippocampal regions underlying memory and emotional deficits, dysfunction in reward processing and of the striatum may subtend anhedonia in patients. Thirdly, using neuropsychology and neuroimaging examinations of self-perception in pediatric PTSD, we explored brain changes occurring after a traumatic stress in adolescence, a core period of life for the development of identity. Our study suggests that pediatric PTSD is associated with early functional abnormalities in the regions involved in emotion regulation and memory during self-reference processing.dier l’impact du traumatisme psychique sur la mémoire de façon transdisciplinaire pour mieux appréhender les liens qui associent mémoire, émotion et perception de soi. Premièrement, l’analyse textométrique des témoignages recueillis entre 1 semaine et 10 ans après les attentats du 11 septembre 2001 aux États-Unis, nous a permis de préciser les modifications du contenu des souvenirs émotionnels dans le temps. De plus, nos résultats suggèrent que le contenu des souvenirs et leur évolution temporelle sont modulés par l’intensité du ressenti émotionnel au moment de l’événement. Deuxièmement, nous avons développé et utilisé un nouvel outil de méta-analyse semi-automatique, LinkDisorder, associant analyse lexicale et neuroimagerie pour explorer les corrélats neuropsychologiques du trouble de stress post-traumatique (TSPT) chez l’adulte. Les résultats révèlent que, bien que les altérations du cortex préfrontal, de l’amygdale et de l’hippocampe, qui sous-tendent les déficits mnésiques et émotionnels soient au centre de la pathologie, les altérations du processus de récompense et du striatum pourraient expliquer l’anhédonie des patients. Troisièmement, l’approche en neuropsychologie et neuroimagerie de la perception de soi dans le TSPT pédiatrique nous a permis d’explorer les modifications cérébrales fonctionnelles associées à un stress traumatique survenant à une période essentielle au développement identitaire, l’adolescence. Notre étude suggère que le TSPT pédiatrique serait associé à des anomalies fonctionnelles précoces dans les régions impliquées dans la régulation émotionnelle et la mémoire lors du processus de référence à soi

Impact of individual and collective traumatic events on memory : a transdisciplinary appoach

L’objectif de cette thèse était d’étudier l’impact du traumatisme psychique sur la mémoire de façon transdisciplinaire pour mieux appréhender les liens qui associent mémoire, émotion et perception de soi. Premièrement, l’analyse textométrique des témoignages recueillis entre 1 semaine et 10 ans après les attentats du 11 septembre 2001 aux États-Unis, nous a permis de préciser les modifications du contenu des souvenirs émotionnels dans le temps. De plus, nos résultats suggèrent que le contenu des souvenirs et leur évolution temporelle sont modulés par l’intensité du ressenti émotionnel au moment de l’événement. Deuxièmement, nous avons développé et utilisé un nouvel outil de méta-analyse semi-automatique, LinkDisorder, associant analyse lexicale et neuroimagerie pour explorer les corrélats neuropsychologiques du trouble de stress post-traumatique (TSPT) chez l’adulte. Les résultats révèlent que, bien que les altérations du cortex préfrontal, de l’amygdale et de l’hippocampe, qui sous-tendent les déficits mnésiques et émotionnels soient au centre de la pathologie, les altérations du processus de récompense et du striatum pourraient expliquer l’anhédonie des patients. Troisièmement, l’approche en neuropsychologie et neuroimagerie de la perception de soi dans le TSPT pédiatrique nous a permis d’explorer les modifications cérébrales fonctionnelles associées à un stress traumatique survenant à une période essentielle au développement identitaire, l’adolescence. Notre étude suggère que le TSPT pédiatrique serait associé à des anomalies fonctionnelles précoces dans les régions impliquées dans la régulation émotionnelle et la mémoire lors du processus de référence à soi.The main aim of this thesis was to study the impact of trauma on memory in a transdisciplinary way to better understand the relationships between memory, emotion and Self. Firstly, we used textometry to explore memories from 1 week to 10 years after the 9/11 attacks, and showed the progressive changes of the content of emotional memories over time. In addition, our results revealed that the intensity of the emotional response at the time of the event could modulate the content of memories and their change over time. Secondly, we developed and used a new method of automated meta-analysis, LinkDisorder, which combines lexical analyses and neuroimaging to explore neurocognitive correlates of adult posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our meta-analysis highlights that while PTSD is characterized by functional alterations in prefrontal, amygdala and hippocampal regions underlying memory and emotional deficits, dysfunction in reward processing and of the striatum may subtend anhedonia in patients. Thirdly, using neuropsychology and neuroimaging examinations of self-perception in pediatric PTSD, we explored brain changes occurring after a traumatic stress in adolescence, a core period of life for the development of identity. Our study suggests that pediatric PTSD is associated with early functional abnormalities in the regions involved in emotion regulation and memory during self-reference processing

