Associations between Family Functioning and Maternal Behavior on Default Mode Network Connectivity in School-Age Children

Keila Rebello, Luciana Monteiro Moura, Ana Paula Arantes Bueno, Felipe Almeida Picon, Pedro Mario Pan, Ary Gadelha, Euripedes Constatino Miguel, Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan, Luis Augusto Rohde and João Ricardo Sato
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Keila Rebello: Center of Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo André 09210-580, Brazil
Luciana Monteiro Moura: Center of Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo André 09210-580, Brazil
Ana Paula Arantes Bueno: Center of Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo André 09210-580, Brazil
Felipe Almeida Picon: National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents (CNPq), São Paulo 01060-970, Brazil
Pedro Mario Pan: Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo 04021-001, Brazil
Ary Gadelha: Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo 04021-001, Brazil
Euripedes Constatino Miguel: National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents (CNPq), São Paulo 01060-970, Brazil
Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan: Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo 04021-001, Brazil
Luis Augusto Rohde: National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents (CNPq), São Paulo 01060-970, Brazil
João Ricardo Sato: Center of Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo André 09210-580, Brazil

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-10

Abstract: Background: Most early children’s experiences will occur in a family context; therefore, the quality of this environment is critical for development outcomes. Not many studies have assessed the correlations between brain functional connectivity (FC) in important areas such as the default mode network (DMN) and the quality of parent-child relationships in school-age children and early adolescence. The quality of family relationships and maternal behavior have been suggested to modulate DMN FC once they act as external regulators of children’s affect and behavior. Objective: We aimed to test the associations between the quality of family environment/maternal behavior and FC within the DMN of school-age children. Method: Resting-state, functional magnetic resonance imaging data, were collected from 615 children (6–12 age range) enrolled in the Brazilian High-Risk Cohort (HRC) study. We assessed DMN intra-connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and inferior parietal lobule (IPL-bilateral) regions. The family functioning was assessed by levels of family cohesiveness and conflict and by maternal behavior styles such as maternal responsiveness, maternal stimulus to the child’s autonomy, and maternal overprotection. The family environment was assessed with the Family Environment Scale (FES), and maternal behavior was assessed by the mother’s self-report. Results: We found that the quality of the family environment was correlated with intra-DMN FC. The more conflicting the family environment was, the greater the FC between the mPFC-left IPL (lIPL), while a more cohesive family functioning was negatively correlated with FC between the PCC-lIPL. On the other hand, when moderated by a positive maternal behavior, cohesive family functioning was associated with increased FC in both regions of the DMN (mPFC-lIPL and PCC-lIPL). Conclusions: Our results highlight that the quality of the family environment might be associated with differences in the intrinsic DMN FC.

Keywords: default-mode network; resting State; family environment; parental practices childhood; adolescence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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