Meaning from movement and stillness: Signatures of coordination dynamics reveal infant agency.

How do human beings make sense of their relation to the world and realize their ability to effect change? Applying modern concepts and methods of coordination dynamics, we demonstrate that patterns of movement and coordination in 3 to 4-mo-olds may be used to identify states and behavioral phenotypes of emergent agency. By means of a complete coordinative analysis of baby and mobile motion and their interaction, we show that the emergence of agency can take the form of a punctuated self-organizing process, with meaning found both in movement and stillness.

2D Capsule Networks Detect Perceived Changes in Infant∼Environment Relationship Reflected in 3D Movement Dynamics.

Can infant exploration and causal discovery be detected using Artificial Intelligence (AI)? A recent experiment probed how purposeful action emerges in early life by manipulating infants' functional connection to an object in the environment (i.e., tethering one foot to a colorful mobile). Vicon motion capture data from multiple infant joints were used here to create Histograms of Joint Displacements (HJDs) to generate pose-based descriptors for 3D infant spatial trajectories. Using HJDs as inputs, machine and deep learning systems were tasked with classifying the experimental state from which snippets of movement data were sampled. The architectures tested included k-Nearest Neighbour (kNN), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Fully connected network (FCNet), 1D-Convolutional Neural Network (1D-Conv), 1D-Capsule Network (1D-CapsNet), 2D-Conv and 2D-CapsNet. Sliding window scenarios were used for temporal analysis to search for topological changes in infant movement related to functional context. kNN and LDA achieved higher classification accuracy with single joint features, while deep learning approaches, particularly 2D-CapsNet, achieved higher accuracy on full-body features. For each AI architecture tested, measures of foot activity displayed the most distinct and coherent pattern alterations across different experimental stages (reflected in the highest classification accuracy rate), indicating that interaction with the world impacts the infant behaviour most at the site of organism∼world connection. Pairing theory-driven experimentation with AI tools thus opens a path to developing functionally-relevant assessments of infant behaviour that are likely to be useful in clinical settings.

Mindfulness-Training in Preadolescents in School: The Role of Emotionality, EEG in Theta/Beta Bands, Creativity and Attention.

Mindfulness meditation is a means of increasing awareness of the present moment. Mindfulness Mediation Interventions (MMI) positively impact psychological functioning, yet the neurocognitive mechanisms that mediate these effects have been less well-defined. Here, the primary aim was to evaluate whether the effects of a 10-week MMI were mediated by changes in attention and creativity performance, as well as resting-state theta/beta (TB) ratio and alpha power. We also sought to determine whether any of these measures at baseline were predictive of mindfulness success, as rated by the 7-11-year-old participants and their teachers. Reductions in depression from pre-to-post were mediated by reductions in TB ratio and increases in alpha power; however, they were not mediated by attention/creativity changes. Higher baseline attention and creativity scores predicted enhanced mindfulness success post-intervention but notably, follow-up analyses revealed that those scoring lower on these measures were more likely to have reduced depression from pre-to-post.

Computerized inhibitory control training reduces anxiety in preadolescent students.

The study examined the relationship between anxiety, inhibitory control (IC), and resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) in a critical age-range for social and emotional development (8-12-year-olds). The participants were assigned to 4 weeks of either an emotional IC training program, a neutral IC training program, or a waitlisted control, and were tested using cognitive, emotional, and EEG measures. The training was computerized and completed remotely. At baseline, IC accuracy scores were negatively related to both anxiety and depression levels (N = 42). Additionally, increased right lateral frontal alpha asymmetry was predictive of increased anxiety/depression scores. A series of multivariate analyses of covariance and post-hoc tests were conducted to compare effects in the participants that completed the full 16 sessions of training (N = 32). Overall the emotional and neutral training conditions showed similar improvements in IC accuracy, as well as reductions in anxiety compared to the waitlist condition. Minimal neurophysiological changes occurred from pre-to-post; however, lateral frontal asymmetry shifted leftward in the emotional training group. These findings highlight the potential of computerized IC training for mitigating negative emotional functioning in preadolescents. Future research is necessary to determine the long-term effects of IC training and whether longer training intervals facilitate persisting impacts.

Affectionate Touch in the Context of Breastfeeding and Maternal Depression Influences Infant Neurodevelopmental and Temperamental Substrates.

