Infant cues, such as smiling or crying facial expressions, are powerful motivators of human maternal behavior, activating dopamine-associated brain reward circuits. Oxytocin, a neurohormone of attachment, promotes maternal care in animals, although its role in human maternal behavior is unclear. We examined 30 first-time new mothers to test whether differences in attachment, based on the Adult Attachment Interview, were related to brain reward and peripheral oxytocin response to infant cues. On viewing their own infant’s smiling and crying faces during functional MRI scanning, mothers with secure attachment showed greater activation of brain reward regions, including the ventral striatum, and the oxytocin-associated hypothalamus/pituitary region. Peripheral oxytocin response to infant contact at 7 months was also significantly higher in secure mothers, and was positively correlated with brain activation in both regions. Insecure/dismissing mothers showed greater insular activation in response to their own infant’s sad faces. These results suggest that individual differences in maternal attachment may be linked with development of the dopaminergic and oxytocinergic neuroendocrine systems.

SUMMARY Complex genomic rearrangements (CGR) consisting of two or more breakpoint junctions have been observed in genomic disorders. Recently, a chromosome catastrophe phenomenon termed chromothripsis, in which numerous genomic rearrangements are apparently acquired in one single catastrophic event, was described in multiple cancers. Here we show that constitutionally acquired CGRs share similarities with cancer chromothripsis. In the 17 CGR cases investigated we observed localization and multiple copy number changes including deletions, duplications and/or triplications, as well as extensive translocations and inversions. Genomic rearrangements involved varied in size and complexities; in one case, array comparative genomic hybridization revealed 18 copy number changes. Breakpoint sequencing identified characteristic features, including small templated insertions at breakpoints and microhomology at breakpoint junctions, which have been attributed to replicative processes. The resemblance between CGR and chromothripsis suggests similar mechanistic underpinnings. Such chromosome catastrophic events appear to reflect basic DNA metabolism operative throughout an organism’s life cycle.

Parenting behavior critically shapes human infants' current and future behavior. The parent-infant relationship provides infants with their first social experiences, forming templates of what they can expect from others and how to best meet others' expectations. In this review, we focus on the neurobiology of parenting behavior, including our own functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain imaging experiments of parents. We begin with a discussion of background, perspectives and caveats for considering the neurobiology of parent-infant relationships. Then, we discuss aspects of the psychology of parenting that are significantly motivating some of the more basic neuroscience research. Following that, we discuss some of the neurohormones that are important for the regulation of social bonding, and the dysregulation of parenting with cocaine abuse. Then, we review the brain circuitry underlying parenting, proceeding from relevant rodent and nonhuman primate research to human work. Finally, we focus on a study-by-study review of functional neuroimaging studies in humans. Taken together, this research suggests that networks of highly conserved hypothalamic-midbrain-limbic-paralimbic-cortical circuits act in concert to support aspects of parent response to infants, including the emotion, attention, motivation, empathy, decision-making and other thinking that are required to navigate the complexities of parenting. Specifically, infant stimuli activate basal forebrain regions, which regulate brain circuits that handle specific nurturing and caregiving responses and activate the brain's more general circuitry for handling emotions, motivation, attention, and empathy -all of which are crucial for effective parenting. We argue that an integrated understanding of the brain basis of parenting has profound implications for mental health. KeywordsAttachment; brain imaging; parent-child interaction; parent-child relationships; parenting; neuropsychology; neurobiology; neurophysiology; child development NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptIn mammals, species survival critically depends on an extensive repertoire of conserved parental behavior to sustain each infant through an extensive dependency period and contribute to long-term health (Ellison, 2006;Gerhardt, 2006;Leckman & Mayes, 1998;Schore, 2005;Sroufe, 2005). Universal parenting behaviors cross species (Clutton-Brock, 1991) as summarized in Table 1, and include pan-cultural human thoughts and activities listed in Table 2 (Hrdy, 2000). Such behaviors may be transmitted genetically or epigenetically (culturally), with the latter permitting the transmission of early life infant experiences across generations, including abusive and neglectful behavior as elaborated elsewhere in this journal. While we contend that unifying concepts across species represent a useful starting point to understand the general scaffolding underlying parental behavior, researchers are just beginning to link animal studies of parenting with the psy...