L'impact du traumatisme psychique sur la mémoire : une approche transdisciplinaire

The main aim of this thesis was to study the impact of trauma on memory in a transdisciplinary way to better understand the relationships between memory, emotion and Self. Firstly, we used textometry to explore memories from 1 week to 10 years after the 9/11 attacks, and showed the progressive changes of the content of emotional memories over time. In addition, our results revealed that the intensity of the emotional response at the time of the event could modulate the content of memories and their change over time. Secondly, we developed and used a new method of automated meta-analysis, LinkDisorder, which combines lexical analyses and neuroimaging to explore neurocognitive correlates of adult posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our meta-analysis highlights that while PTSD is characterized by functional alterations in prefrontal, amygdala and hippocampal regions underlying memory and emotional deficits, dysfunction in reward processing and of the striatum may subtend anhedonia in patients. Thirdly, using neuropsychology and neuroimaging examinations of self-perception in pediatric PTSD, we explored brain changes occurring after a traumatic stress in adolescence, a core period of life for the development of identity. Our study suggests that pediatric PTSD is associated with early functional abnormalities in the regions involved in emotion regulation and memory during self-reference processing.dier l’impact du traumatisme psychique sur la mémoire de façon transdisciplinaire pour mieux appréhender les liens qui associent mémoire, émotion et perception de soi. Premièrement, l’analyse textométrique des témoignages recueillis entre 1 semaine et 10 ans après les attentats du 11 septembre 2001 aux États-Unis, nous a permis de préciser les modifications du contenu des souvenirs émotionnels dans le temps. De plus, nos résultats suggèrent que le contenu des souvenirs et leur évolution temporelle sont modulés par l’intensité du ressenti émotionnel au moment de l’événement. Deuxièmement, nous avons développé et utilisé un nouvel outil de méta-analyse semi-automatique, LinkDisorder, associant analyse lexicale et neuroimagerie pour explorer les corrélats neuropsychologiques du trouble de stress post-traumatique (TSPT) chez l’adulte. Les résultats révèlent que, bien que les altérations du cortex préfrontal, de l’amygdale et de l’hippocampe, qui sous-tendent les déficits mnésiques et émotionnels soient au centre de la pathologie, les altérations du processus de récompense et du striatum pourraient expliquer l’anhédonie des patients. Troisièmement, l’approche en neuropsychologie et neuroimagerie de la perception de soi dans le TSPT pédiatrique nous a permis d’explorer les modifications cérébrales fonctionnelles associées à un stress traumatique survenant à une période essentielle au développement identitaire, l’adolescence. Notre étude suggère que le TSPT pédiatrique serait associé à des anomalies fonctionnelles précoces dans les régions impliquées dans la régulation émotionnelle et la mémoire lors du processus de référence à soi

L'impact du traumatisme psychique sur la mémoire : une approche transdisciplinaire

The main aim of this thesis was to study the impact of trauma on memory in a transdisciplinary way to better understand the relationships between memory, emotion and Self. Firstly, we used textometry to explore memories from 1 week to 10 years after the 9/11 attacks, and showed the progressive changes of the content of emotional memories over time. In addition, our results revealed that the intensity of the emotional response at the time of the event could modulate the content of memories and their change over time. Secondly, we developed and used a new method of automated meta-analysis, LinkDisorder, which combines lexical analyses and neuroimaging to explore neurocognitive correlates of adult posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our meta-analysis highlights that while PTSD is characterized by functional alterations in prefrontal, amygdala and hippocampal regions underlying memory and emotional deficits, dysfunction in reward processing and of the striatum may subtend anhedonia in patients. Thirdly, using neuropsychology and neuroimaging examinations of self-perception in pediatric PTSD, we explored brain changes occurring after a traumatic stress in adolescence, a core period of life for the development of identity. Our study suggests that pediatric PTSD is associated with early functional abnormalities in the regions involved in emotion regulation and memory during self-reference processing.dier l’impact du traumatisme psychique sur la mémoire de façon transdisciplinaire pour mieux appréhender les liens qui associent mémoire, émotion et perception de soi. Premièrement, l’analyse textométrique des témoignages recueillis entre 1 semaine et 10 ans après les attentats du 11 septembre 2001 aux États-Unis, nous a permis de préciser les modifications du contenu des souvenirs émotionnels dans le temps. De plus, nos résultats suggèrent que le contenu des souvenirs et leur évolution temporelle sont modulés par l’intensité du ressenti émotionnel au moment de l’événement. Deuxièmement, nous avons développé et utilisé un nouvel outil de méta-analyse semi-automatique, LinkDisorder, associant analyse lexicale et neuroimagerie pour explorer les corrélats neuropsychologiques du trouble de stress post-traumatique (TSPT) chez l’adulte. Les résultats révèlent que, bien que les altérations du cortex préfrontal, de l’amygdale et de l’hippocampe, qui sous-tendent les déficits mnésiques et émotionnels soient au centre de la pathologie, les altérations du processus de récompense et du striatum pourraient expliquer l’anhédonie des patients. Troisièmement, l’approche en neuropsychologie et neuroimagerie de la perception de soi dans le TSPT pédiatrique nous a permis d’explorer les modifications cérébrales fonctionnelles associées à un stress traumatique survenant à une période essentielle au développement identitaire, l’adolescence. Notre étude suggère que le TSPT pédiatrique serait associé à des anomalies fonctionnelles précoces dans les régions impliquées dans la régulation émotionnelle et la mémoire lors du processus de référence à soi