BACKGROUND: While numerous studies have demonstrated maternal depression's influence on infant brain development, few studies have examined the changes that occur as a consequence of co-occurring experiential factors that affect quality of mother and infant affectionate touch as well as infant temperament and neurophysiological systems. The aim of the study was to examine the interactive effects of maternal depression and breastfeeding on mother and infant affectionate touch and infant temperament and cortical maturation patterns across early development. METHODS: 113 mothers and their infants participated when infants were 1 and 3 months of age. Questionnaires to assess maternal depressive symptoms, feeding, and temperament were completed. Tonic EEG patterns (asymmetry and left and right activity) were collected and the dyads were video-recorded during feeding to assess mother and infant affectionate touch patterns. RESULTS: Data analysis showed that EEG activity and mother-infant affectionate touch differed as a function of mood and feeding method. Notably, only infants of depressed mothers that bottle-fed showed right frontal EEG asymmetry and attenuated change in the left frontal region across 3 months. Breastfeeding positively impacted affectionate touch behaviors and was associated with increased left and decreased right frontal EEG activation even for depressed groups. Furthermore, a model incorporating physiology, maternal depression, touch, temperament, and feeding indicated significant prediction for infant affectionate touch (with breastfeeding and affectively positive temperament demonstrating the strongest prediction). Con-clusion: The findings suggest that breastfeeding and the infant's positive temperament influence mother-infant affectionate touch patterns and result in neuroprotective outcomes for infants, even those exposed to maternal depression within early development.

Perceptions of Breastfeeding for Women with Perinatal Depression: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study.

Women with perinatal depression have an increased risk for breastfeeding cessation, yet few studies have explored their lived experience. In this qualitative study, semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of women (N = 10) who self-reported perinatal depression. Using Giorgi's descriptive phenomenological method of data analysis, five components were found to embody their lived experience of breastfeeding: (a) choosing selflessness, (b) harboring inadequacy, (c) deliberate persevering, (d) discerning meaning, and (e) cherishing intimacy. Findings contribute to understanding the experience of breastfeeding for this population and could provide guidance to improve lactation management and perinatal mental health education for nurses.

Parent-Training with Kangaroo Care Impacts Infant Neurophysiological Development & Mother-Infant Neuroendocrine Activity.

A randomized control trial was conducted to investigate the effects of skin-to-skin, chest-to-chest contact (kangaroo care, KC) in mother-infant dyads on patterns of infant brain activity and associated mother-infant neurohormone releases. 33 mother-infant dyads participated during pregnancy (29-38 weeks gestation), at neonatal and 3-month periods. Overall, analyses indicated that: 1) infants in the KC group showed left frontal brain activation patterns (asymmetry and coherence) associated with KC training; 2) KC produced moderate to large increases in oxytocin levels; and 3) KC yielded moderate decreases in cortisol reactivity. Findings suggest KC may garner favorable neuro-maturational and neurobiological outcomes for dyads.

The Nature of Facial Emotion Recognition Impairments in Children on the Autism Spectrum.

This study examined socio-emotional skills, utilizing a facial emotion recognition (FER) task featuring unfamiliar and familiar faces, in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) compared to typically developing (TD) children. Results showed that the TD children were more proficient on the FER overall whereas ASD children recognized familiar expressions more precisely than unfamiliar ones. Further, ASD children did not differ from TD children in recognizing happy expressions but ASD children were less skilled with recognizing negative expressions. Findings suggest that ASD children possess more adept FER abilities than previously thought especially for important social others. Ultimately, a task featuring an array of positive and negative familiar and unfamiliar expressions may provide a more comprehensive assessment of socio-emotional abilities in ASD children.

Neurohormones and temperament interact during infant development.

The infant's psycho-physiological regulatory system begins to develop prenatally and continues to mature during the postnatal period. Temperament is a construct comprising tonic individual differences in dispositional physiological and behavioural reactions as well as an evolving ability to regulate to environmental conditions. Theoretical models and research have shown that neurohormonal and -physiological factors contribute to individual development and impact infant behaviours as well as the developing regulatory system. Moreover, prenatal maternal risks such as stress and depression are thought to programme fetal regulatory tendencies and that influences neural and behavioural functioning in infancy. The purpose of this review is to examine the theories and research that link infant temperament to neurohormonal and -physiological development in typically developing infants and in those exposed to environmental risk. Research has demonstrated associations between individual variation in physiological stress responses and regulation (measured with cortisol). Moreover, studies have noted an association with physiological regulation and socio-emotional interaction (as measured by the touch-oxytocin link) that may buffer emotional dysregulation. The interaction between individual differences in temperamental tendencies, neurohormonal and -physiological patterns will be discussed by presenting data from studies that have shown that infant neurohormonal and -physiological functioning sets an important trajectory for the development of the individual.This article is part of the theme issue 'Diverse perspectives on diversity: multi-disciplinary approaches to taxonomies of individual differences'.

