The DOI matches its Crossref record; 65 of the 66 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Prenatal maternal depression associates with microstructure of right amygdala in neonates at birth.
Abstract
Background Antenatal maternal cortisol levels associate with alterations in the amygdala, a structure associated with emotion regulation, in the offspring. However, because offspring brain and behavior are commonly assessed years after birth, the timing of such maternal influences is unclear. This study aimed to examine the association between antenatal maternal depressive symptomatology and neonatal amygdala volume and microstructure and thus establish evidence for the transgenerational transmission of vulnerability for affective disorders during prenatal development.Methods Our study recruited Asian mothers at 10 to 13 weeks pregnancy and assessed maternal depression at 26 weeks gestation using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Structural magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging were performed with 157 nonsedated, 6- to 14-day-old newborns and then analyzed to extract the volume, fractional anisotropy, and axial diffusivity values of the amygdala.Results Adjusting for household income, maternal age, and smoking exposure, postconceptual age at magnetic resonance imaging, and birth weight, we found significantly lower fractional anisotropy (p = .009) and axial diffusivity (p = .028), but not volume (p = .993), in the right amygdala in the infants of mothers with high compared with those with low-normal Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores.Conclusions The results reveal a significant relation between antenatal maternal depression and the neonatal microstructure of the right amygdala, a brain region closely associated with stress reactivity and vulnerability for mood anxiety disorders. These findings suggest the prenatal transmission of vulnerability for depression from mother to child and that interventions targeting maternal depression should begin early in pregnancy.
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“Importantly, exposure to prenatal maternal stress is shown to have enduring and wide-ranging consequences on brain development in the offspring, including altered regional brain volumetric growth, cortical folding, metabolism, microstructure, and functional connectivity [4, 15, 19, 23–27, 35–39].”
From Brain structural and functional outcomes in the offspring of women experiencing psychological distress during pregnancy (2024) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“Maternal depression is also connected with lower FA and axial diffusivity in the right amygdala of newborns [15].”
From Brain structural and functional outcomes in the offspring of women experiencing psychological distress during pregnancy (2024) · cites this paper as [15]
In the citing paper
“altered microstructure and functional connectivity of the amygdala in 6-month-olds175, 176.”
From Imaging structural and functional brain development in early childhood (2018) · cites this paper as [175]
In the citing paper
“Prenatal maternal stress exposure has been shown to have enduring consequences on brain development in the offspring”
From Association of Elevated Maternal Psychological Distress, Altered Fetal Brain, and Offspring Cognitive and Social-Emotional Outcomes at 18 Months (2022) · cites this paper as [10]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Rifkin-Graboi, A., Bai, J., Chen, H., Hameed, W. B., Sim, L. W., Tint, M. T., Leutscher-Broekman, B., Chong, Y.-S., Gluckman, P. D., Fortier, M. V., Meaney, M. J., & Qiu, A.
- Affiliations
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SG)
- KK Women's and Children's Hospital (SG)
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Qiu, Anqi
- ORCID
- Venue
- Biological Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2013-12
- Volume
- 74
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 837-844
- ISSN
- 0006-3223 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2005527520
- Cited by
- 258
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 3
- FWCI
- 17.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Pure Amsterdam UMC (publishedVersion)
- Amsterdam UMC (VU Amsterdam) - Institutional Repository (publishedVersion)
- National University of Singapore (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (SICS-09/1/1/001)
- National Medical Research Council (NMRC/CBRG12nov057, NMRC/TCR/004-NUS/2008)
- National University of Singapore (NUSYIA FY10 P07)
- Ministry of Education - Singapore (MOE2012-T2-2-130)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- maternal depression, antenatal depression, fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity, transgenerational transmission, prenatal stress, maternal cortisol, mood disorders, stress reactivity
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Amygdala, Depression, Female, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Male, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Singapore, Magnetic Resonance Angiography, Asian People, Diffusion Tensor Imaging
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