Objectives-To determine how a mother's brain responds to her own baby's facial expressions, comparing happy, neutral and sad face affect.Methods-In an event-related functional MRI study, 28 first-time mothers were shown novel face images of their own 5-10 month-old baby and a matched unknown baby. Sixty unique stimuli from 6 categories (own-happy, own-neutral, own-sad, unknown-happy, unknown-neutral and unknownsad) were presented randomly for 2 seconds each, with a variable 2-6 second inter-stimulus interval.Results-Key dopamine-associated reward processing regions of the brain were activated when mothers viewed their own baby's face, compared to an unknown baby face. These included the ventral tegmental area / substantia nigra regions, the striatum, and frontal lobe regions involved in 1) emotion processing (medial prefrontal, anterior cingulate and insula cortex), 2) cognition (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and 3) motor/behavioral outputs (primary motor area) (P<0.001, false discovery rate corrected [FDR] q<0.05). Happy, but not neutral or sad own-infant faces, activated nigrostriatal brain regions interconnected by dopaminergic neurons (P<0.0005, FDR q<0.05), including the substantia nigra and dorsal putamen. A region-of-interest analysis revealed that activation in these regions was related to positive infant affect (happy>neutral>sad) for each own-unknown baby face contrast.Conclusions-When first-time mothers see their own baby's face, an extensive brain network appears to be activated, wherein affective and cognitive information may be integrated and directed toward motor/behavioral outputs. Dopaminergic reward-related brain regions are activated specifically in response to happy, but not sad, baby faces. Understanding how a mother responds uniquely to her own baby, when smiling or crying, may be the first step in understanding the neural basis of mother-infant attachment.

Key Points Question What are the long-term trends in prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among US children and adolescents over the past 2 decades? Findings In this study of data from 186 457 children and adolescents aged 4 to 17 years from the National Health Interview Survey, a nationwide, population-based, cross-sectional survey conducted annually from 1997 to 2016, the estimated prevalence of diagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in US children and adolescents increased from 6.1% in 1997-1998 to 10.2% in 2015-2016. Meaning Among US children and adolescents, the estimated prevalence of diagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder increased significantly between 1997 and 2016.

Early mother-infant relationships play important roles in infants’ optimal development. New mothers undergo neurobiological changes that support developing mother-infant relationships regardless of great individual differences in those relationships. In this article, we review the neural plasticity in human mothers’ brains based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. First, we review the neural circuits that are involved in establishing and maintaining mother-infant relationships. Second, we discuss early postpartum factors (e.g., birth and feeding methods, hormones, and parental sensitivity) that are associated with individual differences in maternal brain neuroplasticity. Third, we discuss abnormal changes in the maternal brain related to psychopathology (i.e., postpartum depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse) and potential brain remodeling associated with interventions. Last, we highlight potentially important future research directions to better understand normative changes in the maternal brain and risks for abnormal changes that may disrupt early mother-infant relationships.

Maternal neglect, including physical and emotional neglect, is a pervasive public health challenge with serious long-term effects on child health and development. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the neurobiological basis of maternal caregiving, in order to better understand how to prevent and respond to maternal neglect. Drawing from both animal and human studies, key biological systems are identified which contribute to maternal caregiving behavior, focusing on the oxytocinergic and dopaminergic systems. Mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal dopamine pathways contribute to the processing of infant-related sensory cues leading to a behavioral response. Oxytocin may activate the dopaminergic reward pathways in response to social cues. Human neuroimaging studies are summarized which demonstrate parallels between animal and human maternal caregiving responses in the brain. By comparing different patterns of human adult attachment, we gain a clearer understanding of how differences in maternal brain and endocrine responses may contribute to maternal neglect. For example, in insecure/dismissing attachment, which may be associated with emotional neglect, we see reduced activation of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine reward system in response to infant face cues, as well as decreased peripheral oxytocin response to mother-infant contact. We are currently testing whether administration of intranasal oxytocin, as part of a randomized placebo controlled trial, may reverse some of these neurological differences, and potentially augment psychosocial and behavioral interventions for maternal neglect.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder resulting in a substantial burden for individuals, families, and society. 1 Previous surveys have reported a steady increase in ASD prevalence in US children over the past 2 decades. 2-4 However, the most recent estimate from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network for the first time reported a plateau in ASD prevalence (1.46%) in 2012, after documenting a continuous increase from 0.67% in 2000 to 1.47% in 2010. 2 In this study, we analyzed nationally representative data to estimate current prevalence of ASD among US children and adolescents in 2014-2016.