Latent profile and cluster analysis of infant temperament: Comparisons across person-centered approaches.

There is renewed interest in person-centered approaches to understanding the structure of temperament. However, questions concerning temperament types are not frequently framed in a developmental context, especially during infancy. In addition, the most common person-centered techniques, cluster analysis (CA) and latent profile analysis (LPA), have not been compared with respect to derived temperament types. To address these gaps, we set out to identify temperament types for younger and older infants, comparing LPA and CA techniques. Multiple data sets (N = 1,356; 672 girls, 677 boys) with maternal ratings of infant temperament obtained using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (Gartstein & Rothbart, 2003) were combined. All infants were between 3 and 12 months of age (M = 7.85; SD = 3.00). Due to rapid development in the first year of life, LPA and CA were performed separately for younger (n = 731; 3 to 8 months of age) and older (n = 625; 9 to 12 months of age) infants. Results supported 3-profile/cluster solutions as optimal for younger infants, and 5-profile/cluster solutions for the older subsample, indicating considerable differences between early/mid and late infancy. LPA and CA solutions produced relatively comparable types for younger and older infants. Results are discussed in the context of developmental changes unique to the end of the first year of life, which likely account for the present findings. (PsycINFO Database Record

Child sex and respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity as moderators of the relation between internalizing symptoms and aggression.

Previous studies have examined sex differences in physiological responding, including respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity in response to changing stimulus conditions involving situation specific or gender related cues, in children and adolescents. The present study examined whether RSA reactivity moderates the relation between aggression and internalizing symptoms and whether there are sex differences in this effect. Participants were 82 adolescents (M age = 12.1 years; 44 girls) from the general middle-school population. Peer nominations assessed aggression and internalizing symptoms, and RSA reactivity (defined as change in RSA from baseline to task) was recorded while participants anticipated and responded to an 85 dB signaled white-noise burst. For girls, internalizing symptoms were associated with aggression only if girls showed low RSA reactivity from baseline to task; there was no effect for boys. This association was absent when girls showed high RSA reactivity. Thus, child sex appears to influence not only levels of physiological responding but also relations of physiological responding to comorbidity of adjustment problems.

Infant physiological and behavioral responses to loss of maternal attention to a social-rival.

Previous research has found that infants respond with more negative/protest as well as approach-type behaviors in response to the loss of maternal attention to a social-rival as compared to a non-social item. The purpose of the current research was to conceptually replicate the maternal inattention research with a different population and to extend on it by examining the relationships between infants' emotional responses and their temperament and physiology (brain activity). A baseline measure of infant EEG was collected after which mother-infant dyads (n=30) participated in two mother-ignoring conditions. Infants demonstrated more approach-style responses (maternal-directed gaze, proximity, and touch), higher reactivity levels (increased arousal, aggression, and disorganization), and more negative affect in the social-rival relative to the nonsocial condition. Approach-style (jealousy) responses were predictive of the infants' greater left frontal baseline EEG activity. Maternal reports of an infant's temperamental sociability and approach were not related to frontal EEG but several temperamental characteristics were associated with approach style responses during the social-rival condition. These findings collectively point to the emotion of jealousy in infants, as only during the social rival condition were associations between approach style responses and negative affect as well as left frontal EEG activity uncovered.

Delayed reactive cries demonstrate emotional and physiological dysregulation in newborns of depressed mothers.

The purpose of the present study was to examine newborns' behavioral and physiological reactions to the cry of another infant (labeled a reactive cry). 101 newborns of depressed (N=40) and non-depressed (N=61) mothers were assessed on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS, Brazelton and Nugent, 1995) and 89 of those infants also participated in an auditory task. Cardiovascular activity (heart period, parasympathetic tone, and recovery to basal activity) was obtained from a sub-sample of these infants (n=37). Vocal distress and regulatory behaviors were examined when newborns listened to another infant's cry and to a simulated sound (the control condition). ANOVAs indicated that newborns of depressed mothers showed lower basal parasympathetic tone. In addition, newborns of depressed mothers responded with less vocal distress to the cry sounds of another infant, and were delayed in physiological regulation following this sound. These findings suggest that newborns of depressed mothers show altered, possibly dysregulated, behavioral and physiological patterns during socio-emotional situations in comparison to newborns of non-depressed mothers.

