TY - JOUR
T1 - Neonatal brain and physiological reactivity in preschoolers
T2 - An initial investigation in an Asian sample
AU - Tsotsi, Stella
AU - Rifkin-Graboi, Anne
AU - Borelli, Jessica L.
AU - Chong, Yap Seng
AU - Rajadurai, Victor Samuel
AU - Chua, Mei Chien
AU - Broekman, Birit
AU - Meaney, Michael
AU - Qiu, Anqi
N1 - Funding Information: This research is supported by the Singapore National Research Foundation under its Translational and Clinical Research (TCR) Flagship Programme and administered by the Singapore Ministry of Health's National Medical Research Council ( Grant ID's: NMRC /TCR/004- NUS /2008; NMRC /TCR/012- NUHS /2014). Additional funding is provided by the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences , Agency for Science Technology and Research ( A*STAR ; Singapore), the Biomedical Research Council Strategic Positioning Fund [Grant ID: SPF2013/002]; the NMRC [Grant ID: NMRC /CBRG/0039/2013]; and the Young Investigator Award at the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences [Grant ID: SICS /YIG/2013/002]. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2022/2
Y1 - 2022/2
N2 - Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity is important to physiological regulation. Limbic structures are important in determining what information the PNS receives, potentially influencing concurrent physiological responsivity and, ultimately, shaping PNS development. Yet, whether individual differences in these structures are linked to PNS activity in early childhood remains unclear. Here, in an exploratory capacity, we examined the association between neonatal limbic structures (i.e., the left and right amygdala and hippocampus) and preschoolers’ resting-state respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). RSA is a measure of heart-rate variability, a physiological marker that reflects fluctuation in the PNS and is often found predictive of emotion regulation and psychological wellbeing. Data were extracted from the “Growing Up in Singapore towards Healthy Outcomes” (GUSTO) cohort (n = 73, 39 girls). Neonatal limbic volume was collected within two weeks after birth while infants were asleep. Resting-state RSA was collected during a coloring session at 42 months of age. After controlling for potential confounders, a Bonferroni-corrected significant association between neonatal left hippocampal volume and resting-state RSA emerged wherein larger hippocampal volume was associated with higher resting-state RSA. No significant associations were present between resting-state RSA and right or left amygdala, or right hippocampal volume. These findings contribute to an increasing body of evidence aiming at enhancing our understanding of neurobiological underpinnings of parasympathetic activity and modulation. Results are also discussed with reference to ideas concerning biological sensitivity to context, as both left hippocampal volume and resting-state RSA were previously found to moderate associations between adversity and psychological function.
AB - Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity is important to physiological regulation. Limbic structures are important in determining what information the PNS receives, potentially influencing concurrent physiological responsivity and, ultimately, shaping PNS development. Yet, whether individual differences in these structures are linked to PNS activity in early childhood remains unclear. Here, in an exploratory capacity, we examined the association between neonatal limbic structures (i.e., the left and right amygdala and hippocampus) and preschoolers’ resting-state respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). RSA is a measure of heart-rate variability, a physiological marker that reflects fluctuation in the PNS and is often found predictive of emotion regulation and psychological wellbeing. Data were extracted from the “Growing Up in Singapore towards Healthy Outcomes” (GUSTO) cohort (n = 73, 39 girls). Neonatal limbic volume was collected within two weeks after birth while infants were asleep. Resting-state RSA was collected during a coloring session at 42 months of age. After controlling for potential confounders, a Bonferroni-corrected significant association between neonatal left hippocampal volume and resting-state RSA emerged wherein larger hippocampal volume was associated with higher resting-state RSA. No significant associations were present between resting-state RSA and right or left amygdala, or right hippocampal volume. These findings contribute to an increasing body of evidence aiming at enhancing our understanding of neurobiological underpinnings of parasympathetic activity and modulation. Results are also discussed with reference to ideas concerning biological sensitivity to context, as both left hippocampal volume and resting-state RSA were previously found to moderate associations between adversity and psychological function.
KW - Amygdala
KW - Emotion regulation
KW - Heart rate variability
KW - Hippocampus
KW - Respiratory sinus arrhythmia
KW - Susceptibility to environment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119432329&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.11.010
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.11.010
M3 - Article
C2 - 34809993
SN - 0022-3956
VL - 146
SP - 219
EP - 227
JO - Journal of Psychiatric Research
JF - Journal of Psychiatric Research
ER -