@article{ref1,
title="Neural processing of infant and adult face emotion and maternal exposure to childhood maltreatment",
journal="Social cognitive and affective neuroscience",
year="2019",
author="Olsavsky, Aviva K. and Stoddard, Joel and Erhart, Andrew and Tribble, Rebekah and Kim, Pilyoung",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="Face processing in mothers is linked to mother-infant social communication, which is critical for parenting and in turn for child development. Neuroimaging studies of child maltreatment-exposed (CME) mothers are sparse compared to studies of mothers with postpartum depression, which have suggested blunted amygdala reactivity to infant stimuli. We expected to see a similar pattern in CME mothers. Based on broader studies in trauma-exposed populations, we anticipated increased amygdala reactivity to negative adult face stimuli in a comparison task in CME mothers given heightened evaluation of potential threat. We examined maltreatment-exposed (CME) and unexposed (NE) mothers (18-37 years old), who performed infant (N=45) and/or adult (N=46) face processing tasks. CME mothers exhibited blunted bilateral amygdala reactivity to infant faces. There was no between-group difference in amygdala reactivity to adult faces. In infant and adult face processing tasks regardless of CME, superior temporal gyrus activation was increased for negative-valence stimuli. Our preliminary findings suggest that childhood maltreatment alters maternal processing of infant social cues, a critical skill impacting infant socioemotional development.<br><br>© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1749-5016",
doi="10.1093/scan/nsz069",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsz069"
}