L'impact du traumatisme psychique sur la mémoire : une approche transdisciplinaire

The main aim of this thesis was to study the impact of trauma on memory in a transdisciplinary way to better understand the relationships between memory, emotion and Self. Firstly, we used textometry to explore memories from 1 week to 10 years after the 9/11 attacks, and showed the progressive changes of the content of emotional memories over time. In addition, our results revealed that the intensity of the emotional response at the time of the event could modulate the content of memories and their change over time. Secondly, we developed and used a new method of automated meta-analysis, LinkDisorder, which combines lexical analyses and neuroimaging to explore neurocognitive correlates of adult posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our meta-analysis highlights that while PTSD is characterized by functional alterations in prefrontal, amygdala and hippocampal regions underlying memory and emotional deficits, dysfunction in reward processing and of the striatum may subtend anhedonia in patients. Thirdly, using neuropsychology and neuroimaging examinations of self-perception in pediatric PTSD, we explored brain changes occurring after a traumatic stress in adolescence, a core period of life for the development of identity. Our study suggests that pediatric PTSD is associated with early functional abnormalities in the regions involved in emotion regulation and memory during self-reference processing.dier l’impact du traumatisme psychique sur la mémoire de façon transdisciplinaire pour mieux appréhender les liens qui associent mémoire, émotion et perception de soi. Premièrement, l’analyse textométrique des témoignages recueillis entre 1 semaine et 10 ans après les attentats du 11 septembre 2001 aux États-Unis, nous a permis de préciser les modifications du contenu des souvenirs émotionnels dans le temps. De plus, nos résultats suggèrent que le contenu des souvenirs et leur évolution temporelle sont modulés par l’intensité du ressenti émotionnel au moment de l’événement. Deuxièmement, nous avons développé et utilisé un nouvel outil de méta-analyse semi-automatique, LinkDisorder, associant analyse lexicale et neuroimagerie pour explorer les corrélats neuropsychologiques du trouble de stress post-traumatique (TSPT) chez l’adulte. Les résultats révèlent que, bien que les altérations du cortex préfrontal, de l’amygdale et de l’hippocampe, qui sous-tendent les déficits mnésiques et émotionnels soient au centre de la pathologie, les altérations du processus de récompense et du striatum pourraient expliquer l’anhédonie des patients. Troisièmement, l’approche en neuropsychologie et neuroimagerie de la perception de soi dans le TSPT pédiatrique nous a permis d’explorer les modifications cérébrales fonctionnelles associées à un stress traumatique survenant à une période essentielle au développement identitaire, l’adolescence. Notre étude suggère que le TSPT pédiatrique serait associé à des anomalies fonctionnelles précoces dans les régions impliquées dans la régulation émotionnelle et la mémoire lors du processus de référence à soi

Improving outcome after paediatric concussion: challenges and possibilities

International audienceThe term concussion has permeated mainstream media and household vocabulary mainly due to awareness regardingthe risks of concussion in professional contact sports, yet it occurs across a variety of settings and ages. Concussion isprevalent in infants, preschoolers, children, and adolescents, and is a common presentation or reason for referral toprimary care providers, emergency departments, and specialised trauma clinics. Its broad range of symptoms andsequelae vary according to multiple individual, environmental, and clinical factors and can lead to health andeconomic burden. More than 20 years of research into risk factors and consequences of paediatric concussion hasrevealed as many questions as answers, and scientific work and clinical cases continue to expose its complexity andheterogeneity. In this Review, we present empirical evidence for improving outcome after paediatric concussion. Weconsider work pertaining to both sports and other injury mechanisms to provide a perspective that should be viewedas complementary to publications focused specifically on sports concussion. Contemporary challenges in prevention,diagnosis, prognosis, and intervention are discussed alongside pathways and future directions for improvingoutcome

