Cited by 54Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and PostpartumChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentFunctional Brain Connectivity Studies

Prenatal and postnatal maternal anxiety and amygdala structure and function in young children

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Donnici, Claire, Long, Xiangyu, Dewey, Deborah, Letourneau, Nicole, Landman, Bennett, Huo, Yuankai, Lebel, Catherine·2021·Scientific Reports

Abstract

Anxiety symptoms are relatively common during pregnancy and are associated with behavioural problems in children. The amygdala is involved in emotion regulation, and its volume and function are associated with exposure to prenatal maternal depression. The associations between perinatal maternal anxiety and children’s amygdala structure and function remain unclear. The objective of this study was to determine associations between prenatal and postnatal maternal anxiety and amygdala structure and function in children. Maternal anxiety was measured during the second trimester of pregnancy and 12 weeks postpartum. T1-weighted anatomical data and functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 54 children (25 females), between the ages of 3–7 years. Amygdala volume was calculated and functional connectivity maps were created between the amygdalae and the rest of the brain. Spearman correlations were used to test associations between amygdala volume/functional connectivity and maternal anxiety symptoms, controlling for maternal depression symptoms. Second trimester maternal anxiety symptoms were negatively associated with functional connectivity between the left amygdala and clusters in bilateral parietal regions; higher maternal anxiety was associated with increased negative connectivity. Postnatal maternal anxiety symptoms were positively associated with child amygdala volume, but this finding did not remain significant while controlling for total brain volume. These functional connectivity differences may underlie behavioral outcomes in children exposed to maternal anxiety during pregnancy.

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Authors
Donnici, C., Long, X., Dewey, D., Letourneau, N., Landman, B., Huo, Y., & Lebel, C.
Affiliations
  • University of Calgary (CA)
  • Vanderbilt University (US)
Corresponding author
Lebel, Catherine
Venue
Scientific Reports
Published
2021-02-17
Volume
11
Issue
1
Pages
4019-4019
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3132609649
Cited by
54
References
90
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 2
FWCI
8.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (IHD-134090, MOP-123525, MOP-136797)
  • Alberta Innovates - Health Solutions
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
Keywords
maternal anxiety, prenatal anxiety, postpartum anxiety, amygdala, amygdala volume, amygdala functional connectivity, perinatal mental health, child development, maternal depression, parietal cortex, emotion regulation, child behavior problems
MeSH terms
Problem Behavior, Adult, Amygdala, Anxiety, Anxiety Disorders, Brain, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Complications, Pregnancy Trimester, Second, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Stress, Psychological

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