EEG in 1-week, 1-month and 3-month-old infants of depressed and non-depressed mothers.

EEGs were examined in data collected from 348 1-week, 1-month and 3-month-old infants of depressed and non-depressed mothers across several studies. Both the percentage of infants exhibiting spectral peaks and the frequency in Hz at which those peaks were exhibited increased with age. Consistent with previous studies, infants of depressed mothers exhibited greater left frontal EEG power, suggesting greater relative right frontal EEG activity than infants of non-depressed mothers. This profile was apparent across a narrow frequency range, which shifted from 3-9Hz at 1 week of age to 4-9Hz by 3 months of age.

Right frontal EEG asymmetry and behavioral inhibition in infants of depressed mothers.

Recent studies have shown associations between maternal psychopathology and inhibited behaviors in infants. Moreover, physiological factors have been identified as affecting the continuity of behavioral inhibition across childhood. The purpose of the present study was to examine electroencephalogram (EEG) activity and inhibited behavior in 12-month-old infants of depressed versus non-depressed and mothers. Repeated measures MANOVAs indicated that the infants of mothers with stable psychopathology had greater relative right frontal EEG asymmetry, a pattern that typically accompanies greater negative affect and greater withdrawal behaviors. Infants of affectively ill mothers also showed more proximal behaviors toward a stranger and a novel toy than infants of well mothers, but fewer non-proximal behaviors toward their mothers. These results are discussed within a framework of behavioral inhibition for infants exposed to early psychopathologies in their mothers.

Greater right frontal EEG asymmetry and nonemphathic behavior are observed in children prenatally exposed to cocaine.

Responses to emotion-inducing stimuli were examined in 27, 3- to 6-year-old children, who were prenatally exposed to cocaine, and 27 unexposed controls. Children were monitored for EEG activity and their affect during an infant crying, simulated maternal distress, and a mildly frustrating task. Multivariate analyses indicated that the cocaine-exposed children had greater right frontal EEG asymmetry, showed fewer empathic reactions to a crying infant as well as to their own mothers, and they were less proficient in completing a cooperative task. These findings highlight the need for continued longitudinal research on the effects of early drug exposure for later socioemotional development.

Patterns of brain electrical activity in infants of depressed mothers who breastfeed and bottle feed: the mediating role of infant temperament.

Successful breastfeeding involves a dyadic interaction between a mother and her infant. The present study was designed to examine the association between breastfeeding and temperament in infants of depressed mothers. Seventy-eight mothers, 31 who were depressed, and their infants participated. Depressed mothers who had stable breastfeeding patterns were less likely to have infants with highly reactive temperaments. Multivariate analyses of variances (MANOVAs) showed that infants of depressed mothers who breastfed did not show the frontal asymmetry patterns, i.e., left frontal hypoactivity, previously reported. Moreover, breastfeeding stability, even in depressed mothers, was related to more positive dyadic interactions. Finally, a model was supported, in which the effects of maternal depression on infant feeding are mediated by infant frontal EEG asymmetry and infant temperament. These findings could provide a foundation for developing intervention techniques, employing breastfeeding promotion and support, directed toward attenuating the affective and physiological dysregulation already noted in infants of depressed mothers.

Atypical expressions of jealousy in infants of intrusive- and withdrawn-depressed mothers.

To determine whether atypical jealousy responses in infants of depressed mothers are differentiated by maternal nonoptimal interactive profiles, 12-month-old infants of intrusive-depressed and withdrawn-depressed mothers were observed with their mothers and a stranger in two contexts. In the first, infants were fully ignored in a less stressful context in which the adults focused on a picture book. In the second, infants were fully ignored in a more stressful, jealousy-inducement context, in which the adults attended to an infant-like doll. Cross-context comparisons revealed that the jealousy-inducement condition was associated with infants of intrusive-depressed mothers demonstrating greater play, and lesser proximal and distal behaviors toward their mothers. In contrast, the jealousy-inducement condition was associated with infants of withdrawn-depressed mothers directing greater proximal contacts toward the stranger. This investigation identified that as early as infancy, dysregulated expressions of jealousy are differentiated by depressed mothers' nonoptimal interactive patterns. Findings of this preliminary study call for investigative attention to this uncharted area of inquiry into mental health, and specifically, works addressing the importance of maternal characteristics to the unfolding of normative and atypical jealousy in infancy.