Long-term changes in social adaptive abilities following early mild traumatic brain injury

International audienceIntroduction: Social problems may be among the most debilitating consequences of TBI (Yeates et al., 2007). We previously reported that early mild TBI (mTBI, sustained before the age of 6 years) disrupts the expected developmental progression of children's social adaptive abilities over 18 months post-injury (Dégeilh et al., 2018), suggesting that young children may experience a slowing in the acquisition of social adaptive abilities compared to their typically developing peers. The present study aimed to explore whether this slowing in the acquisition of social adaptive abilities persists in the longterm. Method: Parents of 81 children with mTBI (38 girls) and 60 with orthopedic injuries (OI; 34 girls) sustained between 1.5 and 5 years completed the social skills sub-scale of the Adaptive Behavior Assessment Scale-II at baseline (retrospective assessment of preinjury functioning) and at 6, 18, 30, and 60 months post-injury. Growth curve analysis (Mirman, 2014) was performed to explore group effects on the time course of social adaptive abilities captured with a third-order (cubic) natural polynomial. Results: There was no effect of group at pre-injury (estimates: OI=100.9, mTBI=101.4; p=.83), but there was a marginal or significant effect of group on all time terms (Estimates-OI: time=0.08, time 2 =-0.03, time 3 =0.003; Estimates-mTBI: time=-0.03 [p=.058], time 2 =0.01 [p=.048], time 3 =-0.0002 [p=.048]). For OI, social adaptive abilities increased by 0.40 point per month from 0 to 18 months post-injury and then progressively decreased by-0.08 point per month until 60 months post-injury. For mTBI, social adaptive abilities remained at the pre-injury level for the first 6 months, then slowly increased by 0.15 point per month until 30 months post-injury, and finally decreased by-0.14 point per month until 60 months post-injury. Conclusions: These findings suggest that early mTBI may disrupt the expected developmental progression of children's social adaptive behavior. The developmental profile of social abilities in children with mTBI appears to follow the same overall pattern as other children of the same age, but with a delayed onset after a 6-month period of stagnation and a slower improvement rate

Long-term changes in social adaptive abilities following early mild traumatic brain injury

International audienceIntroduction: Social problems may be among the most debilitating consequences of TBI (Yeates et al., 2007). We previously reported that early mild TBI (mTBI, sustained before the age of 6 years) disrupts the expected developmental progression of children's social adaptive abilities over 18 months post-injury (Dégeilh et al., 2018), suggesting that young children may experience a slowing in the acquisition of social adaptive abilities compared to their typically developing peers. The present study aimed to explore whether this slowing in the acquisition of social adaptive abilities persists in the longterm. Method: Parents of 81 children with mTBI (38 girls) and 60 with orthopedic injuries (OI; 34 girls) sustained between 1.5 and 5 years completed the social skills sub-scale of the Adaptive Behavior Assessment Scale-II at baseline (retrospective assessment of preinjury functioning) and at 6, 18, 30, and 60 months post-injury. Growth curve analysis (Mirman, 2014) was performed to explore group effects on the time course of social adaptive abilities captured with a third-order (cubic) natural polynomial. Results: There was no effect of group at pre-injury (estimates: OI=100.9, mTBI=101.4; p=.83), but there was a marginal or significant effect of group on all time terms (Estimates-OI: time=0.08, time 2 =-0.03, time 3 =0.003; Estimates-mTBI: time=-0.03 [p=.058], time 2 =0.01 [p=.048], time 3 =-0.0002 [p=.048]). For OI, social adaptive abilities increased by 0.40 point per month from 0 to 18 months post-injury and then progressively decreased by-0.08 point per month until 60 months post-injury. For mTBI, social adaptive abilities remained at the pre-injury level for the first 6 months, then slowly increased by 0.15 point per month until 30 months post-injury, and finally decreased by-0.14 point per month until 60 months post-injury. Conclusions: These findings suggest that early mTBI may disrupt the expected developmental progression of children's social adaptive behavior. The developmental profile of social abilities in children with mTBI appears to follow the same overall pattern as other children of the same age, but with a delayed onset after a 6-month period of stagnation and a slower improvement rate